Aside from one incredibly-successful major release, the domestic box office has been a rough place to launch a movie for the past month or so. No studio has had a tougher time than Universal, of course – the home of The Five-Year Engagement and the big-time bomb known as Battleship. So color the folks at Universal ecstatic that their latest release, Snow White and the Huntsman, is looking like a hit. Huntsman brought in an estimated $20.3 million from 3,773 locations on Friday, including $1.38 million in midnight grosses. That beats the $17.6 million that Men in Black 3 earned last Friday: a feat made more impressive by Huntsman’s two-dimensional/non-sequel limitations. Projections now point to a weekend in the $55 million range. That’s a bit above where long-term tracking had Snow White a few weeks back and well above the $38 million hedge that Universal started circulating in the wake of Battleship. So now the studio gets to claim a first place finish and the headline “Universal beats expectations.” It should make for a refreshing change of pace. Details and top-ten analysis tomorrow.
| Title | Friday | Total | |
| 1 | Snow White & the Huntsman | $20,300,000 | $20.3 |
| 2 | Men in Black 3 | $8,300,000 | $91.3 |
| 3 | The Avengers | $5,370,000 | $538.1 |
| 4 | What to Expect When You’re Expecting | $1,500,000 | $27.7 |
| 5 | The Dictator | $1,400,000 | $47.5 |
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As a box office activist, yours are my favorite posts here, Nicole!
saw SWATH last night. Amazing! beautifully filmed, fierce and frenzied at times. Loved the story line. Kudos to all involved!
I was expecting more Legend and less Lord of the Rings but it wasn’t a total train wreck. I found the execution of a few scenes weak and the acting of one of the principals probably not as strong as the director wanted it to be but overall it was a good way to kill time on a Saturday.
It should be noted that Avengers has claimed #3 all time on the domestic and worldwide front today.