THOR SEQUEL EXPECTED TO HAMMER OUT SECOND WIN

It will be the weekend of the hammer and the chisel at the box office. The hammer, of course, will be wielded by Thor: The Dark World, which is expected to remain in first place with about $30-35 million, but hoping to chisel out its own niche will be The Best Man Holiday, featuring the stars of the original 1999 feature, Best Man, including Taye Diggs, Terrence Howard and Morris Chestnut, each of whom is better known today than he was 14 years ago. Box-office pundits are predicting it will earn around $20-25 million. Also opening in two theaters in Los Angeles and two in New York is Alexander Payne’s Nebraska, which some critics are predicting will almost certainly net star Bruce Dern an Oscar nomination — and possibly one for Payne as well. On the strength of positive buzz, it’s expected to earn $150,000-$200,000 in its debut.