VIDEO CHARTS : Here Comes ‘E.T.’

“E.T.’s” home for the next few months looks like it will be the Billboard magazine sales chart, which measures sales to retailers and distributors. With only part of the returns in, “E.T.” entered the sales chart at No. 13. Next week, probably No. 1. Also, “E.T.” will debut on the rental chart next week. After a slight rental lull, “Rambo III” bounded to No. 6. But “Beetlejuice,” the creepy-funny Michael Keaton vehicle, is the hottest new rental, rocketing to No. 7 in only its second week on the chart. “Little Nikita,” starring Sidney Poitier and River Phoenix, didn’t do much at the box office but has strong home-video market potential. Because Poitier’s “Shoot to Kill” is a popular rental, look for a spillover effect on “Nikita” (No. 30).

Rental Weeks Sales Top Ranking On Rental Chart Rentals Last Week Chart Ranking 1. “Moonstruck” 1 9 -- (MGM/UA) 2. “Shoot to Kill” 2 5 -- (Touchstone) 3. “Cinderella” 6 4 1 (Disney Home Video) 4. “*batteries not included” 3 6 24 (MCA Home Video) 5. “Masquerade” 7 4 -- (CBS-Fox) ** “Bright Lights, Big City” -- 1 -- (MGM/UA)

** Michael J. Fox stars in this downer, based on the Jay McInerney best-seller, about a coked-out fact-checker toiling for a Big Apple magazine that suspiciously resembles the New Yorker. Reviews were mixed, but Fox is such a big draw in the home-video market that this one could rent well on his name alone. It debuted at No. 21 and has a good shot at the Top 10.