‘Beauty and the Beast’ earns an estimated $170 million in first weekend

Disney latest live-action remake, 'Beauty and the Beast,' roar to the box office top spot. (Photo grabbed from Reuters video)
Disney latest live-action remake, ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ roar to the box office top spot.
(Photo grabbed from Reuters video)

(Reuters) — In its opening weekend, Disney latest live-action remake, “Beauty and the Beast,” roared to the box office top spot this weekend (March 19), bringing in an estimated $170 million in tickets sales.

The reimagining, which stars Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast, is the latest in a string of live-action reimaginings of Disney classics that includes “The Jungle Book” and “Cinderella.” The movie also includes Josh Gad, Luke Evans, Ewan McGregor and Sir Ian McKellen.

“Kong: Skull Island” slipped one place to number two after opening strong with a $61 million debut last weekend. Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson and John Goodman lead the cast in the 70s set redux of the classic monster movie. The film made an estimated $28.9 million in sales, according to boxofficemojo.com.

Rounding out the top five films for the weekend, R-rated Marvel movie “Logan” earned an estimated $17.5 million to take third place, psychological thriller “Get Out” in fourth place made an estimated $13.2 million and “The Shack” in fifth place brought in an estimated $6.1 million in ticket sales, according to the box office tracking website.