'GREMLINS' JOINS THE HOLIDAY $WEEPSTAKES

By DENNIS HUNT

Sept. 20, 1985 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

This was supposed to be a “Ghostbusters” Christmas, with the videocassette of the 1984 comedy--due out Oct. 31 on RCA/Columbia for $79.95--dominating the holiday home video market. But intruders keep horning in.

Paramount was first, announcing late last week that “Beverly Hills Cop,” the Eddie Murphy movie that has grossed $233 million domestically, will be released on Oct. 30 for a relatively paltry $29.95. RCA/Columbia barely had time to absorb that news when Warner Home Video struck.

Earlier this week, Warners announced that “Gremlins”--about devilish little creatures on a rampage--will enter the holiday blockbuster-movie sweepstakes. It’s coming out Nov. 25 for $79.95. Before its recent re-release, the comic horror movie directed by Joe Dante and starring Zach Gilligan and Hoyt Axton, had earned $160 million domestically.

According to Warners spokesman Mike Finnegan, the company had to hold up the announcement of the home-video debut until well after the re-issue on Labor Day weekend at more than 1,100 theaters. “It will conclude its theatrical run soon,” he said. “If people knew a few weeks ago that it was going to be out soon on home video, that would have affected the box office.”

Now all the speculation will center on “The Return of the Jedi,” the third episode of the “Star Wars” trilogy. Will it be out for the holiday season? According to a reliable industry source, CBS-Fox won’t release it until February and almost certainly at the standard $79.95.

According to the source, Fox’s reasoning is that this Christmas will be another big one for VCR sales. “After Christmas, all these people with new VCRs will be looking for new cassettes to buy and rent,” explained the source. “So ‘Jedi’ comes out to satisfy this eager audience.”

If “Jedi” came out at Christmas, the home video audience would probably greet it just as eagerly. One video store owner, requesting anonymity, suggested CBS-Fox was blundering by not releasing “Jedi” before Christmas.

“It’s a great gift item,” he said. “People would buy it as a Christmas gift but some of them won’t buy it at that high price after the holiday season, when it’s not a gift. A new ‘Stars Wars’ movie would bring lots people into the video stores. It’s a real family movie. It would be nice if they changed their minds and put it out before Christmas.”

One reason CBS-Fox probably won’t release “Jedi” before Christmas is because it already has a major cassette for the holiday season. On Nov. 4, it’s releasing “A View to a Kill,” the latest James Bond adventure. Though it’s no “Jedi,” it should do impressive business.

It’s likely that “Gremlins” is the final announcement of a blockbuster movie for this holiday season. But that’s what everyone said about the “Beverly Hills Cop” announcement last week.

ODDS ‘N’ ENDS: According to CBS-Fox executive Paul Wagner, who’s clearly sick of being asked this question, there’s still nothing to report about a Bruce Springsteen concert videocassette. There’s been a rumor that some of his current concerts will be taped for release on cassette. A properly marketed Springsteen concert cassette--with good production values and at a relatively inexpensive price--would be one of the biggest-selling cassettes in history. If there ultimately is no Springsteen cassette, it won’t be because CBS-Fox doesn’t want one.

Home video experts predict “Beverly Hills Cop” will be the biggest movie of the holiday season. One store owner forecast that Paramount will receive nearly a million orders for “Beverly Hills Cop” (100,000-200,000 orders is considered impressive). “Since the retail price is so cheap ($29.95), video stores can buy it at a cheap wholesale price,” one store owner explained. “We can stock up on them and it won’t cost us that much.”

Several readers have suggested that I was negligent last week in reporting Consumer Reports magazine’s conclusions about buying VCRs. The magazine concluded that all VCRs are essentially adequate and that none is significantly better than the others. There was an exception, however--Sony’s new SuperBeta machine--which I failed to mention. According to the report, the SuperBeta VCR, compared with normal Beta and VHS machines, produces a picture with a 20% better resolution.

The massive chain, National Video Inc., has banned the “Faces of Death”--Parts 1 and 2--cassettes from its 550 stores. The “Faces of Death” movies are a grisly collection of actual death scenes--executions, suicides, etc. Chairman Ron Berger says: “We don’t believe in censorship, and I would never place myself in the position of dictating what somebody else should or should not watch.” If refusing to stock a popular video for apparently moral reasons isn’t censorship, what is?

OLD MOVIES: Warner Video is introducing a James Dean package this week, “East of Eden,” “Rebel Without a Cause” and “Giant” for $99.95. Also in the stores this week: the original version of “Brewster’s Millions,” made in 1945 with Dennis O’Keefe and June Havoc. From Nostalgia Merchant at $29.95.

Horror buffs will appreciate three scary classics starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee--”The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957), “Horror of Dracula” (1958) and a remake, “The Mummy” (1959). Anyone who loves this genre will be particularly eager for “Horror of Dracula,” which was probably the best horror film of the ‘50s. All three to be released by Warner Video in early October at $59.95.

Also for horror fans: the campy “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte” (1965), remembered for Bette Davis’ rousing performance, which is in a league with Faye Dunaway’s hammy emoting in “Mommy, Dearest.” Due next week from CBS/Fox for $59.98.(“Charlotte” is also memorable for Patti Page’s hit single of the title song.)

From MGM/UA: the delightful 1960 movie, “Never on Sunday” ($59.95), which made Melina Mercouri, who plays a Greek prostitute, a star. Directed by co-star Jules Dassin, it’s available next week. Last week, the company released, at $24.95, “Knights of the Round Table,” the 1953 costume drama starring Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner, which features some of the most spectacular knight versus knight combat scenes ever filmed.

NEW AND COMING MOVIES: This is the week retailers have been waiting for. “Amadeus” (Thorn/EMI/HBO, $79.95), last year’s Oscar winner for best picture, was released. It’s expected to be a big hit, possibly the No. 1 rental until “Ghostbusters” and “Beverly Hills Cop” take over in early November.

Also in the stores this week: the hit teen drama “The Breakfast Club” (MCA, $79.95). It’s packed with Brat Packers, including Emilio Estevez, Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael Hall.

Next week, from MGM/UA, for Chuck Norris fans, “Missing in Action 2.” In addition, CBS-Fox is releasing “Porky’s Revenge,” the last of the three “Porky’s” pictures, and the somber art film, “1918.”

The major release for the last week of the month is “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment,” which is destined to be a Top Five rental hit.

In mid-November, Warner Video is releasing “Vision Quest”--best known for a sound track featuring Madonna’s hit single, “Crazy for You”--and the Albert Brooks comedy “Lost in America.”

CHARTS: “The Killing Fields,” which was expected to be a smash rental, started slowly but has finally lived up to expectations. This week it jumped from No. 22 to No. 2 on the Billboard rental chart.

It’s no surprise that “Desperately Seeking Susan,” featuring Madonna, is a red hot rental. It started big--at No. 7 three weeks ago--and has gotten bigger. This week it’s No. 1.

“Stick,” the Burt Reynolds movie that did poorly at the box office, has done well as a rental--No. 7--defying gloomy predictions.

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS 1--”Desperately Seeking Susan” (Thorn/EMI/HBO).

2--”The Killing Fields” (Warner Video).

3--”The Karate Kid” (RCA/Columbia).

4--”A Soldier’s Story” (RCA/Columbia).

5--”The Falcon and the Snowman” (Vestron).

6--”Starman” (RCA/Columbia).

7--”Stick” (MCA).

8--”A Nightmare on Elm Street” (Media).

9--”Runaway” (RCA/Columbia).

10--”The Flamingo Kid” (Vestron).