<P> In China, expectations were high for the film . The release date was announced on January 24, giving Disney and local distributor China Film Group Corporation ample time--around two months--to market the film nationwide . The release date was strategically chosen to coincide with White Day . Preliminary reports suggested that it could open to $40--60 million in its opening weekend . Largely driven by young women, its opening day pre-sales outpaced that of The Jungle Book . The original film was however never widely popular in the country . Although China has occasionally blocked gay - themed content from streaming video services, in this case, Chinese censors decided to leave the gay scene intact . According to local box office tracker Ent Group, the film grossed an estimated $12.1 million on its opening day (Friday), representing 70% of the total receipts . Including previews, it made a total of $14.5 million from 100,000 screenings, which is 43% of all screenings in the country . It climbed to $18.5 million on Saturday (102,700 showings) for a three - day total of $42.6 million, securing 60% of the total marketplace . Disney on the other hand reported a different figure of $44.8 million . Either ways, it recorded the second biggest opening for a Disney live - action film, with $3.4 million coming from 386 IMAX screens . Japan--a huge Disney market--served as the film's final market and opened there on April 21 It debuted with a better - than - expected $12.5 million on its opening weekend helping the film push past the $1.1 billion threshold . An estimated $1.1 million came from IMAX screenings, the fourth - biggest ever in the country . The two day gross was $9.7 million, outstripping Frozen's previous record of $9.5 million . Due to positive reviews, good word - of - mouth and benefitting from the Golden Week, the film saw a 9% increase on its second weekend . The hold was strong enough to fend off newcomer The Fate of the Furious from securing the top spot . The total there is now over $98 million after seven weekends and is the biggest film release of the year and overall the eleventh biggest of all time . It topped the box office there for eight consecutive weekends . </P> <P> The only markets where the film did not top the weekend charts were Vietnam (behind Kong: Skull Island), Turkey (with two local movies and Logan ahead) and India (where Badrinath Ki Dulhania retained No. 1). It topped the box office for four straight weekends in Germany, Korea, Austria, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Switzerland and the UK (exclusive of previews). In the Philippines, it emerged as the most commercial successful film of all time--both local and foreign--with over $13.5 million . In just five weeks, the film became one of the top 10 highest - grossing film of all time in the United Kingdom and Ireland, ahead of all but one Harry Potter film (Deathly Hallows--Part 2) and all three The Lord of the Rings movies (which also starred Ian McKellen). It is currently the eighth biggest grosser with £ 70.1 million ($90 million), overtaking Mamma Mia! to become the biggest musical production ever there . The biggest international earning markets following the UK are Japan ($108 million), China ($85.8 million), Brazil ($41.5 million), Korea ($37.5 million), and Australia ($35 million). In Europe alone, the cumulative total is $267 million to become the second - highest - grossing film in the past 1 year (behind Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). </P> <P> Beauty and the Beast received generally positive reviews, with praise for the faithfulness to the original film with a few elements of the Broadway musical version, cast performances, visuals, Jacqueline Durran's costume designs, Alan Menken's musical score and songs, though the designs of the Beast and the servants' household object forms received mixed reviews . On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 291 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6 / 10 . The site's critical consensus reads, "With an enchanting cast, beautifully crafted songs, and a painterly eye for detail, Beauty and the Beast offers a faithful yet fresh retelling that honors its beloved source material ." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". In CinemaScore polls, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale . </P> <P> Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "It's a Michelin - triple - starred master class in patisserie skills that transforms the cinematic equivalent of a sugar rush into a kind of crystal - meth - like narcotic high that lasts about two hours ." Felperin also praised the performances of Watson and Kline as well the special effects, costume designs and the sets while commended the inclusion of Gad's character of LeFou as the first LGBT character in Disney . Owen Gleiberman of Variety, in his positive review of the film, wrote: "It's a lovingly crafted movie, and in many ways a good one, but before that it's an enraptured piece of old - is - new nostalgia ." Gleiberman compared Steven's character of the Beast to a royal version of the titular character in The Elephant Man and the 1946 version of the Beast in Jean Cocteau's original adaptation . A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the performances of both Watson and Stevens, and wrote: "It looks good, moves gracefully and leaves a clean and invigorating aftertaste . I almost didn't recognize the flavor: I think the name for it is joy ." Likewise, The Washington Post's Ann Hornaday complimented Watson's performance, describing it as "alert and solemn" while noting her singing ability as "serviceable enough to get the job done". Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun - Times awarded the film three and a half stars, lauded the performances of Watson and Thompson which he drew a comparison to Paige O'Hara's and Angela Lansbury's performances in the 1991 animated version while appreciating the performances of the other cast and also pointing out on its usage of the combination of motion capture and CGI technology as a big advantage which he stated: "Almost overwhelmingly lavish, beautifully staged and performed with exquisite timing and grace by the outstanding cast". Mike Ryan of Uproxx praised the cast, production design and the new songs while noting the film doesn't try anything different, saying: "There's certainly nothing that new about this version of Beauty and the Beast (well, except it isn't a cartoon anymore), but it's a good recreation of a classic animated film that should leave most die - hards satisfied ." In her A - review, Nancy Churnin of The Dallas Morning News praised the film's emotional and thematic depth: "There's an emotional authenticity in director Bill Condon's live - action Beauty and the Beast film that helps you rediscover Disney's beloved 1991 animated film and 1994 stage show in fresh, stirring ways ." </P>

Who plays the librarian in beauty and the beast