VIDEO RENTALS : Spirited Race for Runner-Up to ‘Ghost’

With “Ghost” entrenched in the No. 1 position on the Billboard magazine rental chart, the big battle is for second place. The competitors are “Presumed Innocent” (No. 2) and “Pacific Heights” (No. 3), which traded places this week. Of the two, “Presumed Innocent” was the bigger box-office hit, so it may hang onto the runner-up spot for the next few weeks. “Memphis Belle,” the World War II drama, was an instant hit, cruising up to No. 6 in its second week on the chart. So maybe all that TV coverage of the Gulf War didn’t spoil renters’ appetite for war movies. “Miller’s Crossing,” the bloody, critically acclaimed gangster movie that was a box-office flop ($4.6 million), is doing surprisingly well in the rental market, jumping to No. 12 in its second week on the chart.

* Director David Lynch’s sordid drama about two young lovers (Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern) did OK in theaters ($15 million). Enough of Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” fans will be curious about “Wild at Heart” to make it a popular rental. After two weeks, it’s No. 7.

Ranking Weeks Ranking 2 Weeks On Rental Top Rentals Last Week Ago Chart 1. “Ghost” (Paramount) 1 1 4 2. “Presumed Innocent” (Warner) 3 6 3 3. “Pacific Heights” (Fox Video) 2 4 4 4. “Arachnophobia” (Hollywood) 5 3 7 5. “Flatliners” (RCA/Columbia) 4 2 9 * “Wild at Heart” (Media) 18 ... 2