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Weekend Box-Office: Fantasy Duo Beats Sci-Fi Duo as Snow White and the Huntsman Wins Over Men in Black III

Seth Paul

Despite overtaking first place from The Avengers, Men in Black III did not stay on top for long…the sci-fi action-comedy fell to secondnd with an estimated $29.3 million. First place went to Snow White and the Huntsmen, which, despite critical panning, hit a note with audiences with an estimated $56.2 million debut…far below its $170 million budget, but certainly a strong opening (and better than Men in Black III did in its opening weekend, discounting the Monday Memorial Day earnings). The Avengers still continues to hold a strong position on the list despite five weeks on the list with an estimated $20.3 million, and finally surpassed Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 to place in the top three moneymakers of all-time. It is unlikely at this point to break beyond that (James Cameron’s Avatar and Titanic hold those records in the $2 billion+ category), but it is certainly the most successful comic book movie to date, even winning out domestically over The Dark Knight.

Very little else made a splash beyond the top three…Battleship did not even register in the double digits, making an estimated $4.8 million. Rather than facing stiff competition with the other blockbusters, its domestic profits are more in line with the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator, which made an estimated $4.7 million. Other than genre, the biggest difference between the two is that The Dictator cost less than half as much to make as Battleship, and neither has been a real moneymaker in the U.S. (though both have done well in foreign markets, Battleship earning $235 million outside the States and The Dictator $60.6 million in international box office).

Though it dropped in revenue, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel continues to rise in popularity, taking sixth place with $4.6 million. It trails behind another romantic comedy, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, in domestic earnings, but it has certainly made a greater impact in total worldwide sales and has earned much more critical acclaim. What to Expect When You’re Expecting earned only an estimated $4.4 million this weekend, and based on its reported $40 million budget finally broken even in its third week, thanks to worldwide ticket sales.

Dark Shadows brought in an estimated $3.9 million, and though it has made money worldwide it remains a domestic financial and critical disappointment. Chernobyl Diaries has also become a critical disappointment, but as with director Oren Peli’s other films, has done a lot with a little, turning a $1 million budget into an estimated $3 million this weekend and $14.4 million overall. But the tenth place finisher is an interesting case…For Greater Glory made its U.S. debut, and while it only made an estimated $1.8 million and was critically panned, the movie, about the Cristero War of the 1920s, made a smash debut on April 20th in Mexico, where it was filmed. Though that debut only amounted to $2.2 million in U.S. dollars, it was enough to push Titanic 3D to second place for that weekend.

Weekend Box-Office (June 1st – June 3rd)

  1. Snow White and the Huntsmen…$56.2 million
  2. Men in Black III…$29.3 million
  3. The Avengers…$20.3 million
  4. Battleship…$4.8 million
  5. The Dictator…$4.7 million
  6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel…$4.6 million
  7. What to Expect When You’re Expecting…$4.4 million
  8. Dark Shadows…$3.9 million
  9. Chernobyl Diaries…$3 million
  10. For Greater Glory…$1.8 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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