Two Snow Whites duel for release dates

With two different films about Snow White about to head into production, the pair of fairy-tale adaptations are vying for the earliest release date, moving the opening date up months in advance.

Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Twilight's Kristen Stewart, Thor's Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron ( The Road) as the Evil Queen, was originally scheduled for a December 2012 debut.

When "The Brothers Grimm: Snow White" project announced its June 29, 2012 release, the Huntsman pushed up its release to June 1 of that year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In reaction, now "Grimm Snow White" is moving up its release to a March 16 opening. The "Grimm Snow White" stars Julia Roberts as the evil queen, Lily Collins ( Priest) as Snow White and Armie Hammer ( The Social Network) as Prince Charming. A twist on the story has Snow White and the seven dwarfs reclaiming their destroyed kingdom.

The Huntsman version of the fantasy adventure finds Snow White in the woods teaming up with the Huntsman to vanquish the Evil Queen.

The effort to separate the two films hopes to lessen any confusion between the two Snow Whites and improve the box office returns.

As the films wrestle to be the fairest of them all, it may create a scheduling conflict for some of the actors to do more release date jockeying.

Theron is currently shooting Ridley Scott's sci-fi horror film Prometheus costarring Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace while Hemsworth is filming The Avengers, reprising his role as Thor.

The actors in the "Grimm Snow White" are available to start production, planned in June. Armie Hammer told MTV News that his role as The Lone Ranger will shoot in two years.

RC