Snow White attracts cinema goers

Snow White And The Huntsman has turned out to be a fairer box-office beauty than Hollywood anticipated.

According to studio estimates, Universal Pictures' action yarn inspired by the fairytale princess debuted strongly at number one in the US taking 56.3 million dollars - about 20 million higher than industry expectations.

Industry experts hadn't been sure how Snow White would appeal to the young males who typically make up the action film audience. However, the movie drew in a fairly even audience, with female fans accounting for 53 per cent of viewers.

"We weren't even thinking we could do beyond 40 million dollars, especially for a title where you didn't know if the males are going to show up. And they did," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal.

Overseas, Snow White added 39.3 million dollars 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 dollars. The Will Smith-Tommy Lee Jones sequel raised its domestic total to 112.3 million after two weekends and added 78.6 million overseas for an international take of 274.6 million and a worldwide gross of 386.9 million.

Disney's superhero sensation Avengers Assemble remained strong at number three with 20.3 million dollars, lifting its US total to 552.7 million. The film climbed past The Dark Knight to become number three on the all-time US revenue chart, behind Avatar and Titanic.