Beauty and the Beast Likely Means Big Payday For Emma Watson
By Andi Ortiz
No one breaks hearts like Gaston, and no one picks parts like Emma Watson – playing Disney’s resident bookworm will likely mean a huge payday for the actress.
Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast hits theaters this weekend, and by the looks of things, it’ll break records before the last petal falls.
According to reports, the film’s domestic opening weekend will bring in more than $120 million, making it Disney’s most successful live-action film yet. For the movie’s titular beauty Emma Watson, this will likely mean a payday similar to her Harry Potter days.
At 20 years old, Watson had an estimated net worth of $32 million. This was largely thanks to the Potter franchise, with a small boost from The Tale of Despereaux (yeah, we forgot about that one too). The number only shot up after the two-part final installment of the Potter films. After the series had wrapped, playing Hermione made Watson roughly $60 million.
As Belle, one of Disney’s most iconic princesses, Watson is earning $3 million upfront, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Her final payday could quintuple to $15 million if box office predictions come true.
Since 2014, Disney has put out a new live-action movie every year, beginning with Maleficent. With Beauty and the Beast‘s potential payout, Watson would earn almost as much as the villainess. Angelina Jolie brought in $20 million for Maleficent, and is currently in talks for a sequel.
So what exactly will Emma Watson do with her earnings? Well, her taste is a bit different than Hermione. Talking with The Mirror in 2012, the star admitted, “Clothes are probably my biggest expenditure. Oh, and make-up.”
But, it doesn’t happen often. She added, “But I really don’t have time to spend my money. Sometimes my bank manager calls to say, ‘You haven’t used your card in a while and now you’re using it – no one’s stolen it have they?!’”
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Following Beauty and the Beast, the live-action trend is set to continue for the company, with updated versions of Mulan (Nov. 2, 2018), Mary Poppins Returns (Dec. 25, 2018) andThe Lion King all on the company’s slate. A Tim Burton remake of Dumbo is also in the works.