1. Snow White and the Huntsman- $56.25M
Expected to win the weekend by a decent sized margin, the $56M opening is still something of a surprise. In recent days, Universal has been hedging their bets after some tracking reports were none too promising, leading them to backpedal from all that sequel talk. Well they have to be happy with this number, and probably puts those follow-ups back into play. It also helps solidify all three stars: Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Stewart, and Charlize Theron; as certifiable stars who can carry a film on their own. For Theron, this has to feel pretty good, as she was thrust pretty fast into the headliner position before she was ready, and gave us crap like Aeon Flux. This is Stewart's first big hit in a leading role outside of Twilight, and breaking the bank on opening weekend should be old hat for Hemsworth now.
2. Men in Black III- $29.3M/$112M
Two weeks in and Men in Black III has already surpassed the century mark on the domestic front, but it's the global numbers we should probably keep an eye on. Already creeping up on $400M, it has an outside shot of surpassing Men in Black II's final tally, and obviously the better it does the likelihood of a fourth film increases. This was an expensive movie to get off the ground, but Sony now knows that a whole new audience has discovered their aging franchise, so they'll want to keep it going.
3. The Avengers- $20.3M/$553M
And The Dark Knight falls. More than a month into its release, The Avengers is still cracking records in half, moving into third place all-time on the global charts. It's dropping too fast to get a sniff of James Cameron's 1,2 punch of Titanic and Avatar, but nobody could have expected a success of this size. Truly amazing. What has to make Disney and Marvel Studios happy is that this will have lasting effects on all of their films from here on out. Even those with heroes considered lower on the popularity scale will see a boost if there is even a chance they'll show up in The Avengers 2. And since Disney aren't morons when it comes to marketing, they'll hype every single comic book movie like it's integral to a larger story. We could be looking at the beginning of a dynasty.
4. Battleship- $4.81M/$55.1M
5. The Dictator- $4.72M/$50.8M
6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel- $4.6M/$25.5M
The success story continues. A meager 27% drop, an expansion of 61 theaters, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is at a mighty $106M worldwide on a minuscule budget. Who knew Dev Patel was so popular?
7. What to Expect When You're Expecting- $4.43M/$30.7M
8. Dark Shadows- $3.86M/$70.8M
9. Chernobyl Diaries- $3.04M/$14.4M
10. For Greater Glory- $1.8M
Popping its head into the top 10, likely only for this week, is For Greater Glory, opening at 757 theaters and with a modest per site average. Largely targeted at Mexican-Americans and Catholics, it may find greater recognition on the global market, where it has already earned over $3M.
Outside of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the indie darling of the past two weeks has been Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. Last week it set an all-time record for highest per site average, earning $509K on only four screens for a remarkable $127K per. This week saw it add 12 more theaters, and still maintain a hefty $53K average. After two weeks in extremely limited release, the film has earned $1.7M.
