The box office reign of the revenge-seeking vigilante continued over the weekend as Man on Fire, which stars Denzel Washington, took the top spot with an estimated $23 million.  Sony's 13 Going on 30 with Jennifer Garner proved to be very effective counter-programming, coming in a very close second at an estimated $22 million.  Last week's top two films, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Punisher, slipped to third and fourth respectively.  Both films dropped more than 55% in their sophomore frames, to $10.4 and $6.1 million respectively, while Hellboy dropped 47% to $3 million, but stayed in the Top 10 for the fourth consecutive weekend.

The Punisher can't catch a break from thematic competition.  Whipped by the stylish Kill Bill Vol. 2 in its opening frame, The Punisher's light was dimmed considerably by the star power of Man on Fire this past weekend.  Still the Lions Gate release should easily make back its estimated $33 million dollar cost at the domestic box office.  Marvel has recently signed an agreement with Lions Gate allowing the studio to produce a number of modestly-budgeted feature films based on second tier Marvel characters (see 'Marvel Expands Relationship With Lions Gate'). 

It should be interesting to see if The Punisher can demonstrate staying power at the box office and how Punisher merchandise moves in the various channels. With a plethora of Punisher product available retailers should be able to gauge the merchandising power of Marvel's second team.

Hellboy continues to move merchandise (see 'Dark Horse Struggles To Fill Hellboy Demand'), although it appears to be slowing some.