BOX OFFICE BUZZ FOX SELLS ITS GOODS ON 'IDOL'.

Byline: Greg Hernandez

So I'm watching "American Idol" on Wednesday night with only one thought in mind: Who's getting voted off, Blake or LaKisha?

Before we can find that out, I am reminded, not so subtly, that this is the summer movie season and no opportunity to exploit corporate synergy is to be missed.

The remaining contestants of the Fox TV show were treated to a special screening of the sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" on the 20th Century Fox lot. As Dana Carvey's Church Lady would say: "How convieeeeeeenient!"

And sitting in the front row on "Idol" were stars Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Ioan Gruffudd and Michael Chiklis. Alba takes the microphone, reminds people that the movie is coming out June 15 and says, "You all have to see it twice!"

CRAWLING IN BEHIND SPIDEY: Even if Spidey's grosses drop by more than 50 percent this weekend, you gotta figure it'll still be in first place with $70 million-plus, and it will cross the $200 million mark by today. But four new wide releases are hoping to dine on Spidey's dust: the horror flick "28 Weeks Later," the romantic comedy "The Ex" starring Zach Braff, the comedy "Delta Farce" and the drama "Georgia Rule."

"28 Weeks" has the best shot at second place since it is a sequel to 2003's midlevel hit "28 Days Later."

FONDA JANE: Don't count out "Georgia Rule," mainly due to the presence of Jane Fonda, who co-stars with Lindsay Lohan and Felicity Huffman. While Lohan hasn't had a real hit since "Mean Girls," Fonda ended her 15-year absence from the big screen two years ago with the comedy "Monster-in-Law," which opened in first place and went on to gross $82.9 million domestically.

THE WIDEST WEB: As the first movie of the summer season, "Spider-Man 3" was able to debut in 4,252 theaters and set the domestic opening weekend record of $151 million. That milestone should be safe for at least a year since other biggies have no chance of opening in that many theaters as the market begins to get more crowded.

DID YOU KNOW? The $100 million weekend had never been achieved until "Spider-Man" raked in $114.8 million in 2002. Since then, the third Spidey, the second "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," "Shrek 2," "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" have achieved this once-elusive feat.

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption ("Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer")

(2 -- color) no caption (Jane Fonda)