Disney has yet another movie crossing the $1 billion mark at the global box office. The live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast has been raking it in ever since its release less than a month ago. And now, it's already crossed a very significant milestone. Beauty and the Beast is by far the highest-grossing movie of 2017, and the first of the year to cross the $1 billion mark. All this, despite the controversy over Disney's first gay character surrounding the movie before its release.

According to Variety, director Bill Conden's Beauty and the Beast will cross the $1 billion mark today, meaning that this latest live-action adaptation is the latest in a string of similar successes for the studio. Last year their new take on The Jungle Book came in just shy of $1 billion at the box office, bringing in a grand total of $966 million worldwide and becoming one of the highest-grossing movies of 2016. Disney also had success with their live-action version of Cinderella and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, which also managed to bring in more than $1 billion back in 2010. Though, that feat was much less common even just seven years ago.

Domestically, Beauty and the Beast has brought in $435 million so far, easily making it the top U.S. performer of 2017. Most of the movies that seem to have a shot at beating it, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Star Wars: The Last Jedi, are also Disney releases. Logan is the second-highest grossing movie domestically this year, but it isn't even close to what Beauty and the Beast has managed. Logan has brought in $218 million domestically and is nearing $600 million worldwide, which is still very impressive. But the mass appeal of something like Beauty and the Beast has really helped it skyrocket to tremendous levels of financial success.

Disney is regularly releasing movies that are capable of grossing $1 billion at the box office these days, as they seem to have mastered the art of mass appeal in the modern age. Last year, Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia, Finding Dory and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story all managed to cross that milestone and they were all very different movies. The Mouse House definitely has something figured out and this new Beauty and the Beast movie is further evidence of that.

Even with a pretty steep budget of $160 million, Beauty and the Beast is going to wind up turning a huge profit for Disney, which is probably why they have a lot of other live-action adaptations in the works. Next year will see a live take on Mulan, but they also have new takes on The Lion King, Dumbo, The Little Mermaid and many more at various stages of development. Beauty and the Beast is slowing down a bit but it will still be able to bring in some more cash before the end of its run. It very well could be the highest-grossing movie of 2017 when all is said and done. If not, it will probably be very close.