The most luminous gamma-ray bursts can be explained in terms of models invo
lving stellar-mass central engines only if the ejecta are beamed. As was po
inted out by Rhoads, the dynamics of the blast wave, formed by the beamed e
jecta sweeping the external gas, can be significantly modified by the sidew
ays expansion. This is because, in this case, the surface of the blast-wave
increases faster than it does just as a result of the radial divergence, s
o the blast wave deceleration rate increases faster. According to analytica
l estimates, the effect becomes important shortly after the bulk Lorentz fa
ctor of the blast wave drops below the inverse of the initial opening angle
of the beamed ejecta and is accompanied by a sharp break in the afterglow
light curve. However, our numerical studies, which follow both the dynamica
l evolution of the blast wave and the evolution of the electron energy dist
ribution and take into account the light-travel effects related to the late
ral size of the source, show that the break of the light curve is weaker an
d much smoother than the one analytically predicted. A prominent break emer
ges only for a model without the sideways expansion.