'Beauty and the Beast' Sets New Record for Advance Ticket Sales

Disney's live-action remake of the classic animated film has become Fandango's No. 1 family film of all time in terms of presales.

Beauty and the Beast is already waltzing to new records.

Advance ticket sales for the Disney movie, which hits theaters Friday, are the biggest for any family film in Fandango's 17-year history, topping the likes of Finding Dory, the online service announced Tuesday.

Director Bill Condon's live-action adaptation of Disney's classic animated movie is expected to open to well north of $120 million this weekend in North America, with some suggesting it could cross $140 million.

Currently, Pixar and Disney's Finding Dory boasts the top domestic debut of all time for a PG title with $135.1 million.

Fandango also reports that Beauty and the Beast is surpassing non-family titles including Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, although family movies often are bigger presellers than superhero fare.

According to Fandango, plenty of adults and teens plan on seeing Beauty and the Beast with a date, significant other or friend (43 percent) in addition to the traditional family audience (44 percent).

