White hot: Snow White and the Huntsman, which starts (left to right) Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron, has hit the top of the US box office in its first week. Picture: Getty. Source: Getty Images
"SNOW White & the Huntsman" turned out to be a fairer box-office beauty than Hollywood anticipated.
According to studio estimates overnight, Universal Pictures' action yarn inspired by the fairy-tale princess debuted strongly at No. 1 at the US box office with US$56.3 million ($58 million). That's about US$20 million higher than industry expectations.
Overseas, "Snow White" added US$39.3 million in 45 markets, putting the worldwide total at US$95.6 million for the movie that stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth.
"Snow White" bumped Sony's "Men in Black 3" from the top spot and into second-place with US$29.3 million. The Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones sequel raised its domestic total to US$112.3 million after two weekends, with the worldwide haul topping US$300 million.
Disney's superhero sensation "The Avengers" remained strong at No. 3 with US$20.3 million, lifting its American total to US$552.7 million. "The Avengers" climbed past "The Dark Knight" at US$533.3 million to become No. 3 all-time on the US revenue chart, behind "Avatar" at US$760.5 million and "Titanic" at US$658.5 million.
Adding US$12.4 million overseas, "The Avengers" pushed its international haul to US$802.5 million and its worldwide earnings to US$1.36 billion. That raised it past last year's "Harry Potter" finale at US$1.33 billion to put "The Avengers" at No. 3 in all-time revenue worldwide, also behind only "Avatar" (US$2.8 billion) and "Titanic" (US$2.2 billion).
Ridley Scott's "Alien" forerunner "Prometheus," from 20th Century Fox, got off to a solid start overseas with US$35 million in 15 markets ahead of its US release on Friday.
Though not a direct prequel, "Prometheus" stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Theron in a sci-fi adventure that takes place decades before the action of "Alien" and is set in a similar world as that 1979 horror tale from filmmaker Scott.
In one weekend, "Snow White & the Huntsman" pulled in nearly as much as the US$62.4 million that the year's previous Snow White adventure, "Mirror Mirror," took in the US over its entire run.
Featuring Julia Roberts as the wicked queen and Lily Collins as Snow White, "Mirror Mirror" was a fairy-tale comedy that appealed mainly to female crowds.
Drawing well among male and female fans, "Snow White & the Huntsman" is an all-out action flick, with "Twilight" star Stewart as the princess, aided by a rugged man of arms ("Thor" star Hemsworth) to lead a battle against the evil queen (Theron).
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