LOS ANGELES: ''Snow White & the Huntsman'' is the fairest in the land at the weekend box office. 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.    

''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 total to $112.3 million after two weekends.

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.