The Walt Disney Studios is scheduling special Beauty and the Beast opening night events for fans on Thursday, March 16 at approximately 590 locations nationwide. The events, which are taking place ahead of the 7:00 p.m. showings at theaters with IMAX, Dolby Cinema and other select premium large formats, will give fans the opportunity to be among the first to experience the highly-anticipated live-action film and will include special behind-the-scenes on-screen content and the only opportunity for in-theatre audiences to see Ariana Grande and John Legend’s music video for their Beauty and the Beast duet.
Theaters from AMC, Regal, Cinemark, Marcus and Wehrenberg are participating, as is the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, and each theatre circuit will be offering special concession stand promotions and commemorative give-away’s celebrating the film and the event. Tickets for the Beauty and the Beast opening night fan events are on sale now and available through BeOurGuest.com/fan-events.
Disney’s new Beauty and the Beast movie is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. Beauty and the Beast is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.
Beauty and the Beast stars Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; and Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp. The film also features Ewan McGregor as Lumière, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, Audra McDonald as Garderobe, and Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts.
Directed by Oscar winner Bill Condon based on the 1991 animated film, Beauty and the Beast is produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman with eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, providing the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice.
Beauty and the Beast will be released in theaters on March 17.
