Box office report: Beauty and the Beast passes Batman v Superman for March record

It’s a tale as old as time, but Beauty and the Beast‘s new box office record is as fresh as can be.

Disney’s live-action remake of the beloved 1991 animated classic roars to the top of the domestic chart this weekend, amassing a spectacular estimated $170 million from 4,210 theaters — averaging $40,380 per location to notch the highest debut for a March title in history.

The $160 million Bill Condon production bests the $166 million total posted by previous record holder Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice just under one year ago.

Worldwide, Beauty and the Beast ropes in an excellent $180 million, which brings its global total to $350 million after just three days, additionally trumping studio sibling The Jungle Book‘s IMAX record for a PG-rated film ($21 million worldwide vs. $20 million worldwide, respectively) on 1,026 formatted screens.

Slipping around 53 percent to No. 2 is Legendary and Warner Bros.’ latest entry in the King Kong franchise, Kong: Skull Island, which adds a further $28.9 million to its growing $259.3 million global total ($110.1 million in the U.S. and Canada).

Coming in at No. 3 is James Mangold’s Wolverine sendoff Logan, which sees Hugh Jackman making his final turn as the iconic comic book character. The film falls to an estimated $17.5 million across its third three-day frame, boosting its global number to $524 million to date.

Rounding out the top five are Jordan Peele’s horror-comedy hit Get Out, which bags $13.2 million ($133.1 million on a $4.5 million budget) at No. 4, and the faith-based drama The Shack, which tallies $6.1 million ($42.6 million) at No. 5.

Outside the top five, BH Tilt and Orion’s The Belko Experiment meets industry expectations with an estimated $4.1 million at No. 7. The modestly budgeted flick falls in line with previous BH Tilt releases that have been aimed squarely at horror fans, with the label even going so far as to slot the film only in theaters that have been historically frequented by diehard genre aficionados.

Theodore Melfi’s Oscar-nominated drama Hidden Figures continues its impressive box office run this weekend, spending its 11th weekend inside the top 10 as it rakes in a further $1.5 million at No. 8. Its North American total now stands at $165.6 million on a $25 million budget.

Elsewhere, two of contemporary cinema’s foremost auteurs make appearances on the specialty market, as the Danny Boyle-directed Trainspotting sequel bows to a solid $180,000 from five locations for a per-screen average of $36,000, while Terrence Malick’s latest film, Song to Song, pulls in $53,945 from four theaters — his worst limited opening since The New World hit three sites with $30,864 back in 2005.

Though the summer movie season has yet to begin, 2017 has seen seven films cross the $100 million domestic mark thus far. Per comScore, overall box office is up approximately 5.8 percent from the same period last year.

Check out the March 17-19 weekend estimates below.

1 – Beauty and the Beast – $170 million
2 – Kong: Skull Island – $28.9 million
3 – Logan – $17.5 million
4 – Get Out – $13.2 million
5 – The Shack – $6.1 million
6 – The LEGO Batman Movie – $4.7 million
7 – The Belko Experiment – $4.1 million
8 – Hidden Figures – $1.5 million
9 – John Wick: Chapter 2 – $1.2 million
10 – Before I Fall – $1 million

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