We knew Beauty and the Beast would be making some serious bank at the box office. It’s a film adapted from a beloved animated Disney film — the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, no less. It’s shaped the childhoods of many a generation. In addition, it had an amazing cast that consisted of Emma Watson (who has been a very big voice in modern feminism), Kevin Kline, Emma Thompson, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Stanley Tucci, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, and Josh Gad, among many others.

In short, between all the talent on board, the source material, and the money Disney put into this bad boy, there was no way it was going to come up short when it comes to the box office numbers. No way. Still, the film has exceeded many expectations, and according to Variety, after taking in $9.7 million on Tuesday, it has officially crossed the $1 billion milestone.

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It’s also worth noting that Beauty and the Beast is the highest grossing film of the year, with second place’s Logan still falling $403 million short (with its current gross of $597 million). Well, we can’t really say it’s undeserving. Disney threw $160 million at the budget, and it certainly shows on screen. Between the myriad of visual effects, the amazing production design, and impeccable costumes, it was clear that a lot of love and care went into making the flick.

Even from a storytelling standpoint, I’d argue that the live-action flick was a step up from the original. Sure, the original has that classic appeal to it, but the new film added extra layers to the already great premise. It closed up a number of plot holes, and went deeper into each of the characters. All this hard work certainly paid off, and audiences have responded well to it, as is evidenced by its A CinemaScore. It’s this positive reaction that likely led to the great word of mouth that’s allowed it to cross the $1 billion milestone.

With this high benchmark now set, Disney is sure to have no problem going forward with their other live-action fare.

Are you happy to see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast hitting $1 billion worldwide? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCE: Variety