Disney has had a run of massively successful live-action adaptations of their classic films, beginning with Alice in Wonderland, and continuing with Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. Even a pair of box office misfires this year (Alice Through the Looking Glass, Pete's Dragon) hasn't seemed to put a damper on the studio's enthusiasm for refreshing their most viable classics. There are already a dozen more greenlit remakes on the horizon, but the next to the box office will be Beauty and the Beast, which received its first full trailer this week.
Starring Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey), and an all-star supporting cast, anticipation is high that the remake will climb the heights of the original, itself only one of three animated films ever to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The hype for the remake is palpable - it's first teaser trailer beating out both Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Captain America: Civil War for first-day views.
Entertainment Weekly is now reporting that Beauty and the Beast's first full trailer has set an all-time record for views in its first 24 hours online. At 127.6 million views, it has surpassed the previous record holders, Fifty Shades Darker (114 million views) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (112 million views).
A full year ago actor Josh Gad (Frozen), who plays Le Fou in the remake, expressed how intense the buzz surrounding the project seemed to be.
"I will tell you right now that the amount of interest in this film is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Look, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding Frozen 2, there’s buzz surrounding other things I’ve been involved with. But, this, there’s such curiosity, joy, excitement, and buzz about a film that’s two years away still. That’s an enormous amount of pressure, actually, but also something that we all take very seriously. Every day we’re making this movie, we know what the bar is, and we’re trying to match that bar, if not exceed it in some ways. So we’re very well aware of that."
With any luck, Gad's sentiments go all the way to the top. With such a prominent groundswell, Beauty and the Beast will likely do well in the box office regardless of its quality. But with such an impressive legacy to live up to, the remake has its work cut out for it in maintaining a lasting appeal.
Are you impressed by Beauty and the Beast's new trailer? Let us know in the comments section, and stay tuned to Screen Rant for updates and impressions on the remake as they hit.
Source: EW
