In the 48 hours immediately following this past Tuesday’s release of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" more than 5 million copies of the movie were sold.

Saturday, April 08, 2000

In the 48 hours immediately following this past Tuesday’s release of "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" more than 5 million copies of the movie were sold. Austin, like any other town full of Americans who grew up with the first Star Wars trilogy, has seen the videocassette march out of stores at a regular and brisk clip.

"Sales are going very well," said Pat Kane, flow team leader for Target in Austin. "In talking to the person who runs that department, she has said sales are extremely good."

Kane said his store had initially received at least 300 copies, and may have received more since the release.

There are two versions from which the viewing public can choose. While both have Jar Jar Binks, one is a pan-and-scan reformatting for square television screens, and the other is a collector’s edition of the wide-screen version. This version also contains behind the scenes documentary footage, and a 48-page collector’s book excerpted from "The Art of Star Wars."

Ben Goodwin, manager of the Austin Hollywood Video, also agreed the tapes are moving well.

"It’s been fairly brisk," Goodwin said. "We got over 100 of them to sell, and we’ve moved at least 20-30 of them so far."

Goodwin said the largest number of these sales were generated before the tape was even released, in a special pre-sale the store had. However, some people are still coming in specifically to buy it now, as well as those who can’t resist purchasing it while they rent other movies for a less-permanent viewing.