National Video Rentals : No One’s Catching ‘The Fugitive’

The competition is still having no luck chasing “The Fugitive,” which continues to be the runaway rental champ. Many retailers are reporting that it’s truly clobbering all challengers, renting about twice as fast as any others. Of course, rental outlets can afford to stock up on “The Fugitive,” since its retail price is just $25. They can buy several copies of it for the price of just one rental copy of the average movie. “The Joy Luck Club,” which did good box-office business ($32.4-million gross), opened strong on the chart, at No. 9. This drama about Asian American mothers and daughters is a solid Top 5 candidate. It looks as if the Bruce Willis cop-action movie “Striking Distance” won’t get closer than striking distance to the top of the chart. Despite being a strong Top 5 rental, it never reached No. 1 and now seems to be past its peak. And renters so far haven’t been tickled by the comedy “Fatal Instinct,” which debuted last week at No. 34 and stayed there.

* Some video retailers are predicting the suicide last week of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain will boost interest in the acclaimed new rental, “Dazed and Confused.” Though it’s about dazed and confused teens of the ‘70s, much of it is relevant to the current generation. Some of the characters in the movie, which features a cast of unknowns, grapple with the same kind of alienation issues that trouble today’s teens--and also haunted Cobain. “Dazed” didn’t really find an audience in theaters ($5.2-million gross) but could click as a rental. It debuted at No. 14.

Rank Weeks Last on the Week Chart 1.”The Fugitive” 1 4 2.”In the Line of Fire” 2 8 3.”Demolition Man” 3 5 4.”The Good Son” 4 4 5.”Striking Distance” 5 5 6.”What’s Love Got to Do With It” 6 6 7.”Judgment Night” 8 4 8.”The Man Without a Face” 6 7 9.”The Joy Luck Club” ... 1 10.”Son-in-Law” 10 6 *”Dazed and Confused” ... 1

Source: Billboard Publications Inc.