Video Rental Chart : ‘Wolves’ Still in Front of the Pack

“Dances With Wolves” continues to have a large lead over the rest of the pack on the Billboard magazine video rental chart, with “Home Alone,” in most stores, a distant second. “The Hard Way,” the action/comedy starring Michael J. Fox, is one of the few major movies to hit the home-video market this month. “Nothing But Trouble,” with John Candy, Demi Moore and Chevy Chase, was trashed by critics and didn’t do that well at the box office ($8.4 million) but its incredible star power could make it a big rental hit. It entered the chart at No. 20. “Cyrano de Bergerac,” featuring Gerard Depardieu’s Oscar-nominated performance, is a French film with subtitles--which usually don’t rent well. But because of Depardieu--fairly well-known in the U.S. because of “Green Card”--this French film, which debuted at No. 33, should do very good business.

* Director Oliver Stone’s “The Doors,” which chronicled rock singer Jim Morrison’s slow self-destruction, entered the rental chart at a lofty No. 7. Featuring Val Kilmer’s acclaimed performance as Morrison, it grossed more than $34 million in theaters and could climb as high as No. 3 next week.

Ranking Weeks Ranking 2 Weeks On Rental Top Rentals Last Week Ago Chart 1. “Dances With Wolves” (Orion) 1 1 6 2. “Home Alone” (FoxVideo) 2 2 6 3. “The Hard Way” (MCA/Universal) 6 8 3 4. “New Jack City” (Warner) 4 5 9 5. “Awakenings” (RCA/Columbia) 3 3 9 * “The Doors” (LIVE) .. ... 1