Claim: Beauty and the Beast had actors.

Beauty and the Beast is a 2017 American musical romantic fantasy film directed by Bill Condon from a screenplay written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos , and co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Mandeville Films . The film is based on Disney 's 1991 animated film of the same name , itself an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont 's eighteenth-century fairy tale . The film features an ensemble cast that includes Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the titular characters with Luke Evans , Kevin Kline , Josh Gad , Ewan McGregor , Stanley Tucci , Audra McDonald , Gugu Mbatha-Raw , Nathan Mack , Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson in supporting roles .   Principal photography began at Shepperton Studios in Surrey , England on May 18 , 2015 , and ended on August 21 . Beauty and the Beast premiered on February 23 , 2017 , at Spencer House in London and was released in the United States on March 17 , 2017 , in the standard , Disney Digital 3-D , RealD 3D , IMAX and IMAX 3D formats along with Dolby Cinema . The film received positive reviews from critics and audiences , with many praising Watson 's performance and has grossed over $ 1.2 billion worldwide , making it the highest-grossing film of 2017 and the 10th highest-grossing film of all time .