HOLLYWOOD - Quentin Tarantino made a killing at the box office this weekend.Kill Bill Vol. 2, the director's continuing saga about the Bride's (Uma Thurman) quest for bloody revenge, easily took the top spot with a healthy $25.5 million, besting the first installment Kill Bill Vol. 1, which opened last October with $22 million. Vol. 2 now stands as the third best April opener ever, behind Anger Management, which opened in 2003 with $42.2 million and The Scorpion King, which opened in 2002 with $36 million.
But the punishment didn't stop there. The competition was also beaten down by the comic-book actioner The Punisher, which debuted in second place with $14 million.
"A very big weekend for revenge," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations told The Associated Press. "Revenge in movies is very cinematic. Everyone lives vicariously through characters in movies, and they can safely get their revenge fix without actually doing it themselves."
The Passion of the Christ was pushed down to No. 9, after the film jettisoned to No. 1 last Easter weekend. Still, The Passion's total haul of $360.9 million makes it the seventh highest domestic grossing film of all time.
This week's other wide release newcomer, Connie and Carla, starring Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame, failed to break into the top 10, opening with only $3.2 million.
This week, the Top 12 films grossed an estimated $86.6 million, down 11.51 percent from last week's $97.9 million, and down 2.06 percent from last year's $88.4 million.
Last year, Sony Pictures' PG-13 rated comedy Anger Management stayed at No. 1 in its second week with $25 million at 3,570 theaters with a $7,004 per theater average; Buena Vista's PG-rated Holes debuted in second place with $16.3 million at 2,331 theaters with a $6,993 per theater average; and Warner Brother's PG-13 rated teen Malibu's Most Wanted opened in third place with $12.6 million at 2,503 theaters with a $5,041 per theater.
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES (Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $25.5 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,971
• Per-theater average: $8,605
No. 2: The Punisher (Lions Gate, R)
• Gross: $14 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,649
• Per-theater average: $5,285
No. 3: Johnson Family Vacation (Fox Searchlight, PG-13)
• Gross: $6.4 million (-31%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,326 (+9)
• Per-theater average: $4,845
• Cume to date: $21.4 million
No. 4: Hellboy (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.4 million (-47%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,897 (-146)
• Per-theater average: $1,968
• Cume to date: $50.3 million
No. 5: Home on the Range (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $5.4 million(-33%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,735 (-323)
• Per-theater average: $1,976
• Cume to date: $37.6 million
No. 6: Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $5.1 million (-36%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,810 (-320)
• Per-theater average: $1,827
• Cume to date: $72.2 million
No. 7: Walking Tall (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.6 million (-46%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,444 (-392)
• Per-theater average: $1,882
• Cume to date: $36.6 million
No. 8: Ella Enchanted (Miramax, PG)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-28%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,939 (+8)
• Per-theater average: $2,278
• Cume to date: $13.7 million
No. 9: The Passion of the Christ (Newmarket, R)
• Gross: $4.1 million (-72%)
• Weeks opened: 8
• Theaters: 2,848 (-392)
• Per-theater average: $1,472
• Cume to date: $360.9 million
No. 10: The Alamo (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $4 million (-56%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,609 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,400
• Cume to date: $16.3 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Connie and Carla (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.2 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,014
• Per-theater average: $3,210
Young Adam (Sony Pictures Classics, NC-17)
• Gross: $56,976
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 9
• Per-theater average: $6,331