Universal’s big shot at redemption for its Battleship disaster comes next week in the form of Snow White and the Huntsman. The Rupert Sanders-directed adaptation of the classic tale will take a more male-skewing approach this time around in the hopes that its franchise’s inherent female appeal could create a multi-quadrant film that both genders would approve of despite its roots.
It is this notion that is leading analysts to project a $50+ million three-day debut for the fantasy flick regardless of reviews or audience scores. They believe that the fairy tale backdrop and media-driven awareness is strong enough to carry that number on its own. The only problem may be that it has to compete against the likes of the still-strong Avengers and Men in Black III’s second weekend. Both of those titles are looking to attract a male-driven audience which could actually be a good thing.
If Snow White turns out to transcend the gender barrier, this could be a box office bonanza for the movie as women need films, too. The last big-time movie to come their way was Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows, but the Johnny Depp-starrer performed rather poorly leaving this market untapped since The Hunger Games.
Starring in Snow White and the Huntsman is Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, and Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth of course is the least known of the three, but that is only because he just broke out in The Avengers not even a month ago. Sure, the actor played the title role in Thor last year, but that was a one-dimensional film that only drew in the Marvel faithful. Now, he has some significant street cred which can potentially match that of Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron and Twilight star Kristen Stewart.
That said, maybe $50 million is a bit short sighted assuming the film could actually turn out to be good. Once reviews trickle out, we should know more positively what to expect, and whether or not the studio’s jump start on the sequel was a poor decision.