Box office update: 'Snow White and the Huntsman' leads with $20.3 mil on Friday; 'The Avengers' becomes third biggest movie of all time

That should come as a relief to Universal Pictures, which released the floundering Battleshiptwo weeks ago. The result is also a boon for star Kristen Stewart, who had yet to successfully open a movie outside the Twilight franchise. Still, Snow White arrived with a pricey $170 million budget and will need to also perform admirably overseas to justify its cost.

The PG-13 film received an okay “B” rating from CinemaScore audiences, of which 53 percent was female — a surprisingly low figure for a movie many assumed would skew heavily female. According to CinemaScore, 48 percent of ticket buyers listed “Actress in a lead role” as their reason for seeing Snow White, which could refer to either Stewart or Charlize Theron. However, 34 percent also checked off “Actor in a lead role,” meaning Universal was wise to increase the marketing exposure of costar Chris Hemsworth.

Among holdovers, Men in Black 3 dropped 53 percent for $8.3 million, and should finish the weekend with about $29 million. That’ll bring its two-week tally to $112 million. By comparison, Men in Black and Men in Black II had made $139.6 million and $132.7 million after two weekends. To be fair, though, those movies had a head start by opening on a Wednesday, whereas Men in Black 3 did not.

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In third, The Avengers fell 42 percent to $5.7 million. On Friday, the Disney movie passed The Dark Knight‘s $533.3 million tally to become the third-highest-grossing domestic release of all time, behind only Avatar ($760.5 million) and Titanic ($658.6 million including its 3-D re-release). And while The Avengers should have no problem reaching $600 million, it’ll likely fall short of toppling either James Cameron picture. Disney also announced today that The Avengers passed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 to become the third biggest movie globally. So far the superhero flick has collected $1.33 billion worldwide.

Rounding out the top six were What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Battleship, and The Dictator with $1.45 million, $1.4 million, and $1.39 million, respectively. The three movies will fight for fourth place, along with the British comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which earned $1.3 million yesterday at 1,294 theaters. Check back here on Sunday for the complete box office report.

1. Snow White and the Huntsman — $20.3 mil
2. Men in Black 3 — $8.3 mil
3. The Avengers — $5.7 mil
4. What to Expect When You’re Expecting — $1.45 mil
5. Battleship — $1.4 mil
6. The Dictator — $1.39 mil

Snow White and the Huntsman (PG-13) Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2825589/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-pg.html#storylink=cpy

Snow White and the Huntsman is the second movie this year based on the fairy tale of a young princess and her monstrous stepmother. But where Mirror Mirror opted for froth and camp and tra-la-la, this one puts the Grimm back into the story. Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is the name of the witch who raided Cher’s wardrobe and eats the hearts of little birds off her fingernails, like olives. She’s the one who marries a widowed king and murders him on their honeymoon, imprisoning his beautiful daughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart).

Ravenna is also the really vain one who likes — no, needs — to feel good about herself. The opening scenes of Snow White and the Huntsmanare hushed and serious and full of promise. Director Rupert Sanders, a veteran of high-profile TV commercials, brings the proper visual majesty and storybook beauty (even the talking mirror looks cool) and the script, co-written by Hossein Amini ( Drive), seems to have a merciless sense of purpose.

And then, right about the first time the queen loses her cool and Theron loses all control of her performance, the lethargy starts to creep in. Snow White and the Huntsman does lots of things well: The problem is that they are all in the same movie. Snow’s first foray into the dark forest is scary and intense, filled with ashen tree branches and winged creatures and giant monsters. Later, Snow finds a happy forest, filled with sunshine and green grass and furry snakes and fairies riding bunny rabbits. When the eight (soon to be seven) dwarves appear, they’re initially odd and menacing (one of them leers at Snow and says, “She’s pretty.”) But just as you realize there are famous actors hidden underneath all the latex and wigs (including Ian McShane and Bob Hoskins), the dwarves also turn into comic relief — funny little men prone to slapstick and hijinks and all the sorts of childish Munchkin business that Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage probably abhors.

The huntsman tasked by the queen with tracking down Snow White is played by Chris Hemsworth, who had been on quite a roll ( Thor, The Avengers, The Cabin in the Woods), but is now revealed to be merely mortal, like everyone else, and incapable of saving every movie he’s in.

And then there’s Stewart. The actress has a bum rap of being inexpressive and moribund as Bella in theTwilight movies. But at least she’s physically suited for that role. In Snow White and the Huntsman, this talented but woefully miscast actress is expected to rally an entire army of soldiers, even though she usually looks like she forgot the combination to her locker. And like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the movie breaks from the original story with an elaborate new climax featuring a Braveheart-scale war. This is apparently the new standard in Hollywood for any fantasy films in which young women come of age. What happened to proms? When Snow rides into war wielding a sword, you want to tell her to put down that thing before she pokes her eye out. And eat a sandwich, will ya?

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2825589/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-pg.html#storylink=cpy

Snow White and the Huntsman (PG-13) Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2825589/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-pg.html#storylink=cpy

Snow White and the Huntsman is the second movie this year based on the fairy tale of a young princess and her monstrous stepmother. But where Mirror Mirror opted for froth and camp and tra-la-la, this one puts the Grimm back into the story. Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is the name of the witch who raided Cher’s wardrobe and eats the hearts of little birds off her fingernails, like olives. She’s the one who marries a widowed king and murders him on their honeymoon, imprisoning his beautiful daughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart).

Ravenna is also the really vain one who likes — no, needs — to feel good about herself. The opening scenes of Snow White and the Huntsmanare hushed and serious and full of promise. Director Rupert Sanders, a veteran of high-profile TV commercials, brings the proper visual majesty and storybook beauty (even the talking mirror looks cool) and the script, co-written by Hossein Amini ( Drive), seems to have a merciless sense of purpose.

And then, right about the first time the queen loses her cool and Theron loses all control of her performance, the lethargy starts to creep in. Snow White and the Huntsman does lots of things well: The problem is that they are all in the same movie. Snow’s first foray into the dark forest is scary and intense, filled with ashen tree branches and winged creatures and giant monsters. Later, Snow finds a happy forest, filled with sunshine and green grass and furry snakes and fairies riding bunny rabbits. When the eight (soon to be seven) dwarves appear, they’re initially odd and menacing (one of them leers at Snow and says, “She’s pretty.”) But just as you realize there are famous actors hidden underneath all the latex and wigs (including Ian McShane and Bob Hoskins), the dwarves also turn into comic relief — funny little men prone to slapstick and hijinks and all the sorts of childish Munchkin business that Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage probably abhors.

The huntsman tasked by the queen with tracking down Snow White is played by Chris Hemsworth, who had been on quite a roll ( Thor, The Avengers, The Cabin in the Woods), but is now revealed to be merely mortal, like everyone else, and incapable of saving every movie he’s in.

And then there’s Stewart. The actress has a bum rap of being inexpressive and moribund as Bella in theTwilight movies. But at least she’s physically suited for that role. In Snow White and the Huntsman, this talented but woefully miscast actress is expected to rally an entire army of soldiers, even though she usually looks like she forgot the combination to her locker. And like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the movie breaks from the original story with an elaborate new climax featuring a Braveheart-scale war. This is apparently the new standard in Hollywood for any fantasy films in which young women come of age. What happened to proms? When Snow rides into war wielding a sword, you want to tell her to put down that thing before she pokes her eye out. And eat a sandwich, will ya?

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2825589/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-pg.html#storylink=cpy

Snow White and the Huntsman (PG-13) Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2825589/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-pg.html#storylink=cpy

BY RENE RODRIGUEZ

RRODRIGUEZ@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Snow White and the Huntsman is the second movie this year based on the fairy tale of a young princess and her monstrous stepmother. But where Mirror Mirror opted for froth and camp and tra-la-la, this one puts the Grimm back into the story. Ravenna (Charlize Theron) is the name of the witch who raided Cher’s wardrobe and eats the hearts of little birds off her fingernails, like olives. She’s the one who marries a widowed king and murders him on their honeymoon, imprisoning his beautiful daughter Snow White (Kristen Stewart).

Ravenna is also the really vain one who likes — no, needs — to feel good about herself. The opening scenes of Snow White and the Huntsmanare hushed and serious and full of promise. Director Rupert Sanders, a veteran of high-profile TV commercials, brings the proper visual majesty and storybook beauty (even the talking mirror looks cool) and the script, co-written by Hossein Amini ( Drive), seems to have a merciless sense of purpose.

And then, right about the first time the queen loses her cool and Theron loses all control of her performance, the lethargy starts to creep in. Snow White and the Huntsman does lots of things well: The problem is that they are all in the same movie. Snow’s first foray into the dark forest is scary and intense, filled with ashen tree branches and winged creatures and giant monsters. Later, Snow finds a happy forest, filled with sunshine and green grass and furry snakes and fairies riding bunny rabbits. When the eight (soon to be seven) dwarves appear, they’re initially odd and menacing (one of them leers at Snow and says, “She’s pretty.”) But just as you realize there are famous actors hidden underneath all the latex and wigs (including Ian McShane and Bob Hoskins), the dwarves also turn into comic relief — funny little men prone to slapstick and hijinks and all the sorts of childish Munchkin business that Game of Thrones’ Peter Dinklage probably abhors.

The huntsman tasked by the queen with tracking down Snow White is played by Chris Hemsworth, who had been on quite a roll ( Thor, The Avengers, The Cabin in the Woods), but is now revealed to be merely mortal, like everyone else, and incapable of saving every movie he’s in.

And then there’s Stewart. The actress has a bum rap of being inexpressive and moribund as Bella in theTwilight movies. But at least she’s physically suited for that role. In Snow White and the Huntsman, this talented but woefully miscast actress is expected to rally an entire army of soldiers, even though she usually looks like she forgot the combination to her locker. And like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the movie breaks from the original story with an elaborate new climax featuring a Braveheart-scale war. This is apparently the new standard in Hollywood for any fantasy films in which young women come of age. What happened to proms? When Snow rides into war wielding a sword, you want to tell her to put down that thing before she pokes her eye out. And eat a sandwich, will ya?

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  Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/02/2825589/snow-white-and-the-huntsman-pg.html#storylink=cpy