Kiss of Oscar Unlikely to Boost 'Spider Woman' Sales; May Releases for 'Twice in a Lifetime,' 'Death Wish 3'

By DENNIS HUNT

March 28, 1986 12 AM PT

Surprisingly, William Hurt’s best actor Oscar won’t be translated into a financial windfall for Charter Entertainment, the Embassy division that’s releasing “Kiss of the Spider Woman” as a videocassette on April 9.

At the order date cutoff last week, a respectable 110,000 copies had been sold to retailers and distributors, earning Charter about $5 million. According to Tom Burnett, Charter’s vice president of sales, “The Oscar will have a minimal effect on the business the movie will do. Because of the Oscar there’ll be more interest in the movie, but it may mean about $75,000 to $100,000 more for us; that’s not a whole lot.” Though more fans will want to rent it, Burnett predicted that retailers won’t order too many more copies, in spite of the increased demand.

Retailers will be saving their money to buy rental copies of the major films that will be making their cassette debuts at the end of May--the likes of “Back to the Future” and “Rocky IV.” Retailers are being more conservative in ordering copies of new movies because they’ve been recently burned by two blockbusters. Both “Ghostbusters” and “Rambo: First Blood, Part II” have had much shorter periods of rental popularity than expected.

According to various sources, “Ghostbusters” rented well at first and then slowed down. As a rental, “Rambo” quieted down after the first two weeks. “Maybe ‘Rambo’ was released too soon,” Burnett speculated. “The people who saw it in the theaters apparently didn’t want to see it again that quickly.”

Anticipating a huge rental demand, retailers bought 427,000 copies of “Rambo,” a record for a $79.95 title. But, stuck with shelves of unused copies, they now realize they overordered.

“They’ll be cautious in ordering copies of hit movies now,” Burnett said. “That has hurt us on the orders for ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman.’ ”

Retailers’ cautious ordering may keep sales down on “Rocky IV,” which CBS-Fox is releasing May 27. Maybe the store owners might think rental audiences are losing their fascination with Sylvester Stallone, the star of both “Rambo” and “Rocky.”

NEW AND COMING: On May 28, Vestron is releasing “Twice in a Lifetime,” about the breakup of a 30-year-old marriage. Gene Hackman, Ann-Margret and Amy Madigan star. MGM/UA is putting out “Death Wish 3,” the further adventures in bloody revenge of the noble vigilante played by Charles Bronson, on May 13.

“Eleni,” about a reporter’s search for his mother’s killers, is due out May 14 on Embassy. Starring Kate Nelligan and John Malkovich, this drama was neither a favorite with fans nor with most critics.

The Arnold Schwarzenegger hit, “Commando” (CBS-Fox, $79.95), is this week’s major release. It should be a popular rental. “The Goonies” (Warner Video, $79.95), a kiddie adventure that never lived up to expectations at the box office, is out too, and is also expected to do good rental business.

Thorn/EMI/HBO was hoping to capitalize on a Meryl Streep best actress Oscar with its timely release of “Plenty,” available this week at $79.95. Since she lost, this art film, which co-stars Sting, may have trouble finding a rental audience. Another Sting movie, “The Bride” (RCA/Columbia, $79.95), which critics crucified, is in the stores this week. Jennifer Beals co-stars in this version of the “Bride of Frankenstein” tale.

More Sting next week. But this time a good one--the concert/documentary “Bring On the Night” (Karl-Lorimar, $79.95). Also scheduled for release next week: “Compromising Positions” and “Stephen King’s Silver Bullet.”

April: “Witness” (April 9), “Invasion, U.S.A.” (April 15), “American Flyers” (April 21), “Cocoon” (April 29) and “Agnes of God” (April 30).

“A Chorus Line” is also due April 30. According to Embassy estimates, a respectable 170,000 rental copies will be shipped to retailers. Since so few people saw it during its theatrical run last Christmas, it may find an audience.

May: “To Live and Die in L.A.” (May 14) and “Back to the Future” (May 22). Just released: “Year of the Dragon,” “Better Off Dead,” “Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird” and “Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealers.”

OLD MOVIES: “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967), a look at race relations in the upper class, is out this week (RCA/Columbia, $59.95). The importance of this mild comedy is that it’s Spencer Tracy’s last movie.

Cornel Wilde directed and starred in an unusual film in 1965, “The Naked Prey,” about a guide being hunted by savages in the Africa. Acclaimed as both scenic and suspenseful, it’s out next week on Paramount at $49.95.

“Drum” (1976), one of the great bad movies of all time, is coming out in late May (Vestron, $69.95). It’s renowned among aficionados of awful movies for its many raunchy scenes. This killed off boxer Ken Norton’s movie career. Pam Grier and Warren Oates also star. Recent releases: “To Have and Have Not,” “Beat the Devil,” “The Cat People,” “The Curse of the Cat People,” “The Glenn Miller Story,” “Winchester ‘73” and “I Want to Live.”

ODDS ‘N’ ENDS: Two first-rate one-hour PBS specials, “The Sharks” and “Land of the Tiger,” will be released next week on Vestron’s National Geographic Video at $29.95 each. “The Sharks” (1982) is noted for its incredible undersea photography and “Land of the Tiger,” which aired last year, features a horrifying tiger kill on the prairie.

One of the most frightening documentaries ever made is “The California Reich,” a 55-minute, 1977 documentary about the American Nazi movement; it’s available next week (Paramount, $49.95).

WHAT’S HOT: “Silverado,” which shot up to No. 3 on the rental chart in just three weeks, is the other hot rental, following on the heels of the new No. 1 rental, “Return of the Jedi.” Action movies are usually popular rentals, which partly explains the popularity of “Silverado.” The recent high visibility of one of its stars, Danny Glover, has probably helped too. Glover has been highly publicized in the last few months for his role in “The Color Purple.” CHARTS (Compiled by Billboard magazine) TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS

1--”Return of the Jedi” (CBS-Fox).

2--”Rambo: First Blood Part II” (Thorn/EMI/HBO).

3--”Silverado” (RCA/Columbia).

4--”Prizzi’s Honor” (Vestron).

5--”Mask” (MCA).

6--”National Lampoon’s Vacation” (Warner Video).

7--”Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (Warner Video).

8--”St. Elmo’s Fire” (RCA/Columbia).

9--”Teen Wolf” (Paramount).

10--”Summer Rental” (Paramount). TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES

1--”Return of the Jedi” (CBS-Fox).

2--”Jane Fonda’s New Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).