The Left Lane
Not so 'Invincible'

Michael Jackson's upcoming album may be called "Invincible," but some radio insiders question whether the title is appropriate.

In its fifth week on the charts, the first single from the Epic release, "You Rock My World," dropped from No. 16 to 17 on Airplay Monitor's mainstream top-40 charts. The song received 89 fewer spins on Monitor's panel of radio stations than in the previous week, causing it to lose a "bullet." "World" also lost its bullet on the more R&B-oriented top-40 rhythmic format, where it's No. 18 — generally seen as an indicator that a song has peaked.

Airplay editor Sean Ross allows that, "If this were another artist, we would be waiting eight to 12 weeks," but much is expected of Jackson.

Hillary Shaev, executive vice president of promotions at Epic, argues that "World's" high-profile debut and the general "slowdown at radio" since Sept. 11 contributed to the single's lack of growth. She adds, "We feel we have a long way to go with ... ('World'), that it will move up the charts."

Producers optimistic

The audience for HBO's expensive "Band of Brothers" miniseries dropped after the Sept. 11 attacks but shows signs of leveling off. The 10-part series, a World War II saga created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, was HBO's most expensive series ever at a cost of $120 million. It began with strong ratings in back-to-back episodes Sept. 9, drawing 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Following the attacks, HBO stopped all promotion for the series and the second week's episode drew 7.3 million viewers, Nielsen said. Two subsequent installments had 6.3 million and 6.1 million viewers. Still, this isn't atypical for new shows; HBO is "extremely pleased" with viewership, said spokeswoman Tobe Becker.

The ratings are on a par with HBO series like "Sex and the City" and "Six Feet Under," while lower than those of "The Sopranos."

Disney execs are struggling to push domestic box-office revenues of would-be summer blockbuster "Pearl Harbor" past the $200 million-plus mark, the unofficial benchmark for "blockbuster" status, as attained by such films as "The Mummy Returns" ($202 million), "Rush Hour 2" ($215.6 million) and "Shrek" ($264.8 million).

Disney increased the number of screens showing "Pearl" Aug. 30, hoping for a Labor Day push into the $200 Million Club, but the film emerged from that weekend at $197.4 million. Disney distribution head Chuck Viane told Daily Variety that he was expecting the film to surpass the magic number following a month-long run in discount theaters beginning today.

Industry insiders originally predicted the $145 million film would easily reach $250 million in domestic gross over its summer run. "Pearl" has taken in $244.5 million in foreign markets for a worldwide gross of $441.8 million. Foreign box office and DVD sales are seen as the film's best hopes for profitability.

The PG-13 rated "Pearl Harbor," panned by most critics, is set for DVD release on Dec. 4 at $29.99, with a special R-rated three-disc director's cut following on Jan. 15 for $39.99.