Uma Thurman will slay the competition this weekend, as Quentin Tarantino's anticipated sequel ''Kill Bill -- Vol. 2'' hits theaters.
The first ''Kill Bill'' premiered with $22.1 million last fall, and since fans already love Thurman's Bride character, the sequel should open even better. Expect a debut of around $28 million.
Young male moviegoers are also frothing at the mouth for ''The Punisher,'' the latest comic book-inspired movie. Featuring Thomas Jane, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, and John Travolta as the villain, it should debut stronger than last week's low-wattage ''Hellboy.'' ''The Punisher'' should get into about $17 million worth of trouble.
''The Passion of the Christ'' will likely slip to about $8 million, followed by ''Hellboy'' with around $6 million.
Fifth place will be a battle between two returning films -- ''Johnson Family Vacation'' and ''The Alamo'' -- and one new entry, ''Connie and Carla,'' starring ''My Big Fat Greek Wedding'''s Nia Vardalos. All three should see grosses in the $5 million range. And we're only weeks away from ''Van Helsing'' and the other big guns of summer.
