The film cost Marvel Entertainment $170 million to produce and after two weekends has already taken in a strong $147 million. The Dark World is still on track to easily surpass the original Thor‘s $181 million domestic total in 2011, and it should finish above $200 million. The film, which stars Terrence Howard, Taye Diggs, and Regina Hall (among others), opened with $10.7 million on Friday, and then ticked up 15 percent on Saturday to $12 million — a rare boost on a film’s opening weekend that signifies great word-of-mouth. That means it joins an elite club of films that have enjoyed long and fruitful box office runs, including “Argo,” “42,” “The Help,” “The King’s Speech,” “The Blind Side” and “Titanic.” 
 
 Going into the weekend, the distributor of "The Best Man Holiday," Universal Pictures, projected that the film would take in a modest $17 million, while prerelease audience surveys indicated the film would start off with around $23 million. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, the big story was a stellar opening for “The Best Man Holiday,” which trounced all expectations to debut with a studio-estimated $30.6-million. Disney’s 3-D sequel “Thor: the Dark World” took in a solid $38.5-million, which represented an expected 55% drop from its opening weekend when it grossed $86 million. PHOTOS: Holiday movie sneaks 2013 
 
 “The Best Man Holiday,” which is about a group of friends gathering for Christmas, is a sequel to 1999's "The Best Man," which grossed $34 million. Meanwhile, Paramount Vantage's buzzy limited-release opening “Nebraska,” which was directed by Alexander Payne and stars Bruce Dern as a sour old man on a road trip with his son, is off to an auspicious start, taking in $140,000 in four locations. Next weekend will see a significant shake-up as the highly anticipated “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” blazes into theaters.
– Thor: the Dark World ruled the weekend box office again, banking $38.5 million, but more exciting may be The Best Man Holiday—a black-American release that took second with a stunning $30.6 million debut, the LA Times reports. "There’s no crystal ball in guessing this stuff," said an exec at distributor Universal. "It was fair to think this film ... would open in the high teens." Also generating buzz is the Alexander Payne-directed Nebraska, which raked in a notable $140,000 at four locations. Wrapping up the top five are Last Vegas ($8.9 million), Free Birds ($8.3 million), and Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa ($7.7 million), reports Entertainment Weekly.