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Beauty and The Beast: Beauty and The Beast Belle (Emma Watson), a bright, beautiful and independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast (Dan Stevens) in its castle. However, what sounds like a nightmare soon turns into a sweet love story.
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Beauty and the Beast (2017 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Beauty and the Beast (disambiguation).
| Beauty and the Beast | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
| |
| Directed by | Bill Condon |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Alan Menken |
| Cinematography | Tobias A. Schliessler |
| Edited by | Virginia Katz |
Production
company | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release date
|
|
Running time
| 129 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $160 million[4] |
| Box office | $1.043 billion[a] |
Beauty and the Beast is a 2017 American musical romantic fantasy flim directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, and co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films.[5] The film is a live-action/CGI-animated[6] remake of Disney's 1991 animated film of the same name, itself an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont's eighteenth-century fairy tale. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the titular characters with Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson in supporting roles.[7]
Principal photography began at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England on May 18, 2015, and ended on August 21. Beauty and the Beast premiered on February 23, 2017, at Spencer House in London and was released in the United States on March 17, 2017, in the standard, Disney Digital 3-D, RealD 3D, IMAX and IMAX 3D formats along with Dolby Cinema.[8] The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $1 billion worldwide on a $160 million production budget, making it the highest-grossing film of 2017 (the second remake to grossed that mark after 2010's Alice in Wonderland) and the 22nd highest-grossing film of all time.
Plot[edit]
In Rococo-era France, an enchantress disguised as an old beggar woman offers an enchanted rose to a prince in exchange for shelter from a storm, but he refuses. For his arrogance, she places a spell that transforms him into a monstrous beast, turns his servants into household objects, and erases the castle from the villagers' memories of loved ones. She gives the Beast a magic mirror that shows faraway events and leaves him the enchanted rose. To break the spell, the prince must learn to love another and earn her love in return before the rose's last petal falls, otherwise he will remain a beast forever and his servants will lose their remaining humanity.
Years later in the village of Villeneuve, a young woman, Belle, lives with her father Maurice, an artist and tinkerer. Gaston, a celebrated former soldier, seeks her hand in marriage, but she is repulsed by his arrogance and narcissism. On a trip to the market to sell music boxes, Maurice and his horse Philippe lose their way in the forest and are attacked by wolves. They seek refuge at the castle, but Maurice is imprisoned by the Beast as penance for taking a rose from the garden. When she realizes her father is missing upon Philippe's sudden arrival, Belle ventures into the forest in search for him, and finds him locked in the castle's dungeon. The Beast confronts her and accepts her offer to take her father's place.
Belle befriends the servants in the castle. She eventually wanders into the forbidden west wing and finds the rose. The Beast, enraged, frightens Belle into fleeing into the woods. However, he later rescues her from a pack of wolves. A friendship develops, and the servants tell her she may be the one who can break the curse. The Beast develops feelings for Belle and allows her access to his library. However, Belle remains uncertain of her feelings due to her imprisonment. The Beast shows Belle a gift the enchantress gave him, a book that could take people wherever they wanted. Belle uses it to bring the Beast and herself to the attic of an old windmill in Paris, where she used to live with her parents as an infant. Upon finding a plague doctor mask, Belle discovers that she and her father were forced to leave her mother's deathbed as the latter succumbed to the plague.
Meanwhile, Maurice returns to Villeneuve but is unable to convince the others to rescue Belle. Gaston agrees to help Maurice, but when he reveals that he only agreed to help Maurice in order to win his favor to give Belle to Gaston in marriage, Maurice refuses. In response, Gaston ties up Maurice in the forest to be killed by wolves. Maurice is rescued by a hermit, Agathe, and accusing Gaston of committing an attempted murder, but Gaston convinces the townsfolk to send Maurice to the local insane asylum.
After sharing a romantic dance with the Beast, Belle discovers her father's predicament using the magic mirror. The Beast releases her to save Maurice, giving her the mirror to remember him with. At Villeneuve, Belle proves Maurice's sanity by revealing the Beast in the mirror to the townsfolk. Realizing that Belle loves the Beast, Gaston has her thrown into the asylum carriage with her father and rallies the villagers to follow him to the castle to slay the Beast. Maurice and Belle escape from confinement and Belle rushes back to the castle.
During the ensuing fight, Gaston abandons his companion LeFou, who sides with the servants to fend off the villagers. Gaston attacks the Beast in his tower, who is initially too depressed to fight back, but regains his will upon seeing Belle return. He corners Gaston but spares his life before reuniting with Belle. However, Gaston fatally shoots the Beast in the back before falling to his death. The Beast dies as the last rose petal falls and the castle's servants become completely inanimate. Belle professes her love to him, then Agathe reveals herself to be the enchantress and undoes the curse, restoring the Beast's life and human form. The servants' humanity and the villagers' memories are also restored, with several villagers recognizing some of the servants as their relatives. The Prince and Belle host a ball for the kingdom, where they dance happily.
Cast[edit]
- Emma Watson as Belle – a bibliophile, feisty and beautiful young woman from the village of Villeneuve, France who sees the humanity within the Beast and slowly develops feelings for him.
- Daisy Duczmal portrays Belle as a baby.
- Dan Stevens as The Prince / Beast – a vain and arrogant prince who is transformed into a beast and forced to embark on a spiritual journey to earn back his humanity by learning to be a better person.[9][10]
- Adam Mitchell portrays the young Prince.
- Luke Evans as Gaston – a narcissistic war veteran and hunter who is obsessed with Belle and willing to go as far as it takes to have her as his trophy wife.
- Kevin Kline as Maurice – Belle's eccentric and overprotective widowed father.[11]
- Jolyon Coy portrays the young Maurice.
- Josh Gad as LeFou – Gaston's flamboyant and long-suffering sidekick who bolsters his friend's ego but gets very little in return.[12]
- Ewan McGregor as Lumière – the Beast's charismatic bouteiller who has been transformed into a candelabra.[13]
- Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza – the neurotic court composer and Madame de Garderobe's husband who has been transformed into a harpsichord.[14]
- Ian McKellen as Cogsworth – the Beast's gruff but loyal majordomo and the head of the household staff who has been transformed into a mantel clock.[15]
- Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts – the castle's motherly head housekeeper who has been transformed into a teapot.[11]
- Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe – a world-renowned Italian opera soprano singer and Cadenza's wife who has been transformed into a wardrobe.[16]
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette – one of the castle maids and Lumière's lover, who has been transformed into a flying swan/peacock-shaped feather duster.[17]
- Nathan Mack as Chip – Mrs. Potts' plucky son who has been transformed into a teacup.[18]
- Hattie Morahan as Agathe – a reclusive, impoverished resident of Villeneuve who, in reality, is the mystical Enchantress who cursed the Prince so he can learn humanity.[19]
- Morahan also narrates the prologue.
- Rita Davies appears as the Enchantress' old beggar woman form at the beginning of the film.
- Adrian Schiller as Monsieur D'Arque – the warden of the local asylum who is ordered by Gaston to lock up Maurice in the asylum.[19]
- Gerard Horan as Monsieur Jean Potts – an absent-minded but friendly potter and resident of Villeneuve who is later revealed to be Mrs. Potts' husband and Chip's father.
- Haydn Gwynne as Clothilde – Cogsworth's long lost wife who lives in the village.
- Ray Fearon as Père Robert – Villeneuve's local chaplain who encourages Belle to borrow the books in the chapel's meager library.
- Sophie Reid, Rafaëlle Cohen, and Carla Nella as the Bimbettes – a trio of women who constantly fawn over Gaston.
- Zoe Rainey as Belle's mother – Maurice's late wife who contracted the plague and died when Belle was an infant.
- Clive Rowe as Cuisinier – the castle's head chef who has been transformed into a stove.
- Thomas Padden as Chapeau – the Prince's aide who has been transformed into a coat rack.
- Henry Garrett as The King – The Prince's father who, following his wife's death, raised his son to be just as iron-fisted and arrogant as he was.
- Harriet Jones as The Queen – The Prince's mother who died when he was a child.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Previously, Disney had begun work on a film adaptation of the 1994 Broadway musical.[20][21] However, in a 2011 interview, composer Alan Menken stated the planned film version of the Beauty and the Beast stage musical "was canned".[22]
By April 2014, Walt Disney Pictures had already begun developing a new live-action version and remake of Beauty and the Beast after making other live-action fantasy films such as Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella and The Jungle Book.[23] In June 2014, Bill Condon was signed to direct the film from a script by Evan Spiliotopoulos.[24] Later in September of that same year, Stephen Chbosky (who had previously directed Watson in The Perks of Being a Wallflower) was hired to re-write the script.[25]
Before Condon was hired to direct the film, Disney approached him with a proposal to remake the film in a more radical way as Universal Studios had remade Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). Condon later explained that "after Frozen opened, the studio saw that there was this big international audience for an old-school-musical approach. But initially, they said, 'We're interested in a musical to a degree, but only half full of songs.' My interest was taking that film and doing it in this new medium — live-action — as a full-on musical movie. So I backed out for a minute, and they came back and said, 'No, no, no, we get it, let's pursue it that way.'"[26] Walt Disney Pictures president of production Sean Bailey credited Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn with the decision to make the film as a musical: "We worked on this for five or six years, and for 18 months to two years, Beauty was a serious dramatic project, and the scripts were written to reflect that. It wasn't a musical at that time. But we just couldn't get it to click and it was Alan Horn who championed the idea of owning the Disney of it all. We realized there was a competitive advantage in the songs. What is wrong with making adults feel like kids again?"[27]
Casting[edit]
In January 2015, Emma Watson announced that she would be starring as Belle, the female lead.[28] Watson was the first choice of Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan F. Horn, as Horn had previously oversaw Warner Bros. which released the eight Harry Potter films that co-starred Watson.[29] Two months later, in March, Luke Evans and Dan Stevens were revealed to be in talks to play Gaston and the Beast respectively,[30][31] and Watson confirmed their casting the following day through tweets.[9][32] The rest of the principal cast – Josh Gad, Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline, Audra McDonald, Ian McKellen, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Ewan McGregor, and Stanley Tucci – were announced between March and April of that same year to play LeFou, Mrs. Potts, Maurice, Madame de Garderobe, Cogsworth, Plumette, Lumière and Cadenza, respectively.[12][11][16][15][17][13][14][33]
Susan Egan, who originated the role of Belle on Broadway, commented on the casting of Watson as "perfect".[34] Paige O'Hara, who voiced Belle in the original animated film and its sequels, offered to help Watson with her singing lessons.[35]
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emma Watson was reportedly paid $3 million upfront, together with an agreement that her final take-home pay could rise as high as $15 million if the film generated gross box office income similar to Maleficent's $759 million worldwide gross.[36]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography on the film began at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England, on May 18, 2015.[11][37][38] Filming with the principal actors concluded on August 21.[39][40] Six days later, co-producer Jack Morrissey confirmed that the film had officially wrapped production.[41]
The Beast was portrayed with a “more traditional motion capture puppeteering for the body and the physical orientation", where actor Dan Stevens was "in a forty-pound gray suit on stilts for much of the film". The facial capture for the Beast was done separately order to "communicate the subtleties of the human face" and "[capture the] thought that occurs to him" which gets "through [to] the eyes, which are the last human element in the Beast.” The castle servants transformed into household objects were created with CGI animation.[42]
Music[edit]
Main article: Beauty and the Beast (2017 soundtrack)
When released in 1991, Beauty and the Beast marked a turning point for Walt Disney Pictures by appealing to millions of fans with its Oscar-winning musical score by lyricist Howard Ashman and composer Alan Menken. In Bill Condon's opinion, that original score was the key reason he agreed to direct a live-action version of the movie. "That score had more to reveal", he says, "You look at the songs and there's not a clunker in the group. In fact, Frank Rich described it as the best Broadway musical of 1991. The animated version was already darker and more modern than the previous Disney fairytales. Take that vision, put it into a new medium, make it a radical reinvention, something not just for the stage because it's not just being literal, now other elements come into play. It's not just having real actors do it".[43]
Condon initially prepared on only drawing inspiration from the original film, but he also planned to include most of the songs composed by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice from the Broadway musical, with the intention of making the film as a "straight-forward, live-action, large-budget movie musical".[44] Menken returned to score the film's music, which features songs from the original film by him and Howard Ashman, plus new material written by Menken and Tim Rice.[45] Menken said the film will not include songs that were written for the Broadway musical and instead, created four new songs.[46] However, an instrumental version of the song "Home", which was written for the musical, is used during the scene where Belle first enters her room in the castle.[47]
On January 19, 2017, it was confirmed by both Disney and Céline Dion - singer of the original 1991 Beauty and the Beast duet song, with singer Peabo Bryson - that Dion would be performing one of the new original songs "How Does a Moment Last Forever" to play over the end titles.[48] Also, Josh Groban was announced to be performing the new original song "Evermore" on January 26, 2017.[49][50][51][52]
The 2017 film features a remake of the 1991 original song Beauty and the Beast recorded as a duet by Ariana Grande and John Legend.[53][54] Grande and Legend's updated version of the Beauty and the Beast title song is faithful to the original, Grammy-winning duet, performed by Céline Dion and Peabo Bryson for the 1991 Disney classic.[55]
Emma Thompson also performed a rendition of Beauty and the Beast, which was performed by Angela Lansbury in the original 1991 animated film release.[56]
Disney debuted the music video for Ariana Grande and John Legend's interpretation of the new Beauty and the Beast song on Disney's Freeform television network on March 5, 2017, and it has since attained over 60 million video views on the Vevo video hosting service.[56]
Release[edit]
On March 16, 2015, Disney announced the film would be released in 3D on March 17, 2017.[11] The first official presentation of the film took place at Disney's three-day D23 Expo in August 2015.[57]
The world premiere of Beauty and the Beast took place on February 23, 2017, at Spencer House in London, England;[58] and the film later premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on March 2, 2017. The stream was broadcast onto YouTube.
Marketing[edit]
Disney spent around $140 million for marketing the film worldwide.[59] Following an announcement on May 22, 2016,[60] Disney premiered the first official teaser trailer on Good Morning America the next day.[61] In its first 24 hours, the teaser trailer reached 91.8 million views, which topped the number of views seen in that amount of time in history, including for the teasers for other films distributed by Disney such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Age of Ultron.[62] The first official teaser poster was released on July 7, 2016.[63] On November 2, 2016, Entertainment Weekly debuted the first official image on the cover of their magazine for the week along with nine new photos as well.[64][65] One week later, Emma Watson and Disney debuted a new poster for the film.[66] On November 14, 2016, the first theatrical trailer was released again on Good Morning America.[67] The trailer reached 127.6 million views in its first 24 hours, setting a new record as the trailer with the most views in one day, beating out Fifty Shades Darker.[68] This record has since been broken again by The Fate of the Furious.[69] A TV spot with Watson singing was shown during the 74th Golden Globe Awards.[70] Disney released the final trailer on January 30, 2017.[71]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
As of April 16, 2017, Beauty and the Beast has grossed $454.7 million in the United States and Canada and $588.4 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $1.043 billion.[a]With a production budget of $160 million it is the most expensive musical ever made; only Hello, Dolly! (1969) with a budget of $25 million ($165 million in 2016 dollars) cost more.[73]In just ten days, it became the highest-grossing live-action musical of all time, besting the nine-year-old record held by Mamma Mia!. It is currently the second biggest musical ever overall, behind Disney's Frozen (2013).[74] Worldwide, the film proved to be a global phenomenon, earning a total of $357 million over its four-day opening weekend from 56 markets. Critics said the film was playing like superhero movies amongst women. It was the second biggest March global opening, behind only Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the thirteenth-biggest worldwide opening ever and the seventh-biggest for Disney.[75] This includes $21 million from IMAX plays on 1,026 screens, a new record for an IMAX PG title.[76] It surpassed the entire lifetime total of the original film in just six days.[77][78]
Beauty and the Beast is the 300th digitally remastered release in IMAX company's history which began with the re-release of Apollo 13 in 2002. Its robust global debut helped push the company past $6 billion for the first time,[79] and led to analysts believing that the film has a shot of passing $1 billion worldwide from theatrical earnings.[80][81][82][83] On April 12, it finally passed the $1 billion threshold, becoming the first film of 2017, the fourteenth Disney film and the twenty-ninth film overall to pass the said mark. It became the first film since Rogue One (also a Disney property) in December 2016 to make over a billion dollar. It did so on its twenty-ninth day of release.[84][85][86] It is currently the highest-grossing film of 2017,[87] the third highest-grossing March release,[88] and the fourteenth biggest Disney film.[89]
North America[edit]
In the United States and Canada, Beauty and the Beast topped Fandango's pre-sales and became the fastest-selling family film in the company's history, topping the studio's own animated film Finding Dory released the previous year. Early tracking had the film grossing around $100 million in its opening weekend, with some publications predicting it could reach $130 million.[90][91][92] By the time the film's release was 10 days away, analysts raised projections to as high as $150 million.[93][94] It earned $16.3 milion from Thursday previews night, marking the biggest of 2017 (breaking Logan's record), the biggest ever for a Disney live-action film (breaking Maleficent's record), the second biggest ever for both a G or PG-rated film (behind the sixth Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which also starred Watson), and the third biggest ever in the month of March (behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and The Hunger Games).[95] An estimated 41% of the gross came from IMAX, 3D and premium large format screenings which began at 6 pm, while the rest – 59% – came from regular 2D shows which began at 7 pm.[96] The numbers were considered more impressive given that the film played during a school week.[97]
On its opening day, the film made $63.8 million from 4,210 theaters across 9,200 screens, marking the third biggest in the month of March, trailing behind Batman v Superman ($81.5 million) and The Hunger Games ($67 million).[98][99] It was also the biggest opening day ever for a film that wasn't PG-13, displacing the $58 million opening Wednesday of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Its opening day alone (which includes Thursday's previews) almost matched the entire opening weekend of previous Disney live-action films, Maleficent ($69 million) and Cinderella ($67 million).[100] Unlike all previous four Disney live-action films witnessing a hike on their second day, Saturday, Beauty and the Beast actually fell -2%, but nevertheless, the dip was paltry, and the grosses are so much bigger compared to the other titles.[79] Earning a total of $174.8 million on its opening weekend, it defied all expectations and went on to set numerous notable records.[101] This includes the biggest opening of the year as well as the biggest for the month of March and pre-summer/spring opening, beating Batman v Superman,[102][103] the biggest start ever for a PG title (also for a family film), surpassing Finding Dory,[104] the biggest debut of all time for a female-fueled film, ahead of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,[105] the biggest for a Disney live-action adaptation, ahead of Alice in Wonderland[105] and the biggest musical debut ever, supplanting Pitch Perfect 2. Furthermore, it is also Watson's highest-opening of all-time, beating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 same with Emma Thompson, director Bill Condon's biggest debut ever ahead of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 and the biggest outside of summer, save for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, not accounting for inflation.[101]
It became the forty-third film to debut with over $100 million and the fifteenth film to open above $150 million. Its three-day opening alone surpassed the entire original North American run of the first film ($146 million; before the 3D re-release), instantly becoming the second biggest film of the year, behind Logan ($184 million), and also the second highest-grossing musical, behind Grease's $188 million cumulative gross in 1978.[106] 70% of the total ticket sales came from 2D showings signifying that people who don't go to theaters frequently came out in bulk to watch the film. About 26% of the remaining tickets were for 3D. IMAX accounted for 7% ($12.5 million) of the total weekend's gross, setting a new record for a PG title, ahead of Alice in Wonderland ($12.1 million) while PLF repped 11% of the box office.[79] Females represented a staggering 70% of the film's total demographic on its opening day which eased out to 60% through the entire weekend.[105] According polling service PostTrak, about 84 percent of American parents who saw the film on its opening day said they would "definitely" recommend it for families.[107][108] The film's huge opening was credited to positive word of mouth from audiences, good reviews from critics, effective marketing which sold the title not just as a kid-friendly film but also as a romantic drama, the cast's star power (especially Emma Watson), lack of competition, being the first family driven film since The Lego Batman Movie a month earlier, nostalgia, the success and ubiquity of the first film and Disney's brand.[109][110]
On Monday, its fourth day of release, the film fell precipitously by 72% earning $13.5 million. The steep fall was due to a limited marketplace where only 11% K-12 and 15% colleges were off per ComScore. Nevertheless, it is the second biggest March Monday, behind Batman v Superman ($15 million).[111] This was followed by the biggest March and pre-summer Tuesday with $17.8 million, a +32% increase from its previous day. The same day, the film passed $200 million in ticket sales.[112] It earned $228.6 million in the first week of release, the sixth-biggest seven-day gross of all time.[113] In its second weekend, the film continued to maintain the top positioning and fell gradually by 48% earning another $90.4 million to register the fourth-biggest second weekend of all time, and the third-biggest for Disney.[114] In terms of percentage drop, its 48% decline is the third-smallest drop for any film opening above $125 million (behind Finding Dory and The Force Awakens).[74] The hold was notable considering how the film was able to fend off three new wide release; Power Rangers, Life, and CHiPs.[115] As a result, it passed the $300 million threshold becoming the first film of 2017 the pass said mark.[116] The film grossed $45.4 million in its third weekend, finally being overtaken for the top spot by newcomer The Boss Baby ($50.2 million).[117] On April 4, 2017, its nineteenth day of release, it passed the $400 million threshold becoming the first film of 2017.[118] By its fourth weekend, the film began to lose tremendous amounts of theaters. It was playing at 3,969 cinemas, a fall of 241 theaters from its previous weekend. Of those, approximately 1,200 cinemas were sing-along versions. It earned $26.3 million (-48%) and retained the second position. By comparison, previous Disney films Moana (-8%) and Frozen (-2%) both witnessed mild percentage declines the weekend their sing-alone versions were released.[119]
It has already become the biggest March release ever, dethroning The Hunger Games (2012),[120] as well as the biggest film of 2017.[121]
Outside North America[edit]
Internationally, the film began playing on Thursday, March 16, 2017. Through Sunday, March 19, it had a total international opening of $182.3 million from 55 markets, 44 of which were major territories, far exceeding initial estimations of $100 million and opened at No. 1 in virtually all markets save Vietnam, Turkey and India. Its launch is the second biggest for the month of March, behind Batman v Superman ($256.5 million). In IMAX, it made a recorded the biggest debut for a PG title (although it carried varying certificate amongst different markets) with $8.5 million from 649 screens, the second biggest for a PG title behind The Jungle Book.[122] In its second weekend, it fell just by -35% earning another $120.6 million and maintaining its first position hold. It added major markets like France and Australia.[123] It top the international box office for three consecutive weekends[124] before finally being dethroned by Ghost in the Shell and The Boss Baby in its fourth weekend. Despite the fall, the film helped Disney push past the $1 billion thresold internationally for the first time in 2017.[125][86]
It scored the biggest opening day of the year in Hong Kong and the Philippines, the biggest March Thursday in Italy ($1 million, also the biggest Disney Thursday debut), the biggest March opening day in Austria, and the second biggest in Germany ($1.1 million), Disney's biggest March in Denmark, the biggest Disney live-action debut in China ($12.6 million), the UK ($6.2 million), Mexico ($2.4 million) and Brazil ($1.8 million) and the third biggest in South Korea with $1.2 million, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[126][127] In terms of opening weekend, the largest debut came from China ($44.8 million), followed by the UK ($24.3 million), Korea ($11.8 million), Mexico ($11.8 million), Australia ($11.1 million), Brazil ($11 million), Germany ($10.7 million), France ($8.4 million), Italy ($7.6 million), Philippines ($6.3 million), Russia ($6 million) and Spain ($5.8 million).[122][123]
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the film recorded the biggest opening ever for a PG film, the biggest Disney live-action opening of all time, the biggest March opening weekend, the biggest opening for a musical (ahead of Les Misérables), the number one opening of 2017 to date and the fifth-biggest ever overall with £19.7 million ($24.5 million) from 639 theatres and almost twice that of The Jungle Book (£9.9 million).[128]This included the second biggest Saturday ever (£7.9 million), only behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[129] It witnessed a decent decline in its second weekend, earning £12.33 million ($15.4 million). Though the film was falling at a faster rate than The Jungle Book, it had already surpassed the said film and its sophomore weekend is the third biggest ever (behind the two James Bond films Skyfall (2012) and Spectre).[130][123] In India, despite facing heavy competitions from four new Hindi releases, two Tamils films and a Malayalam and a Punjabi release, the film managed to take an occupancy of 15% on its opening day, an impressive feat despite such tremendous competitions.[131][132][133] It earned around ₹1.5 crore (US$220,000) nett on its opening day from an estimated 600 screens which is more than the three Hindi releases – Machine, Trapped and Aa Gaya Hero – combined.[134] Disney reported a total of ₹9.26 crore (US$1.4 million) gross for its opening weekend there. It was ahead of all new releases and second overall behind Bollywood film Badrinath Ki Dulhania.[135][136][137] In Russia, despite receiving a restrictive 16 rating, the film managed to deliver a very successful opening with $6 million.[138]
In China, expectations were high for the film. The release date was announced on January 24, giving Disney and local distributor China Film Group Corporation ample time – around two months – to market the film nationwide. The release date was strategically chosen to coincide with White Day. Preliminary reports suggested that it could open to $40–60 million in its opening weekend. Largely driven by young women, its opening day pre-sales outpaced that of The Jungle Book.[139] The original film was however never widely popular in the country.[140] Although China has occasionally blocked gay-themed content from streaming video services, in this case, Chinese censors decided to leave the gay scene intact. According to local box office tracker Ent Group, the film grossed an estimated $12.1 million on its opening day (Friday), representing 70% of the total receipts. Including previews, it made a total of $14.5 million from 100,000 screenings, which is 43% of all screenings in the country.[141] It climbed to $18.5 million on Saturday (102,700 showings) for a three-day total of $42.6 million, securing 60% of the total marketplace. Disney on the other hand reported a different figure of $44.8 million.[142][143] Either ways, it recorded the second biggest opening for a Disney live-action film,[140] with $3.4 million coming from 386 IMAX screens.[122]
The only markets where the film did not top the weekend charts were Vietnam (behind Kong: Skull Island), Turkey (with two local movies and Logan ahead) and India (where Badrinath Ki Dulhania retained No. 1).[122] It topped the box office for four straight weekends in Germany, Korea, Austria, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Switzerland and the UK (exclusive of previews).[125][144] In the Philippines, it emerged as the most commercial successful film of all time – both local and foreign – with over $13.5 million.[145] Japan – a huge Disney market – will open on April 21 and will serve as the film's final market.[123]The biggest earning markets are China ($85.8 million), the UK ($81 million), Brazil ($38.8 million) and Korea ($35.6 million), Mexico ($29.2 million).[86] In Europe alone, the cumulative total is $242 million to become the third-highest-grossing film in a year (behind Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story).[146]
Critical response[edit]
The film has received generally positive reviews, with critics mostly praising the faithfulness to the animated film and elements of the broadway musical version, performances, setting, visuals, costume design, and crafted soundtrack.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 268 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With an enchanting cast, beautifully crafted songs, and a painterly eye for detail, Beauty and the Beast offers a faithful yet fresh retelling that honors its beloved source material."[147] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[148] In CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[149][150]
Owen Gleiberman of Variety, in his positive review of the film, wrote: "It's a lovingly crafted movie, and in many ways a good one, but before that it's an enraptured piece of old-is-new nostalgia."[151] A. O. Scott of The New York Times praised the performances of both Watson and Stevens, and wrote: "It looks good, moves gracefully and leaves a clean and invigorating aftertaste. I almost didn't recognize the flavor: I think the name for it is joy."[152] Mike Ryan of Uproxx praised the cast, production design and the new songs while noting the film doesn't try anything different, saying: "There's certainly nothing that new about this version of Beauty and the Beast (well, except it isn't a cartoon anymore), but it's a good recreation of a classic animated film that should leave most die-hards satisfied."[153]
Conversely, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune said the adaptation got lost in translation, writing, "The movie takes our knowledge and our interest in the material for granted. It zips from one number to another, throwing a ton of frenetically edited eye candy at the screen, charmlessly."[154]
Accolades[edit]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | May 7, 2017 | Movie of the Year | Beauty and the Beast | Pending | [155] |
| Best Actor in a Movie | Emma Watson | Pending | |||
| Best Kiss | Emma Watson and Dan Stevens | Pending | |||
| Best Duo | Josh Gad and Luke Evans | Pending |
Controversies[edit]
Gay subplot[edit]
In the film, LeFou was said to be given a "gay moment" by director Bill Condon when LeFou briefly waltzes with Stanley, one of Gaston's friends.[156] In an interview with Vulture.com, Condon stated, "Can I just say, I’m sort of sick of this. Because you’ve seen the movie — it’s such a teeny thing, and it’s been overblown." Condon also added that Beauty and the Beast features much more diversity than just the highly-talked-about LeFou: “That was so important. We have interracial couples — this is a celebration of everybody’s individuality, and that’s what’s exciting about it.”[157] GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis praised the move stating, “It is a small moment in the film, but it is a huge leap forward for the film industry." [158]
In Russia, Vitaly Milonov agitated the culture minister for banning the film,[159] but instead it was given a 16+ rating (children under the age of 16 can only be admitted to see it in theaters with accompanying adults).[160] Additionally, a theater in Henagar, Alabama did not screen the film because of the subplot.[161] In Malaysia, the Film Censorship Board insisted the "gay moment" scene be cut, prompting an indefinite postponement of its release by Disney, followed by their decision to withdraw it completely if it could not be released uncensored.[162][163][164] The studio moved the release date to March 30, to allow more time for Malaysia's censor board to make a decision on whether or not to release the film without changes.[165] The distributors and producers then submitted an appeal to the Film Appeal Committee of Malaysia, which allowed the film to be released without any cuts and a P13 rating on the grounds that the "gay element" was minor and didn't affect the positive elements featured in the film.[166][167] In Kuwait, the movie was withdrawn from cinemas by National Cinema Company which owns most of the cinemas in the country. A board member of the company stated that the Ministry of Information's censorship department had requested it to stop its screening and edit it for things deemed offensive by it.[168]
There were also a number of boycotts against the film. A call to boycott on LifePetitions received over 129,000 signatures,[169] while the American Family Association featured a petition to boycott with over 50,000 signers.
The Beast imprisoning Belle[edit]
Disney has sought to portray Belle as an empowered young woman,[170] but some critics say that the core proposition of the film – that it is possible to fall in love with someone who is holding you prisoner – is problematic.[171] As was the case with the original animated film, some have argued that Belle suffers from Stockholm syndrome (a condition that causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity). Emma Watson studied whether Belle is trapped in an abusive relationship with the Beast before signing on and concluded that she does not think the criticism fits this version of the folk tale.[172][173] Watson described Stockholm Syndrome as "where a prisoner will take on the characteristics of and fall in love with the captor. Belle actively argues and disagrees with [Beast] constantly. She has none of the characteristics of someone with Stockholm Syndrome because she keeps her independence, she keeps that freedom of thought", also noting that Belle defiantly "gives as good as she gets" before forming a friendship and romance with the Beast.[174]
Psychiatrist Frank Ochberg, who coined the term Stockholm syndrome, said he does not think Belle exhibits the trauma symptoms of prisoners suffering from the syndrome because she does not go through a period of feeling that she is going to die.[175] Some therapists, while acknowledging that the pairing's relationship does not meet the clinical definition of Stockholm syndrome, argue that the relationship depicted is dysfunctional and abusive and does not model healthy romantic relationships for young viewers.[176][177] Beauty and the Beast was a fairy tale originally written to prepare young girls in 18th century France for arranged marriages, and that power disparity is amplified in the Disney version.[178] Anna Menta of Elite Daily argued that the Beast does not apologize to Belle for imprisoning, hurting, or manipulating her, and his treatment of Belle is not painted as wrong.[179]
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