Snow White and the Huntsman is a 2012 American dark fantasy film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. In the film's retelling of the tale, Snow White grows up imprisoned by her evil stepmother, Queen Ravenna, a powerful sorceress. After Snow White escapes into the forest, Ravenna tells Eric, the Huntsman that she will bring back his dead wife if he captures Snow White. After the Huntsman shifts his loyalty to Snow White, Ravenna disguises herself as William and tempts Snow White into eating a poisoned apple. The film is directed by Rupert Sanders, his first feature film, and written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini.
The cast includes Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna, Chris Hemsworth as Eric, the huntsman, Sam Claflin as William, Snow White's childhood friend and Bob Hoskins as the dwarf seer. The film received two Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design at the 85th Academy Awards. It was a success at the box office, earning $396.6 million worldwide against a $170 million budget. Although critics praised the production design, visual effects, musical score, action sequences, and Theron's and Hemsworth's performance, Stewart's and Claflin's performances received mixed reviews, and the screenplay was heavily criticized.
A prequel/sequel, titled The Huntsman: Winter's War and directed by the first film's visual effects supervisor Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, was released on April 22, 2016 with Hemsworth, Theron, Claflin and Nick Frost reprising their roles. It received generally negative reviews and was a box office disappointment.
