National Video Rentals : ‘Bodyguard’ Attractive to Females

“A Few Good Men” is the official chart leader but some stores are reporting that No. 7 “The Bodyguard” is their top rental. This thriller, built around a romance between a star singer (Whitney Houston) and her bodyguard (Kevin Costner), is doing particularly strong business among female renters, retailers say. Look for “Bodyguard” to bounce into the top three next week. In certain stores in urban areas, “The Crying Game,” which moved up three notches to No. 5, is the leading rental. Also, many retailers report that “Body of Evidence,” the racy thriller starring Madonna, is consistently among their top rentals--especially the unrated version. “Lorenzo’s Oil,” featuring Susan Sarandon’s Oscar nominated performance, debuted at No. 18. This acclaimed but depressing drama about a gravely ill child isn’t a real crowd-pleaser: It earned only $7 million at the box office and has just an outside chance of reaching the rental Top 10.

* The third green-turtle adventure, which grossed $40.6 million at the box office, is a big attraction among young action fans. It entered the chart at No. 17 and should easily make the Top 10 next week.

Rank Last Week 1. “A Few Good Men” 1 2. “Unforgiven” 4 3. “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” 2 4. “Forever Young” 3 5. “The Crying Game” 8 6. “Body of Evidence” 5 7. “The Bodyguard” 39 8. “Leap of Faith” 7 9. “Jennifer 8” 6 10. “A River Runs Through It” 9 * “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III” ...

Weeks on Chart 1. 3 2. 2 3. 4 4. 6 5. 2 6. 5 7. 2 8. 3 9. 4 10. 9 1

Source: Billboard Publications Inc.