Snow White and the Huntsman, as expected, took the top spot, but at the same time, outwitted industry expectations and earned a strong $56.2 million, for a per-theater average of an excellent $14,900 from around 6,200 screens at 3,773 theaters. Distributor Universal Pictures has to be very much relieved by this performance, considering that previous openers before it had fallen in the wake of The Avengers, including its' own high-budget flick Battleship, which has earned less in 17 days than what Snow White had earned in an entire weekend. The film also proved that Twilight starlet Kristen Stewart could have a box office hit outside of her comfort zone, and it almost eclipsed the entire run of fellow Snow White movie Mirror Mirror ($62.5 million) in just three days. Critical and audience reception was mixed (46% on Rotten Tomatoes, "B" CinemaScore), but that didn't affect the films' holding power over the weekend (it had a slight increase on Saturday, whereas similar films would drop 15% or more). Universal produced the film for an expensive $170 million, and had originally forecasted a mid-30's millions debut.After topping the extended Memorial Day weekend, Men in Black III retreated to second place with a 49% drop to $28.1 million, for a 10-day total of a solid $111.1 million. It became the eighth film of 2012 to cross the $100 million mark domestically yesterday, and held excellently for a major movie debuting over an extended weekend. Through their tenth days, the first and second Men in Black films had earned $114 million and $116 milion, but that gap might not get any smaller as the highly-anticipated Prometheus may steal the films' audience next weekend. The film also has already earned nearly $400 million worldwide off of an outstanding overseas run.
In its' fifth weekend, The Avengers continued to hold on strong in third place, down 44% to $20.5 million, for an unbelievable $553 million gross in one month of release. In the process, it passed The Dark Knight for third place on the all-time domestic chart and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II for third place on the all-time worldwide chart. The superhero ensemble is still looking for a finish north of $600 million domestically and close to $1.5 billion worldwide.
In a way distant fourth place, Battleship continued to make distributor Universal shake their heads, down 54% to $5.1 million in its' third weekend, for a dismal $55.4 million gross in 17 days. The final gross may only reach $65 million stateside and just over $300 million worldwide, so at least it won't be a total disaster. The Dictator dropped 49% to fifth place with $4.7 million, for a mild $50.8 million gross in the same amount of time, and will likely have to settle for a finish close to Bruno's $60 million domestic gross. Overseas grosses have helped it, as it has earned over $110 million worldwide.
Limited release hit The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel jumped up to sixth place with the strongest hold of the Top 10, down 30% to $4.5 million, for a good $25.4 million gross after one month in theaters. What To Expect When You're Expecting was actually in fourth place on Friday, but ended up holding onto the seventh spot for the weekend, down a decent 38% to $4.4 million, for a 17-day tally of $30.7 million. The pregnancy comedy will have to hold on a little longer if it wants to match its' $40 million budget domestically.
Dark Shadows continued to not be a factor, down 51% to eighth place and $3.7 million, for a $70.7 million gross in 24 days. At least it hasn't bombed nearly as bad as Battleship, and it will pass the $200 million mark worldwide next weekend. Chernobyl Diaries plunged 61% from its' debut, slotting in ninth place and earning $3.1 million. The found-footage horror flick has earned a dismal $14.5 million in 10 days and will not reach $20 million before it leaves theaters.
Rounding out the Top 10 is Mexican war drama For Greater Glory, which opened in 757 theaters and earned a modest $1.9 million, averaging a slow $2,491 per venue and debuting a bit higher than expected.
Internationally, Men in Black III held onto the top spot with an estimated $78.6 million from 91 markets , down just 39% from its' huge $132 million overseas opening last weekend. The sci-fi threequel has earned a huge $275 million so far overseas. Snow White and the Huntsman debuted in second with an estimated $39.3 million from 45 markets, for a $95 million worldwide total. Ridley Scott's Prometheus debuted in 15 major markets a week ahead of its' U.S. release, where it earned a solid estimated $35 million in third place. The Avengers continued to be an international sensation, though it was down 55% from last weekend to an estimated $12.4 million from 54 markets. In the process though, it became just the fifth movie in history to earn more than $800 million overseas. Dark Shadows rounded out the Top 5 with a 50% drop to an estimated $7.2 million from 40 markets, for a respectable $120 million tally in four weekends of release.
