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Plenty of moviegoers decided to be the guest of Belle and her prince this past weekend, with the Disney live-action remake of 鈥淏eauty and the Beast鈥� setting a new record for a March opening weekend. The hit bodes well for an upcoming series of live-action remakes of some of Disney's previous animated successes.

鈥淏eauty鈥� was so successful with its estimated $170 million gross that it set other records, too, including the best opening for 2017 so far (though the year is still early) and has landed in the top 10 for best opening weekends ever, ranking seventh without adjusting for inflation.听

The movie is a remake of Disney鈥檚 Oscar-nominated 1991 animated movie and stars Emma Watson as a young woman who becomes the prisoner of a man who has been turned into a beast (Dan Stevens). The movie co-stars Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline, Audra McDonald, Ewan McGregor, and Ian McKellen.听

This box office performance has likely only encouraged those at Disney in their plans for more live-action takes on their animated movies. Other upcoming projects include a live-action remake of 鈥淢ulan,鈥� which will be released in November 2018, and new takes on 鈥淒umbo鈥� and 鈥淭he Lion King,鈥� among many others.听

鈥淏eauty鈥� will likely be the crown jewel in Disney鈥檚 venture into this live-action remake genre, as previous releases like 鈥淎lice in Wonderland鈥� and particularly 鈥淭he Jungle Book鈥� have been successful at the box office, but "Beauty" had a better opening weekend than all of them.

How did 鈥淏eauty鈥� bring in so many moviegoers and what lessons can Disney learn from its success as it moves forward with other live-action remakes?

thinks bringing together famous properties and well-known stars is a winning formula, noting that posters for 鈥淏eauty鈥� feature the actors who portray the Beast鈥檚 household objects rather than showing them as the objects they appear as in the movie.听

鈥淐asting big-name stars has become a big part of the remake formula,鈥� Mr. Fuster wrote. In addition to Ms. Watson, Mr. Stevens, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Kline, Ms. McDonald, Mr. McGregor, and Mr. McKellen, the movie also stars Josh Gad and Stanley Tucci.听

And casting the right lead actor or actress can also be key, he suggests.听鈥淲hile [Watson's] performance was tepidly received by some critics, her popularity among 鈥榌Harry] Potter鈥� fans and on social media has brought enormous buzz to the film, as audiences have praised her take on Belle, leading to an A from CinemaScore audience surveys,鈥� Fuster wrote.

Meanwhile, credits women going to the movie with contributing to the film's success. 鈥淔emale moviegoers 鈥� just powered 鈥楤eauty and the Beast鈥� to the seventh-biggest domestic opening weekend of all time鈥�,鈥� she writes. 鈥淲hile 鈥楤eauty鈥�'s opening underscores the buying power of women when offered a film that drives them to the theater, it follows in the wake of, and builds on, other female fantasy films like 鈥楾he Twilight Saga鈥� and 鈥楾he Hunger Games鈥� that moved the needle in proving that a female protagonist can translate into huge box office grosses.鈥澛�

Ms. McClintock also notes that heroine Belle is 鈥減resented as an independent girl who is a lot spunkier than old-fashioned Disney princesses.鈥澛�

Watson, who has previously discussed her feminist beliefs and supported causes including education for young girls, had worked behind the scenes to make changes to the character of Belle, including making her wardrobe more practical and including a sequence in which Belle creates a washing machine.

鈥淭here鈥檚 already progress from the last film,鈥� Nancy Wang Yuen, chair of the department of sociology at Biola University, said of these changes in an interview with the Monitor.听

There is, of course, still debate over what the story has to say to moviegoers in 2017. But also believed that love for the original story would bring out moviegoers when he predicted the box office dominance of 鈥淏eauty鈥� last week.听

鈥淎s Disney has proven in the past, nostalgia can push live-action adaptations of animated classics to soaring new heights with a new, younger generation of moviegoers鈥�,鈥� Mr. Nolfi writes. 鈥淚ts songs and overall presence in pop culture have arguably endured better than the legacies of its 鈥� studio brethren [like 鈥楳aleficent鈥� and 鈥楾he Jungle Book鈥橾.鈥�