Cinderella Is the Belle of the Ball on Opening Weekend

The story might be familiar but that didn’t keep audiences away from the new live action adaptation of Cinderella. The decisively took top spot at this weekend’s box office with an estimated $70.05 million in ticket sales making it sixth among all-time March openings.

While the film, with its largely female audience, didn’t quite meet the mark set by Disney’s Oz The Great and Powerful ($79.1 million), it managed to beat both Maleficent ($69.4 million) and Snow White and the Huntsman ($56.2 million).

But the film has faced an online backlash over the size of Cinderella’s waist. Some have accused the studio of using digital trickery to achieve the tiny circumference. While Lily James has confessed to being on a liquid diet during part of the filming, the studio insists that the tight fitting corset is the behind the slender midriff. But some people have gone so far as to call for a boycott of the movie because of the tiny waist.

However, on the glass-slipper heels of Cinderella‘s opening weekend success, Disney has announced a release date for the live action Beauty and the Beast. The 3D film will open in theaters on March 17, 2017 with Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast/Prince. Luke Evans takes on the role of Gaston. Production begins on the film in May at Shepperton Studios in London.