Movies With Butter

In my “Battleship” article, I wrote that a Universal exec or two will probably have to resign if “Snow White and The Hunstman” didn’t perform up to expectations because of how poorly the ultra expensive “Battleship” have done at the box office recently.

Well, the early numbers are out. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Rupert Sanders’ “Snow White and The Hunstman” starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth will gross $17M-$19M on Friday and $48M-$52M for the Fri-Sun weekend.

That’s significantly higher than what box office analysts have projected. Estimates based on early Friday screenings always tend to be on the lower end, so don’t be surprised if both of those estimates end up higher.

The figures for “Snow White and The Hunstman” are more than three times that of “Mirror Mirror,” the other Snow White movie starring Julia Roberts and directed by Tarsem.

It confirms that two young stars - Stewart and Hemsworth - can draw a huge audience beyond “Twilight” and “Thor.”

With a budget of $170M, it still remains be seen if this is enough for “Snow White and The Hunstman” to break even, but it’s a good start and a huge relief for Universal.

It received a mixed reaction from critics, scoring 46% on Rotten Tomatoes after 130 reviews.

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