National Video Rentals : Keeping and Eye on ‘Kalifornia’

“Kalifornia,” with Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis, may have played to near-empty theaters, but rental audiences sure love it. It climbed two more notches to No. 6, out-performing some much more heralded, higher-grossing films. “The Man Without a Face,” is No. 7 after two weeks. Though Mel Gibson isn’t playing the usual macho hunk, the film, which he also directed, is still luring renters. But this sentimental drama probably won’t have the staying power of Gibson’s action fare. Kim Basinger lost a multi-million suit for allegedly backing out of an agreement to star in the sexy “Boxing Helena”--dubbed “Bombing Helena” in movie circles because of its puny box-office numbers. Still, the notoriety may translate into home-video success, even though Basinger would have been a stronger rental attraction than Sherilyn Fenn. “Helena” debuted at No. 25 and should at least crack the Top 20. .

* Most adults would no doubt cringe at “Son-in-Law,” which gets laughs as urbanite Pauly Shore bumbles through a visit down on the farm. But pre-teens and teens are drawn to this kind of low-brow silliness. It did fine at the box-office--$36.4 million--and is expected to be a rental hit too. After debuting at No. 19 this week, it should shoot into the Top 10 in the next week or two.

Rank Weeks Last on the Week Chart 1.”In the Line of Fire” 1 3 2.”Hard Target” 2 5 3.”Last Action Hero” 3 5 4 .”Sleepless in Seattle” 4 11 5.”The Firm” 5 10 6.”Kalifornia” 8 5 7.”The Man Without a Face” 14 2 8.”Dave” 6 10 9.”Rookie of the Year” 7 5 10.”Robin Hood: Men in Tights” 11 7 *”Son-in-Law” ... 1

Source: Billboard Publications Inc.