SCHWARZENEGGER VS. STALLONE: ‘DEAL’ STRIKES FIRST

If the Arnold Schwarzenegger-Sylvester Stallone battle for the home video dollar goes to the early bird, Schwarzenegger may be getting a good deal. HBO/Cannon will release the body builder’s “Raw Deal,” in which he mows down legions of baddies, on Nov. 5. “Cobra,” in which Stallone wipes out just as many hoodlums, is due out Nov. 19.

Both summer films did not do the sensational business some predicted, but “Raw Deal” could be a big rental hit because Schwarzenegger is a major home video star. His action/thrillers--”The Terminator” and “Commando”--have been huge home video hits. That same audience may be attracted to “Raw Deal” just because of the star.

However, some industry observers insist that home video audiences are getting bored with the non-stop mayhem in movies like these. Renters may get their fill of corpses with “Raw Deal” and be lukewarm to “Cobra,” some predict.

CHARTS: Neither “Salvador,” the grim tale of a journalist in South America, nor “Trouble in Mind,” the murky cop melodrama, has done well on home video. Neither did well at the box office either. “Salvador” is No. 30 and “Trouble in Mind” dropped off the Top 40 chart after five weeks near the bottom.

“Gung Ho” has done even better than expected, shooting up to No. 2 on the rental chart in just two weeks. “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” which debuted on the rental chart at No. 29, should be in the Top 10 next week.

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, RENTALS (Compiled by Billboard magazine)

1--”Out of Africa” (MCA).

2--”Gung Ho” (Paramount).

3--”Murphy’s Romance” (RCA/Columbia).

4--”Spies Like Us” (Warner Bros.).

5--”Iron Eagle” (CBS-Fox).

6--”Young Sherlock Holmes” (Paramount)

7--”The Jewel of the Nile” (CBS-Fox).

8--”Back to the Future” (MCA).

9--”Jagged Edge” (RCA/Columbia).

10--”Quicksilver” (RCA/Columbia).

TOP VIDEOCASSETTES, SALES 1--”Jane Fonda’s New Workout” (Karl-Lorimar).

2--”The Sound of Music” (CBS-Fox).

3--”Alien” (CBS-Fox).

4--”Kathy Smith’s Body Basics” (JCI).

5--”Alice in Wonderland” (Disney).

6--”The Music Man” (Warner Video).

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

8--”Amadeus” (HBO/Cannon).

9--”Out of Africa” (MCA).

10--”Gung Ho” (Paramount)