One of the most interesting box office battles of the year is shaping up this coming weekend as Ridley Scott’s epic science fiction film Prometheus opens in direct competition with the dark fantasy Snow White and the Huntsman, which showed better than expected box office power as it seized the box office crown last weekend.  Waiting in the wings to steal the box office crown as the two adult-skewing films go after each other is Dreamworks’ animated kiddie pic sequel Madagascar 3. 

 

Thanks to the impending start of the European football championships, a number of films including Prometheus have already opened overseas where it has gone head to head with Snow White.  Although Snow White finished a bit ahead in overall overseas gross ($39.3 million to $35 million for Prometheus), in the U.K. it was no contest as Prometheus brought in $9.9 million versus $5.5 million for Snow White.  The question is, will Snow White, even in its second weekend, come out ahead of Prometheus, or will it siphon off enough adult business to allow Madagascar to win the weekend crown?

 

Meanwhile the marketing of the "R" rated Prometheus is reaching fever pitch here in the States with the release of what seems like a new TV spot every day including the very effective one included with this article that uses a spooky version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" to considerable effect.

 

Also new this week is the Prometheus IMAX poster, which spotlights the mammoth difference in size between the space explorer played by Noomi Rapace and the gigantic Easter Island-type head sculpture.  Ridley Scott’s Prometheus debuts nationwide on Friday, June 8th.