LOS ANGELES, March 15 — In the early 1990s, Disney began scouring its back catalog for animated classics that it could turn into live-action remakes — a strategy that has so far netted almost US$4 billion (RM17.8 billion).

The latest offering, Beauty and the Beast, hits cinemas on Friday and has already broken pre-release sales records, with hopes high that it will be one of the largest-grossing movies of the year.

Here is a list of the company’s big-screen live-action remakes — which doesn’t include straight-to-video releases or sequels of remakes, such as last year’s Alice Through the Looking Glass — the original film, and their total box office take.

Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book —US 1994 (based on The Jungle Book - 1967) US$43.2 million

101 Dalmatians - 1996 (based on One Hundred and One Dalmatians - 1961) US$320 million

Alice in Wonderland - 2010 (based on Alice in Wonderland - 1951) US$1.0 billion

Maleficent - 2014 (based on Sleeping Beauty - 1959) US$759 million

Cinderella - 2015 (based on Cinderella - 1950) US$544 million

The Jungle Book - 2016 (based on The Jungle Book - 1967) US$967 million

Pete’s Dragon - 2016 (based on Pete’s Dragon - 1977*) US$144 million

Source: BoxOfficeMojo.com

* The original Pete’s Dragon was also a mix of live-action and animation. — AFP-Relaxnews