Beauty and the Beast

Star Wars and Beauty and the Beast help UK box office to record high

Film fans spent £1.38bn on tickets last year, up 3.6% on 2016.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Beauty and the Beast were the year's most popular films, followed by Dunkirk, Despicable Me 3 and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol 2.

Box office trackers ComScore said fans still wanted the cinema experience despite the popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.

ComScore executive director Lucy Jones said: "Audiences want the right content on the right platform.

Disney's live-action remakes explained: Why now and what's coming?

This week Beauty and the Beast is the latest to hit the big screen, with a CGI-packed blockbuster take on the 1991 animation.

These remakes are bringing in big bucks for Disney and the studio has even more planned in the coming years.

But are they any good, who are they for, and why are we seeing this cartoon-to-live-action trend now?

‘Beauty and the Beast’ approved for PNG screening

It will be shown in its entirety, without cuts, unlike in other countries. 

The movie has been reviewed and rated by Richard Tabel, an officer of the Censors Board of PNG, last Tuesday.  

Tabel mentioned that Beauty and the Beast has huge followers in PNG and that the supposed gay scenes are either very subtle or none at all in the live action rendition of Beauty and The Beast

'Beauty and the Beast' nabs $350 million worldwide

Of that total, $170 million came at theaters in North America.

The domestic total exceeded what people in the industry had expected, and it broke the record for the biggest box office opening in March. The record had been held by last year's opening of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." It's also the best opening weekend of 2017 so far.

Google pulls Beauty and the Beast 'ad' from Home

"By the way, Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast opens today," the smart speaker said after listing the time, weather and travel update.

In a video posted on Twitter, it then talked about the plot and suggested asking it about main character Belle for "more movie fun".

Google denied that the material on Home was an advertisement.

It appeared as part of a "My Day" feature where the digital assistant provides an update which can include calendar events and news bulletins.

Google Home confuses users with apparent ad for 'Beauty and the Beast'

When some Google Home owners turned on their virtual assistants Thursday morning, the device delivered the usual weather forecast, calendar of events and other updates. And then they heard something else: "By the way, Disney's live action 'Beauty and the Beast' opens today."

People soon took to social media sites to complain about what they thought was an advertisement.

'Beauty and the Beast' serves up sumptuous feast

A quarter-century later, the live-action version sumptuously holds up to that legacy, delicately expanding upon and updating the original in enormously crowd-pleasing fashion.

Ian McKellen calls 'Beauty and the Beast' gay controversy 'rubbish'

"People who don't like the idea of gay characters appearing in fairy stories should think what they would think if they were gay themselves and why should they be excluded?" McKellen told CNN at the film's New York premiere Monday.

Beauty and the Beast release postponed in Malaysia

The Emma Watson film was due to open on Thursday but has been put on hold due to an "internal review". No specific reason has been given for the decision.

The film courted controversy last week after it emerged it would feature a "gay moment".

Homosexual activity is illegal in Muslim majority Malaysia, although the tourism minister has said banning the film is "ridiculous".

"You don't ban a film because of a gay character," Seri Nazri Aziz told the Malay Mail.

Disney's first gay character and love scene

US actor Josh Gad plays LeFou, a sidekick of the film's main antagonist Gaston.

LeFou tries to come to terms with feelings for Gaston that swing between lust and admiration, as a side-plot to the main story.

When the first Beauty and the Beast trailer was released last year it had almost 130 million views in 24 hours.

Disney are calling it their first ever "exclusively gay moment" on film.