STALLONE & CO. RETURN, GUNS BLAZING

The Expendables 2 arrives in theaters this weekend and is expected to make expendable three other new arrivals, two family films, ParaNorman and The Odd Life of Timothy Green, and the musical drama Sparkle, starring Jordin Sparks and the late Whitney Houston. According to box-office pundits The Expendables 2 is expected to debut with $35-40 million, beating the $34.8 million that the original film took in during its opening two years ago. The original crew of veteran — some say geriatric — action stars, including Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Couture are being joined in the sequel by Jean-Claude Van Damme Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis. Also younger member Liam Hemsworth. The animated ParaNorman, according to tracking reports, is expected to debut with around $15-20 million, sharing the family crowd with The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which debuted on Wednesday and is likely to take in a similar amount by the end of the weekend. Hopes are not high for Sparkle, which, analysts say, may be lucky to earn $10-15 million.