‘Beauty and the Beast’ Soundtrack At No. 3, Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ Still No. 1 On Billboard 200
British singer Ed Sheeran still takes top place on the Billboard 200 with his new album "÷" (pronounced "Divide") during its second week. Surprisingly, Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" soundtrack album ranked No. 3 after the 2017 film's theatrical release. The film's opening day has beaten "Harry Potter" and "Batman v Superman" and is predicted to earn more than a billion dollars worldwide.
Ed Sheeran continues to top the music charts with his songs. His new album, "Divide" is still No. 1 in the Top 200 chart, according to Billboard. His album has sold 180,000 units last week, a few numbers down from its debut, which sold 451,000 units. Sheeran's "Divide" is the first album to spend two weeks at No. 1 since the "Suicide Squad" soundtrack album last August and September. The other pleasant surprise on the music chart is the "Beauty and the Beast" soundtrack at No. 3.
While "Divide" remains No. 1, Metallica's "Hardwired... To Self-Destruct" is still at No. 2, but Bruno Mars' "24K Magic" lost its third place to the "Beauty and the Beast" soundtrack, which sold 57,000 units. The soundtrack of the original "Beauty and the Beast" animated film peaked at No. 19 in 1992, when it sold 2.3 million copies across the United States. Its theme song, performed by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson ranked No. 9 in 1992.
It's no surprise that the "Beauty and the Beast" soundtrack ranked high in the music charts. Deadline reported that the film is set to earn over $1 billion since garnering $350 million. Its $174 million opening has just beaten "Harry Potter" and "Batman v Superman". Its Saturday theatrical release earned $62.7 million, which is higher than "Iron Man 3" (62.2 million) and "Captain America: Civil War" ($61.2 million).
Both superhero Marvel films earned billions of dollars in the Box Office, so many analysts are now predicting that the 2017 live action Disney film will earn just as much. Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis also said that the iconic "Beauty and the Beast" soundtrack, which was performed by John Legend and Ariana Grande for the 2017 adaptation, helped propel the movie to No. 1 in worldwide opening.