Summer flicks: Spidey ruled, while Evan sank

Two stars: Disappointing but not disastrous

• “Ocean’s Thirteen” ($116 million)
• “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” ($105 million)
• “Sicko” ($23 million)

With A-list stars such as Clooney, Pitt and Damon taking a big salary on the “Ocean’s” movies, Warner Bros. isn’t making a lot of money on these, and the public seems to be tiring of them as well. True, they’re fun, but everyone knows there’s little at stake. After the initial, “Wow, aren’t George and Brad handsome,” the excitement quickly evaporates.

Adam Sandler still remains money in the bank, but “Chuck and Larry” did less than both “The Longest Yard” and “Click.” I feel for the guy, as when he tries to spread his wings beyond juvenile comedy nobody wants anything to do with him, but the 12 to 16 year olds who have adored him over the last decade are growing up and the new breed of young teens aren’t enamored with him as much.

Documentaries have never been great moneymakers, but when “Fahrenheit 9/11” earned $119 million, Michael Moore rose the bar — maybe unfairly — for all his other films to come. So even though “Sicko” was a nice piece of moviemaking, the comparative low gross makes it look like nobody took notice.

One star: Ouch, that hurts

• “Evan Almighty” ($97 million)
• “Surf’s Up” ($58 million)
• “Mr. Brooks” (28 million)
• “Underdog” ($26 million)
• “Nancy Drew” ($25 million)

With an estimated budget of $175 million (not including marketing costs), the fact that “Evan” couldn’t even break $100 million means this ark sank. Sure, Steve Carell starred in the hit “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” but he had never been asked to open a movie of this magnitude before. Maybe he still can, or maybe he can’t, but Universal was expecting way more from this one.

The low numbers of “Surf’s Up” and “Underdog” prove the point of summer’s glut of kiddie fare. While family movies often do well when school’s out, too many juvenile films battling one another in the marketplace means there are bound to be failures. Consider these two prime examples.

Hard to believe now, but at one time Kevin Costner was a giant movie star and a box-office sure thing. He’s now king of the $50-million range. Not the worst thing in the world, but the “Dances With Wolves” days are long gone.

As a book series, “Nancy Drew” has a long and storied legacy with millions of readers. As a burgeoning movie franchise, maybe not so much.

Stuart Levine is an assistant managing editor at Variety. You can reach him at .

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