Snow White and the Huntsman is off to a roaring start with an eye set on an opening north of the $50 million mark, so now it is time to take a look at just what Universal paid to pull this visually impressive fantasy tale off.
Despite all the belly aching going on in the media about how this could have been yet another blockbuster flop added to the heap, the production itself only came in at $170 million. This may sound a bit on the hefty side, but when seen in the lens of a year that has featured movie upon movie north of $200 million it would appear that Universal kept a tight lid on their newest big budget offering.
This number does include baseline salaries, but not the marketing costs. Those add on another $80 million which is also below the industry norm for blockbusters at the moment. Movies like The Avengers and Men in Black III saw budgets in that category swell beyond $100 million which means that this Rupert Sanders-directed effort should have an easier time achieving profitability provided awareness did not suffer.
The total cost of Snow White and the Huntsman was $250 million implying that the studio’s sequel (which is currently being written by David Koepp) will be moving forward. While Universal would certainly have liked a bigger mountain of money considering the sexiness of the Snow White property, blockbuster features do not grow on trees, and the studio will definitely not throw one away that has proven to make them at least ‘some’ money. Do keep in mind though that none of the actors are contractually obligated to reprise although they have expressed interest.