One of Chris Hemsworth's early blockbusters was the 2012 fantasy film Snow White and the Huntsman. The film also starred Kristen Stewart as the title character and Charlize Theron as the evil stepmother, Queen Ravenna. The film ultimately was a box office disappointment, earning a worldwide total of $396.9 million. While both Hemsworth and Stewart have since starred in numerous other projects, Netflix subscribers have been watching the 2012 fantasy film a lot. According to Flix Patrol, the film is top ten on the Netflix charts, averaging around the 6th and 7th mark. This comes after Hemsworth's recent outing as Thor in Marvel's Thor: Love & Thunder. Hemsworth, who also starred in other Netflix projects, was featured heavily in the 2016 sequel, The Huntsman: Winter's War. The actor's popularity has grown since his portrayal as Eric the Huntsman, who helps Stewart's Snow White escape Queen Ravenna in the original film.
The film didn't receive high praise from fans when it first premiered in theaters. It scored a 49% on Rotten Tomatoes and was described by many as uneven. The New York Times praised Theron's performance and called the film at times "mesmerizing." Chris Hemsworth's turn as the Huntsman didn't leave much of an impression. Interestingly, the film came out in the same summer as Marvel's The Avengers, which was a much bigger theatrical hit in Hemsworth's career. As for Stewart, she wouldn't return for the follow-up of the 2012 film. In an interview with Variety, Stewart claimed that she decided not to return after having disagreements with the script. The actress later revealed that she only found out about the sequel moving on without her after reading a press release. The news didn't shake the confidence of Stewart, who claimed she had been talking with the studio behind the project for months.
Although Kristen Stewart departed from the project, Chris Hemsworth would continue. The studio centered the sequel on his character and the return of Charlize Theron's Queen Ravenna. While the sequel gave Hemsworth another starring vehicle following his turn as the Mighty Thor, the film ultimately was also a box office flop. It only grossed $44.8 million on its opening weekend and reached a worldwide total of $165 million, against a production budget of $115 million. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the film lost the studio at least $75 million. Regarding the critical response, the sequel scored lower than its predecessor on Rotten Tomatoes, with a rating of 20%. The Rotten Tomatoes site consensus described it as an "unnecessary sequel." The Huntsman: Winter's War was just a year before Hemsworth would appear in Thor: Ragnarok for Marvel.
The recent success of Snow White and the Huntsman may result from Chris Hemsworth appearing in so many other Netflix projects. He starred in the 2020 action film Extraction, which was produced by Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo. The film is centered on an Australian black ops mercenary whose mission is to save an Indian drug lord's son. Extraction was a massive hit among critics and fans. It received praise mainly for the action sequences. Regarding viewership, Extraction was watched by an estimated 90 million households during its first month of release, making it the biggest premiere for the streaming service. Netflix also revealed that 99 million households watched the film in its first four weeks of release, and Variety reported that it was the fourth most-watched streaming title in 2020. The success of the first film allowed Netflix to greenlit a sequel.
In addition to his work on Netflix projects, Chris Hemsworth has other blockbuster fare coming down the pipeline. Of course, many fans are waiting for his next appearance as the Mighty Thor. Marvel didn't announce a fifth Thor film during their presentation at Comic-Con. Considering the end-credits scene of Thor: Love & Thunder, it's safe to say that Thor will return in a huge way. In addition to Thor, Hemsworth also is attached to the upcoming Mad Max spinoff film Furiosa. The spinoff will focus on the origins of Furiosa, who Charlize Theron played in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. We don't yet know the name of Hemsworth's Furiosa character, though he will play a villain in the film .
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