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with kids: 'Clone Wars' 'Star Wars' spinoff debuts to hefty ratings with 2-14s Oct 10, 2008 It’s not surprising that yet another spinoff of the “Star Wars” franchise is a hit. What’s surprising is who’s driving that hit, kids, and that it comes so soon after the utter flop of a “Star Wars” feature film at the box office. “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” premiered to huge ratings on Cartoon Network last Friday, winning its timeslot among all broadcast and cable shows among kids 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14. The show averaged 1.87 million 2-11s and 1.463 million 6-11s Friday at 9 p.m. It also drew 1.26 million 9-14s, the network’s biggest premiere ever in the demo. Among all three demographics it more than doubled the network’s audience on the same night last year. “Clone” was also the most-watched program of the week on broadcast or cable among boys 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14. It drew the most total viewers for a premiere in Cartoon history, averaging 4 million. The Lucasfilm Animation series focuses on the Clone Wars, which are mentioned in the original “Star Wars,” during which Jedis including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda fought the evil Empire. Parts of the series were released in advance as a feature film two months ago. It was trashed by critics and earned a mere $34.8 million. The most recent non-animated "Star" film, "Revenge of the Sith," took in $380 million. George Lucas seems to have been positioning the franchise to appeal to kids for a while. While the original trio of movies dealt with themes of good versus evil, man versus machine, and free will versus oppression, the second threesome focused more on cool costumes, special effects and over-the-top aliens. That led to some criticism from the franchise’s original fans, but it also likely dropped the median age of its fan base. “Star” has always had some appeal to kids, but the older films weren’t always appropriate for young children with their live-action gun battles and mature themes, not to mention Princess Leia’s slavegirl get-up in “Return of the Jedi.” But the latest “Star” movie, also entitled “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” was marketed heavily to kids, from the McDonald’s Happy Meal tie-in to the animation, a first for a “Star” film. Undoubtedly “Clone” will draw in a whole new generation of “Star” fans for both the movies and series who will keep sales of the franchise’s still-substantial merchandise like Halloween costumes and figurines high. In fact, the new “Clone” could prompt a real rarity in children’s entertainment: Something kids and their parents, who were fans of the original movies, can enjoy together. *** Meanwhile, in other younger viewer ratings for the week ending Oct. 5: Among teens 12-17, Fox led with a 1.7 rating and 6 share, followed by CBS, ABC and NBC at 1.2/4, the CW and Univision at 1.0/4, Telemundo at 0.2/1,Telefutura at 0.1/0 and Azteca at 0.0/0. Among kids 2-11, Univision was first with a 1.2/5, followed by ABC at 1.1/5, Fox at 0.9/3, NBC at 0.8/4, CBS at 0.8/3, the CW at 0.4/1, Telemundo at 0.3/1, Telefutura at 0.1/1, and Azteca at 0.0/0. The top five shows among kids 2-5: 1. Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” (Saturday 9:30 a.m.); 2. Nickelodeon’s “Wow! Wow! Wubbzy” (Tuesday 1:30 p.m.); 3. Nickelodeon’s “The Backyardigans” (Tuesday 1 p.m.); 4. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Wednesday 2 p.m.); 5. Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” (Tuesday 2 p.m.) The top five shows among kids 6-11: 1. Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” (Friday 8:30 p.m.); 2. Disney’s “The Suite Life On Deck” (Friday 8 p.m.); 3. Disney’s “The Wizards of Waverly Place” (Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 4. Disney’s “Return to Halloweentown” (Saturday 9 p.m.); 5. Disney’s “Halloweentown High” (Friday 9 p.m.)
The top five shows among kids 9-14: 1. Disney’s “The Wizards of Waverly Place” (Sunday 8:30 p.m.); 2. Disney’s “The Suite Life On Deck” (Friday 8 p.m.); 3. Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb” (Friday 8:30 p.m.); 4. Disney’s “Halloweentown” (Wednesday 8 p.m.); 5. Cartoon Network’s “Star Wars: Clone Wars” (Friday 9 p.m.)
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