‘Cinderella’ Video Proving a Big Seller, Despite ‘E.T.’

With all the fuss about MCA’s “E.T.,” which has dominated the home video market, “Cinderella” has gotten as much attention as an ugly stepsister.

But every few weeks the company releases whopping reorder figures as a reminder that “Cinderella,” a Disney/Buena Vista release that retails for $26.99, is a blockbuster too. The latest count, announced Wednesday, is 7 million copies sold to retailers and distributors. That’s a staggering 2.7 million reorders since the initial 4.3 million sold before the Oct. 4 release.

“We haven’t even reached the peak of the holiday season yet,” Richard Cohen, senior vice president of Buena Vista, said jubilantly.

“Cinderella,” which will be pulled from the market April 30, could easily top 8 million by then.

In any other year, Disney would be the industry hero for selling more than twice as many cassettes as the previous record-holder, “Lady and the Tramp.” But “Cinderella” trails “E.T.” by at least 4 million units. The last sales figure announced by MCA was 11 million, more than one month ago. Some industry experts are predicting that the figure will swell to between 12 million and 14 million.

Initially, many predicted that “Cinderella” would suffer because the “E.T.” ordering binge would deplete retailers’ budgets. But the “Cinderella” reorders keep quietly piling up at a phenomenal pace.

What’s going on?

Part of the reason for the “Cinderella” surge, Cohen pointed out, is massive TV advertising, which has enhanced consumer awareness of “Cinderella.” Another is positive fallout from an unexpected source.

“The presence of ‘E.T.’ in the market has helped ‘Cinderella,’ ” Cohen explained. “It’s brought more consumers in the marketplace and expanded the home-video outlets.”

Some industry insiders are even saying that some customers have been turned off by MCA’s well-publicized problems with meeting the “E.T.” demand. When “E.T.” was out of stock, some potential buyers apparently decided instead to give “Cinderella,” which was always readily available.

“The efficiency of our operation distinguished us from our competition,” Cohen said, gloating a bit.

RENTAL PRICE INCREASE: Is there a rental price rise on the horizon?

That’s what some people were wondering in the wake of Paramount Home Video’s announcement last week of a slight increase in wholesale price, from $56.67 to $58, of four movies scheduled for release next year--”The Presidio,” “Crocodile Dundee II,” “Tucker” and “Coming to America.”

But Paramount senior vice president Eric Doctorow insists that “no across-the-board price increase” is planned for Paramount rentals. “The increase is just for those four titles. We’re spending significantly more money on TV advertising to support these titles, so the increase is justified.”

What consumers are concerned about is that a wholesale price hike--even a tiny one--might be passed on to them.

“Not this one,” said Ron Castell, vice president of the Erol’s chain. “It’s too small.”

But could this be the beginning of a trend? If Paramount can do it, why not other companies? If many home-video companies raise their wholesale prices, retailers would undoubtedly boost rental prices.

Castell agreed: “This is a copycat industry. If one guy does it and gets away with it, others will do it. If wholesale prices go way up, so will rental prices. Paramount has been an industry leader in other trends. Let’s hope that’s not the case here.”