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Entertainment News May 23

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AMERICAN IDOL FINAL GARNERS HUGE RATINGS

Fox's "American Idol" went out with a bang Wednesday night, performing as strongly as last year's finale and again crushing everything in its path.

The intriguing matchup of Davids -- 25-year-old David Cook defeated 17-year-old David Archuleta -- generated a lot of interest in the competition's closing week. The boffo numbers helped smooth out the rough edges in a season that had seen the juggernaut music competish lag behind year-ago ratings by 15% or more in some key demos.

Wednesday capped the season and May sweep, both won by Fox in the 18-49 demo for a fourth straight year. ABC ran second for the month, followed by CBS and a sputtering NBC. The Peacock finished closer to fifth-place Univision and sixth-place CW than to its major-network rivals.

Full-strength CBS and Fox, which was without "24" due to the writers strike, were down by 10% vs. last year, according to Nielsen. NBC, which was lacking "Heroes," tumbled by 21%, while ABC (whose finales of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Lost" will air post-sweep) slid by 17%.

Fox also won in younger demos as well as adults 25-54 (4.2/11), while CBS prevailed in total viewers (10.4 million to 10.0 million for Fox) for a sixth consecutive May sweep.

On Wednesday from 8 to 10:06 p.m., "American Idol" wrapped its seventh season with an 11.4 rating/30 share in adults 18-49 and 31.66 million viewers overall. The demo delivery was a tick below last season's, while this year's overall audience rose a bit (from 30.73 million). Wednesday rating was the second best of the season for "Idol," behind only its premiere week in January.


DAILY BOX OFFICE RESULTS

CLICK HERE to read the WEEKEND Box Office Results! See how much IRON MAN and NARNIA made.

Read reviews of the top 6 films at the box office this weekend

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Directed by Steven Spielberg Starring Harrison Ford Shia LaBeouf	The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Directed by Andrew Adamson Starring Ben Barnes Sergio Castellitto

Speed Racer Directed by Andy Wachowski Larry Wachowski Starring Emile Hirsch Christina Ricci	What Happens in Vegas Directed by Tom Vaughan Starring Cameron Diaz Aston Kutcher

Iron Man Directed by Jon Favreau Starring Robert Downey Jr. Gwyneth Paltrow	Made of Honor Directed by Paul Weiland Starring Patrick Dempsey Michelle Monaghan

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INDIANA JONES TO KO BOX OFFICE

This weekend Paramount faces the sort of problem any studio would love to have.

Its blockbuster hit “Iron Man” has its first real competition … but from another Par release: 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,' which opens today in 4,260 theaters domestically.

It’s doubtful that “Crystal Skull,” which returns the action-adventure franchise to the bigscreen after nearly two decades, will hurt “Iron Man” to any significant degree. But if it does, at least it’s all in the family.

Last weekend — in its third frame — “Iron Man” made an impressive $31.8 million, bumping its domestic cume to $223 million. It’s the first 2008 release to jump the $200 million mark at the domestic box office. Pic, produced and financed by Marvel Entertainment, came in No. 2 for the frame behind Disney sequel “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” which opened to $55 million.

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Par is distributor only on “Iron Man” and “Crystal Skull,” both rated PG-13.

The last pic in the “Indiana Jones” action-adventure franchise was released in 1989, but awareness appears to be high even among younger generations who didn’t grow up on the first three “Indiana Jones” movies. Tracking is strong across the board, stronger among older auds.

Paramount is giving the film a five-day opening frame thanks to the Memorial Day holiday and the decision to bow on Thursday.

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