National Video Rentals : ‘Sliver’ Full of Rental Sex Appeal

Sharon Stone’s latest, “Sliver”--which is full of steamy scenes--had a huge opening rental week, debuting at No. 3. A box-office disappointment considering all the hoopla surrounding its opening, its $35.5-million gross was well below expectations. But this is the kind of racy movie that really scores in the rental market because fans prefer to watch it at home. “Sliver” may not be in such big demand this week, considering it’s a family-oriented holiday, but it should be a strong long-term rental. “Posse” (No. 4) and “Born Yesterday” (No. 5), which did just modest box-office business, are doing surprisingly well as rentals. Like many movies, they apparently weren’t attractive enough for most people to bother seeing in theaters but just attractive enough to rent for a few dollars. “Weekend at Bernie’s II,” which earned just $11.2 million in theaters, debuted at No. 22 and doesn’t appear to have the makings of a big rental hit.

* Look for “Free Willy,” featuring the kindly killer whale who’s yearning to break out of that marine park, to be the hit of the weekend. It can’t miss, being a freshly released, feel-good family movie on the year’s biggest family weekend. A surprise box-office smash ($70-million gross), “Free Willy “ opened low (No. 39), but should easily splash its way into the Top 5.

Rank Weeks Last on the Week Chart 1. “Indecent Proposal” 1 5 2. “Dennis the Menace” 2 3 3. “Sliver” ... 1 4. “Posse” 6 3 5. “Born Yesterday” 8 3 6. “Falling Down” 5 14 7. “The Sandlot” 4 4 8. “Groundhog Day” 7 13 9. “Point of No Return” 3 12 10. “Scent of a Woman” 10 16 * “Free Willy” ... 1

Source: Billboard Publications Inc.