Beauty And The Beast: 7 Reasons It Will Make Disney A Billion

4. And Being Superior To The Jungle Book

The fact that The Jungle Book made almost $900m should give Disney infinite confidence that Beauty And The Beast can outperform it, because - to put it simply - it's a better film. The Jungle Book may be one of the most beloved of Disney's animated classics, but it pales in comparison to the 1991 Beauty And The Beast.

If the rule of comparative quality works as it should, Beauty And The Beast's haul should outdo The Jungle Book's near $900m.

The story is denser and richer, the songs are better (sacrilege to some but side-by-side comparisons prove it), and the characters are more engaging. There's also a tighter narrative with purpose and a greater pay-off and it reads like the model for all romantic stories. It's a perfectly phrased archetype, and it should translate perfectly to live action.

And not only that, the original Beauty And The Beast hit cinemas when the most active cinema-going demographic (25-39 year olds) were at cinema-going age. They saw it once in the theatre (making $400m in sales more than the budget) and now it's come full circle, without the off-putting "reboot" tag (because the live action remake avoids it inherently). Those same fans will not be able to resist seeing it again.