Friday Report: 'Snow White' Conquers the Box Office
Snow White and the Huntsman attracted strong interest on opening day, and wound up earning more than the next six movies combined. Meanwhile, MIB 3 had a decent hold in second place, while The Avengers passed two major milestones.

The year's second Snow White movie opened to an estimated $20.3 million from 3,773 locations on Friday, which is more than the first Snow White movie (Mirror Mirror) made in its entire opening weekend. It's also way ahead of Universal's Robin Hood, which earned $13.03 million on its opening day in May 2010. Based on Friday's results, Universal is forecasting a $55 million weekend.

MIB 3 dropped 53 percent to an estimated $8.3 million on Friday. On the surface that looks like a steep decline, but most sequels that open over Memorial Day fall at least 60 percent. It was about even with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, and if it follows that movie's pace for the weekend it will wind up with over $27 million. Through eight days, MIB 3 has earned $91.3 million, which is off from Men in Black II's $103.9 million.

The Avengers eased 42 percent to $5.65 million. That was enough to push the movie past The Dark Knight ($533.3 million) to claim third place on the all-time domestic chart with $538.1 million. The movie also moved ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 to take third on the all-time worldwide chart with $1.331 billion. That's as high as The Avengers will go—there's no way it catches James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic—but it will wind up way over $1.4 billion before its run is over.

Dipping just 35 percent to $1.45 million, What to Expect When You're Expecting moved up to fourth place at the box office on Friday. So far, the pregnancy comedy has earned $27.7 million.

Battleship fell 54 percent to $1.4 million for a 15-day total of $51.7 million. It continues to trail John Carter ($58.7 million), and is going to have a tough time matching that movie's $72.6 million total.

In sixth place, The Dictator dropped 50 percent to $1.39 million for a new total of $47.5 million. Not far behind, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel dipped 24 percent to $1.27 million for a 29-day total of $22.2 million.

Playing at just 86 locations, Piranha 3DD sunk its teeth in to a meager $63,000. The movie is probably making more money on video-on-demand (where it received a day-and-date release), though it's still a very poor showing for this campy horror flick.

Friday box office results are not currently available for For Greater Glory, Moonrise Kingdom or Battlefield America.

Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.

Related Stories:

Forecast: 'Snow White' Goes to War This Weekend

Related Chart:

Grosses for Friday, June 1, 2012