VIDEO RENTALS : ‘Ghost’ Keeps a Lock on the Top Spot

It’s starting to look like “Ghost” might hold the No. 1 spot on Billboard magazine’s video rental chart through Halloween. In fact, the whole Top Five might hold pat for a while, with new challengers scarce. The most likely new contender: “Rocky V,” which debuts on the chart this week at No. 14. With a take of $40.9 million, the boxing saga wasn’t the box-office knockout of its predecessors, but it is a “Rocky,” and Sylvester Stallone’s comedic turn in the new hit “Oscar” could help “Rocky V” stand at least as long as the equally venerable (and equally bloated) George Foreman did against Evander Holyfield. “The Jungle Book,” the latest Disney animated reissue, debuts at No. 36, behind such box-office bombs as Prince’s “Graffiti Bridge” (new at No. 32) and “Bride of Re-Animator” (No. 34). But the Kipling kartoon kapers should rent and sell steadily.

* Surprisingly, “Rocky V” isn’t the top-ranked newcomer. That nod goes to “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” the screen adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s look at the lifestyles of the vapid and shallow. It failed to catch flame in the theaters ($15.7 million), but apparently stars Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis are names that smolder in the stores.

Ranking Weeks Ranking 2 Weeks On Rental Top Rentals Last Week Ago Chart 1. “Ghost” (Paramount) 1 1 6 2. “Presumed Innocent” (Warner) 2 2 5 3. “Pacific Heights” (FoxVideo) 3 3 6 4. “Marked for Death” (FoxVideo) 5 ... 2 5. “Memphis Belle” (Warner) 4 6 4 * “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (Warner) ... ... 1