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‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ tops weekend box office with estimated $56.3 million

LOS ANGELES — “Snow White & the Huntsman” turned out to be a fairer box-office beauty than Hollywood anticipated.

According to studio estimates Sunday, Universal Pictures’ action yarn inspired by the fairy-tale princess debuted strongly at No. 1 with $56.3 million domestically. That’s about $20 million higher than industry expectations.

Overseas, “Snow White” added $39.3 million in 45 markets, putting the worldwide total at $95.6 million for the movie that stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth.

“Snow White” bumped Sony’s “Men in Black 3” from the top spot and into second-place with $29.3 million. The Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones sequel raised its domestic total to $112.3 million after two weekends, with the worldwide haul topping $300 million.

Disney’s superhero sensation “The Avengers” remained strong at No. 3 with $20.3 million, lifting its domestic total to $552.7 million. “The Avengers” climbed past “The Dark Knight” at $533.3 million to become No. 3 all-time on the domestic revenue chart, behind “Avatar” at $760.5 million and “Titanic” at $658.5 million.

Adding $12.4 million overseas, “The Avengers” pushed its international haul to $802.5 million and its worldwide earnings to $1.36 billion. That raised it past last year’s “Harry Potter” finale at $1.33 billion to put “The Avengers” at No. 3 in all-time revenue worldwide, also behind only “Avatar” ($2.8 billion) and “Titanic” ($2.2 billion).

Ridley Scott’s “Alien” forerunner “Prometheus,” from 20th Century Fox, got off to a solid start overseas with $35 million in 15 markets ahead of its U.S. release Friday.

Though not a direct prequel, “Prometheus” stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender and Theron in a sci-fi adventure that takes place decades before the action of “Alien” and is set in a similar world as that 1979 horror tale from filmmaker Scott.

In one weekend, “Snow White & the Huntsman” pulled in nearly as much as the $62.4 million that the year’s previous Snow White adventure, “Mirror Mirror,” took in domestically over its entire run.

Featuring Julia Roberts as the wicked queen, “Mirror Mirror” was a fairy-tale comedy that appealed mainly to female crowds.

Drawing well among male and female fans, “Snow White & the Huntsman” is an all-out action flick, with “Twilight” star Stewart as the princess, aided by a rugged man of arms (“Thor” star Hemsworth) to lead a battle against the evil queen (Theron).