The long-running crime drama, which stars John Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby, captured a 29.5% share of the audience between 8pm-10pm.
Spielberg's mega-upgrade of the 1953 science-fiction landmark 'War of the Worlds', which was filmed in 2005, was watched by 4.5m viewers and a 19.9% share of the audience between 8pm-9.50pm.
The final episode in the latest series of 'Top Gear' sped away with 5m viewers and a 22.4% share of the audience between 8pm-9pm.
It was followed by the' Long Way Round', a documentary showing the preparation and planning of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's famous motorbike journey, which netted 1.9m viewers and an 8.2% share between 9pm-10pm.
Channel 4's documentary 'Queen Camilla', which looked at the inside story of Charles and Camilla's relationship, could only manage a lowly 1.3m viewers and a 5.7% share, including figures from Channel 4+1.
It was followed by the latest instalment of 'Big Brother', with an audience of 2.9m viewers and a 12.9% share between 10pm-11pm, including Channel 4+1 ratings.
Last Friday, Channel 4's new comedy series 'The Kevin Bishop Show', starring the eponymous comedian from its British Comedy Award-winning show 'Star Stories', opened with an encouraging 2.2m viewers and an 11.2% share between 10pm-10.35pm. The audience includes ratings from Channel 4+1.
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