‘Home Alone 2’ Is All Alone at the Top of the Sales Market

“Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” which came out Tuesday priced at $25, will dominate the home video sales market for the next few months. Distributor sources put FoxVideo’s initial shipment to video outlets at a tidy 8 million copies.

The sequel will be tops among movies priced in the $15-$25 range. But, these days, it’s an easy market to corner--there have been no releases in the last few months that are even remote competition.

“The market for this kind of family film isn’t that crowded right now,” said FoxVideo president Bob DeLellis. “For one thing, there’s no red-hot new Disney title out there right now.”

In “Home Alone 2,” the youngster played by Macaulay Culkin boards the wrong plane, winding up in the Big Apple while his family heads for Miami. It’s the same formula as the first film--resourceful, abandoned kid forced to fend for himself--but set in a different locale.

The original was a surprise hit, grossing more than $285 million, ranking third on the all-time box-office list. The sequel didn’t do badly either, raking in some $175 million.

On home video, the first one, now priced at $20, was a big hit too, with FoxVideo shipping more than 11 million copies.

Will the sequel match the original? FoxVideo’s Bob DeLellis is doubtful. “It has a shot at hitting 10 million copies,” he said. “But I don’t know if it will hit 11 million. One of the concerns is the economy. A lot of people don’t have the money to buy videos right now.”

Though its official retail price is $25, smart shoppers can find “Home Alone 2” for much less. Some places are selling it for around $14.50. That’s hardly any profit margin, considering the wholesale price is about $14.

One possible source for hugely discounted copies is the grocery store--which is rapidly becoming a prominent video outlet. A commercial tie-in with a cereal should boost the visibility of “Home Alone 2” in this market.

“Having a food-product sponsor makes it easier to place the video in grocery stores,” DeLellis explained. “The home video company and the food company can combine their efforts in various promotions. Buying the cereal is tied to buying the video and vice versa.”

As well as it will do on home video, at the end of the year “Home Alone 2” will just be the No. 2 title in the sales market. What will be the leader? It doesn’t hit the market until Oct. 1, but Disney’s animated smash “Aladdin,” some distributors forecast, will be the uncontested champ, shipping roughly 30 million to 35 million units--more than three times the “Home Alone 2” total.

Videobits

Will “Jurassic Park” come to home video this holiday season? That was a hot topic among retailers at the recent Video Software Dealers Convention in Las Vegas. The answer, according to various sources, is probably not. MCA/Universal has home video rights, but hasn’t made any moves in that direction. It may already be too late to set the wheels in motion but if no announcement is made by the end of August, don’t expect “Jurassic Park” in video outlets at the end of the year. The only thing certain about the movie is that it’ll be priced $20-$25 for the sales market.

On Sept. 8, LIVE is releasing the unrated, 150-minute, letterboxed version of the director’s cut of “Basic Instinct” at $25.

What’s New on Video

“Scent of a Woman” (MCA/Universal, no set price). The impact of Al Pacino’s overpowering, Oscar-winning performance is somewhat blunted because it’s trapped in a sentimental, feel-good, buddy movie. He creates an unsparing portrait of a bitter, blind, suicidal former Army officer squired around New York City for a fun “last” weekend by a hired escort (Chris O’Donnell), a preppy in hot water at school over a misfired prank. The buddies, of course, prop each other up. Every plot move is telegraphed but Pacino keeps you riveted.

“Nowhere to Run” (Columbia TriStar, no set price). An attempt to expand action-hero Jean-Claude van Damme’s audience to include women. In a formula tale laced with romance, he plays a noble ex-con who falls for a widow (Rosanna Arquette) with two children, helping her battle evil land developers. May be trifle soppy for his hard-core action fans. Van Damme, though, is clearly growing as an actor.

Upcoming on Video

Just announced: The romantic comedy “The Night We Never Met,” with Matthew Broderick and Annabella Sciorra, comes out Oct. 6.

Also: “Sommersby,” “Sniper,” “Untamed Heart,” “Bad Lieutenant” and “Swing Kids” (Wednesday); “Benny & Joon,” “Falling Down” and “The Vanishing” (Aug. 11); “Chaplin,” “Mad Dog and Glory” and “The Crush” (Aug. 18); “Once Upon a Forest” (Aug. 21); “Groundhog Day” and “Boiling Point” (Aug. 25); “This Boy’s Life,” “Alive” and “Point of No Return” (Sept. 1), “National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1” (Sept. 15), “Indian Summer” (Sept. 22) and “Aladdin” (Oct. 1).

20th Century Fox