VIDEO RENTALS : ‘Little Mermaid’ Swims Along

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is floating slowly toward the top of the Billboard rental chart, moving up two rungs to No. 4. This is clearly the most popular home-video title on the market now, but many fans are buying it, at $26.99, rather than renting it, which cuts into its rental success. Still, this will probably be the movie that topples No. 1 “Look Who’s Talking.” The Eddie Murphy comedy “Harlem Nights” took three weeks to get to No. 7--unusually slow for a Murphy movie. Apparently, most of the rentals have been to hard-core fans. Chart debuts: “The Fabulous Baker Boys” (No. 13) and Woody Allen’s “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (No. 18).

* “Back to the Future Part II,” starring Michael J. Fox, is getting a boost from the all the advertising and promotion surrounding the current theatrical release of “Part III.” But because of its whopping box-office gross--$115 million--”Part II” was expected to be a rental smash anyway. In its second week on the chart, it jumped from No. 36 to No. 9.

Ranking Weeks Ranking 2 Weeks On Rental Top Rentals Last Week Ago Chart 1. “Look Who’s Talking” 1 1 7 (RCA/Columbia) 2. “Sea of Love” 2 2 6 (MCA/Universal) 3. “Black Rain” 3 3 6 (Paramount) 4. “The Little Mermaid” 6 29 3 (Disney) 5. “Dead Poets Society” 4 4 10 (Touchstone) * “Back to the Future II” 36 -- 2 (MCA/Universal)