'Beauty and the Beast' just put the big $B in box office

Beauty and the Beast is proving to be box office magic.

Disney's latest fairy-tale reboot has just crossed the $1 billion mark worldwide, making it the biggest hit of 2017 so far -- and the highest-grossing live-action movie musical ever.

But none of this is likely to come as a surprise to those who've been paying attention to Beast's numbers already. After all, this film was breaking box office records before it even hit theaters.

Beauty and the Beast is a smash even by Disney standards. It's already outgrossed Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book, and seems on track to surpass Alice in Wonderland in the not-too-distant future. Internationally, that is – domestically, Beast has already beaten Alice, too.

Indeed, Beauty and the Beast is performing in the same range as a Marvel movie (Captain America: Civil War wound up with $1.1 billion last year) or even a Star Wars pic (Rogue One took in $1 billion).

Given Beast's monstrous success, it's no wonder Disney plans to keep the live-action remakes flowing. New versions of Mulan, The Lion King, Dumbo, 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, and The Little Mermaid are all currently in the works.

Eventually, one presumes, this well will run dry. But that's a problem for the future. In the meantime, Disney's going to keep soaking in this success while they still can.