Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s “Baby Mama” pulled in $18.3 million in its opening weekend at the box office, good for the top spot (in what’s sure to be the last sub-$20 million opening weekend for awhile). MP users turned in a near-perfect prediction for “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo,” which registered a $14.6 million debut. “Forbidden Kingdom” fell to third with $11.2 million, followed by “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “Nim’s Island.”

On the Billboard 200 the emancipation of Mimi continues, as Mariah Carey landed at No. 1. Leona Lewis, Miley Cyrus, and Lady Antebellum filled out the top five, while R.E.M. slid from fifth to ninth in only its third week out. Taylor Swift crept back in to the top 10 in her self-titled album’s 78th week on the charts.

It appears total domination of the network ratings just isn’t good enough for FOX. “American Idol” continues to crush the competition in the Nielsen ratings. Still, the network is performing online research to determine how the show might be improved.

Julie Andrews’ memoir “Home” is No. 2 on the NYT non-fiction list. It covers “from birth to being cast as Mary Poppins.” Fans of the book can expect a sequel in 2-3 years. Speaking of sequels, the 9th book in Alexander McCall Smith’s Ladies’ Detective Agency series enters the fiction list at #3.

Teen slasher remake “Prom Night” killed at the box office, pulling in nearly $23 million to top meager competition from Keanu Reaves in “Street Kings” ($12 million). Everything’s coming up aces for “21,” which added $11 million to its box office take for a total of $63 million through three weeks. “Smart People” opened back at 7th, with a little over $4 million.

George Strait’s “Troubadour” and R.E.M.’s “Accelerate” ran 1-2 on the Billboard 200. Van Morrison barely cracked the top 10 with “Keep it Simple,” while the soundtrack for “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” which came out four months ago, jumped back in to the top 5.

Yet again “American Idol” was the most watched show on television this week. Twice. “CSI” managed to unseat the “Dancing With the Stars” results show for 4th place in what was a strong week for CBS. But don’t break out the party favors just yet, Les Moonves: Goldman Sachs reiterated its sell rating on CBS. It seems the network has a little problem the analysts like to call “limited appreciation potential.”

Notable news from the New York Times bestseller lists: Julie Andrews is somehow still relevant, Kurt Vonnegut has a new book out despite being dead, and Jose Canseco is not only a two-time bestselling author but a quality individual.

If George Clooney really is the “last movie star,” as Time breathlessly asserted, Hollywood may be in trouble. Clooney’s “Leatherheads” limped to a second place finish in its opening weekend, behind Kevin Spacey and Co. in “21.” Kid flick “Nim’s Island” debuted in third with $13.3 million, “Horton Hears a Who” pulled in $9.1 million to bring its 4-week total to $131 million and change. “The Ruins” opened in fifth with $7.84 million.

DAY26’s self-titled album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, trailed by Panic at the Disco (now sans exclamation point), Counting Crows, and Danity Kane. The Raconteurs hit the charts at #7 with their hastily-released second album, “Consolers of the Lonely.” The surprise early-release strategy didn’t work out for Gnarls Barkley, which failed to crack the top 10 in either of its first two weeks.

Mariah Carey and Madonna, not exactly pals, were forced to share the spotlight last week in a delicious bit of irony. Mariah’s 18th No. 1 single, “Touch My Body,” pushed her past Elvis and within striking distance of the Beatles’ 20. “4 Minutes” became Madonna’s 37th top 10 single, also moving her past The King.

Good news for FOX competitors: “American Idol” didn’t take the top 3 spots in the Nielsen ratings for the first time in ages. The bad news: FOX only ran two episodes last week. “Dancing With the Stars” and its results show pulled in strong ratings to finish 3rd and 4th, respectively.

Jonathan Kellerman sits atop a slew of newcomers on the New York Times fiction list. On the non-fiction side of things, copies of “Brett Favre: The Tribute” are flying off the shelves. They’re expected to go up in value just as soon as Favre unretires.

Despite less-than-stellar reviews, the highest grossing movie over the weekend was “21,” based on Ben Mezrich’s book “Bringing Down the House.” The flick pulled in $23.7 million to displace “Horton Hears a Who,” which fell to second but became the first movie of 2008 to surpass the $100 million mark. “Superhero Movie” finished third with $9.5 million and “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” limped to fourth with $7.8 million. “Leatherheads” and “The Ruins” open April 4, headlining another probable ho-hum weekend at the box office.

Flo Rida’s “Mail on Sunday” entered the Billboard 200 at #4. Girl group Danity Kane, of “Making the Band” fame, hit the charts at #1 with “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” Rick Ro$$, and Jack Johnson also remained in the top 5, alongside Various Artists 27th “Now” album.

“American Idol” A and B were the most-watched TV shows of the week, followed by “Dancing With the Stars” A and B and “Two and a Half Men.” “60 Minutes,” “Law & Order,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Lost,” and “Moment of Truth” rounded out the top 10.

David Sheff’s “Beautiful Boy,” a memoir about his son’s struggles with meth addiction, is the #1 book on the NYT non-fiction list. “Tell Me Where it Hurts” by Nick Trout is an entry in the increasingly underserved “animal book” market and hits the list at lucky #13.

Will your favorite television shows be renewed for next year? Amid the strike chaos, many freshman shows have already gotten the axe – or the reprieve. Casualties include the heavily-hyped “Bionic Woman.” Survivors include “Chuck,” “Life,” and “Pushing Daisies.”

But the fates of other shows are still up in the air – and we’ll let you make your predictions as to who will survive. Current markets include (among others) “Friday Night Lights,” “Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles,” “Kid Nation,” “Moonlight,” “Scrubs,” and – yes – “Cavemen.”

According to reports, fans are sending light bulbs to NBC executives to keep “Friday Night Lights” on the air. And apparently New York Magazine is asking fans to send in (no joke) locks of hair to keep “Cavemen” alive.

Will your favorite show survive? See our full listing of renewal markets, and watch for new markets in the coming weeks.

In the calm before the summer blockbuster storm, “Horton Hears a Who” pulled in another $25 million over the weekend, good enough to keep the top spot in its second week. “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” ($20 million), “Shutter” ($10.7 million), “Drillbit Taylor” ($10.2 million), and “10,000 B.C.” ($8.7 million) rounded out the top 5. Will “21”or “Superhero Movie” knock “Horton” off the box office pedestal? Probably not.

Rick Ro$$ (aka Ross) debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 with “Trilla.” Snoop Dogg’s “Ego Trippin” entered the charts at #3. Janet Jackson’s “Discipline” is down to #8 in its third week, and it would appear that everyone should make way for Flo Rida.

“American Idol” – shock – won the top 2 TV spots in yet another landslide, its 16.9 and 15.8 ratings doubling up the closest competitors “Law and Order” and “Survivor: Micronesia.”

“sTORI Telling,” Tori Spelling’s memoir, is the third best-selling book in the country. Valerie Bertinelli’s “Losing It,” the former wife of Eddie Van Halen’s account of her battle with depression and weight loss, is No. 1. See the fiction list here.

In other news of interest, would you rather go to a “movie theater” or a “community entertainment destination?” Shari Redstone has a hunch.

To celebrate our upcoming first anniversary on May 21, Media Predict is giving away an iPhone! It’s a great warm-up to an exciting new prize scheme we’ll be unveiling soon.

Here are the basic outlines:   

1. Create a new account at Media Predict and receive $5,000 in game money.
OR…
If you have an existing account, contact us here and we’ll reset your account to $5,000 for purposes of the contest. (We’ll restore to your account to its original level once the contest is over.)

2. Make as much money as you can playing Media Predict until June 12.

3. Every dollar in your account will be worth one lottery ticket in our prize drawing on June 12. The more money you make, the more you increase your odds! 

For more information, see our official contest rules.

(Side note: We’re not making any promises about whether the 3G version will be out by then — we’ll leave that to CNBC’s Jim Goldman – but an iPhone is an iPhone.)

“10000 B.C.” is winning over audiences’ wallets, if not necessarily their hearts and minds. Users at rottentomatoes have given the film a measly 7% approval rating but still turned out in droves – to the tune of nearly $36 million in its opening weekend. The debut of “College Road Trip” made $14 million, good for second, followed by “Vantage Point” ($7.5 million), “Semi-Pro” ($5.9 million), and a disappointing bow for “The Bank Job” ($5.7 million).

When Flo Rida’s “Mail on Sunday” hits stores later this month, it’ll have plenty of competition from musical heavyweights. Snoop Dogg’s newest album comes out this week, on the heels of Janet Jackson, who last week knocked Rolling Stone cover boy Jack Johnson out of the top spot on the Billboard 200.

The “American Idol” juggernaut cannot be stopped. FOX’s golden-egg-laying hen claimed the top three spots in the Nielsen ratings, with no other shows coming close in the ratings.

On the NYT non-fiction bestseller list this week, Valerie Bertinelli’s “Losing it” – focusing “on depression and her effort to lose weight” – debuted at No. 1. “Beautiful Boy” by David Sheff, in which “A father struggles with his son’s meth addiction,” entered at No. 3.

It may be curtains for the Will Ferrell formula of sending up middle-of-the-road sports. His third stab at the genre, “Semi-Pro,” led the box office this weekend, but disappointed expectations with a relatively minor $15.3 million opening. “Vantage Point,” “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” and “The Other Boleyn Girl,” followed suit.

Jack Johnson’s “Sleep Through the Static” continues its domination of the the Billboard 200. Kidz Bop Kids “Kidz Bop 13” enters the charts at No. 4, and the “Step Up 2: The Streets” Soundtrack moves into the top 5. This week’s Janet Jackson release threatens to shake up the charts on Thursday.

The lowest-rated Academy Awards of all time were barely good enough to beat out “American Idol” in the Nielsen ratings for the week of February 18 . More than 21 million somehow managed to watch the Oscar’s Red Carpet show on ABC. Over on E!, Gary Busey was putting on a show of his own.

Jonah Goldberg has to be pleased. Not only is his book “Liberal Fascism” the No. 1 book on the NYT bestseller list this week, but he unseated an author who (if he’s anything like the rest of his colleagues at Berkeley) is not only a liberal fascist but also a pinko commie bastard. J.D. Robb, not to be confused with JT LeRoy, hits the fiction list at No. 2 with “Strangers in Death.”

As reported on the MP home page earlier today, “Vantage Point” topped the box office this weekend with a $24 million haul, almost twice as much as second-week release “Jumper” ($12.65 million), which saw a large decline. “The Spiderwick Chronicles” ($12.6 million) took third, followed by “Step Up 2 the Streets” ($9.7 million), “Fool’s Gold” ($6.2 million) and “Definitely, Maybe” ($5.1 million).

As for the Oscars, Media Predict nailed three of the top four categories. The markets missed Marion Cotillard for Best Actress (as did many), but they did place her as a close second to favorite Julie Christie.

Amy Winehouse and Herbie Hancock got big boosts in the Billboard 200 from their Grammy hauls, each rocketing into the top 5 with Winehouse’s “Back to Black” hitting No. 2 behind Jack Johnson’s “Sleep Through the Static.” Hancock soared from No. 159 to No. 5.

For the week of February 11, FOX nabbed the top 3 spots in the Nielsen ratings with two episodes of “American Idol” and “Moment of Truth.” Tied for No. 4 were “60 Minutes,” “Deal or No Deal” and “Lost.”

Other than the late Benazir Bhutto’s “Reconciliation,” which hit the NYT non-fiction bestseller list at No. 2, there was minimal shake-up at the top on the NYT bestseller lists. Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” holds steady at #1. John Grisham’s “The Appeal” and James Patterson’s “7th Heaven” remained 1 and 2 on the fiction list.