In addition, this makes the fairy tale adaptation the biggest start ever for a PG-rated film, beating out previous champ Finding Dory’s $135 million.
According to figures gathered by The Hollywood Reporter, Beauty and the Beast waltzed to $63.8 million in the North American box office on Friday and is projected to finish the weekend with $170 million.
That estimated total would make Beauty and the Beast one of the top 10 openings of all time and one of the highest to premiere out of summer (beaten only by December 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens).
It seems like the only studio Disney is competing with nowadays is itself.