It hasn't been a good stretch at the box office, as the numbers fell below those of 1994 for the fourth week running. Though the popularity of Universal's low-budget "Billy Madison" demonstrated the public's continued appetite for broad comedies in the "Dumb and Dumber" vein, the gross for "The Quick and the Dead' was under expectations given the number of theaters in which it was shown and the marquee value of Gene Hackman and Sharon Stone.
"Legends of the Fall" toppled from first place after a month but the film may get a boost from today's Oscar nominations, as will other Academy Award contenders. While newcomers "The Jerky Boys," "In the Mouth of Madness" and "Boys on the Side" failed to take off, film industry folks are looking to this week's debuts of "Heavyweights," "The Brady Bunch" and "Just Cause" to turn things around.
