The Hunt for Red October finally had to surrender its number three spot but clung to number five with $3 million ($5.1 million adjusted).

The police corruption and legal drama Q&A debuted this weekend as well but had to settle for number six with $2.8 million ($4.8 million adjusted). This low total flies in the face of the talented cast of Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton and Armand Assante, and legendary director Sidney Lumet. If the Q was "Does anyone really wanted to see this?" Then the A was a clear, "No...not really." Q & A would finish with $11.2 million ($19.1 million adjusted) and be a memory until December/January when Assante got his Golden Globe nomination for the film.

Interesting side note: Sidney Lumet directed the masterpiece original 12 Angry Men in 1957 and William Friedkin directed the HBO remake in 1997. Both men release a movie on the exact same weekend in April 1990.

In honor of 2008's comeback kid, this weekend also saw the theatrical release of Wild Orchid, starring The Wrestler himself, Mickey Rourke and his future wife/ex-wife, Carre Otis. This film was second foray into erotic drama following 1986's 9 1/2 Weeks. There was no hiding the film's purpose of titillation. All you had to do was look at the director, Mr. Zalmon King. King was the writer of 9 1/2 Weeks and the writer/director of the similarly themed Two Moon Junction, prior to Wild Orchid. This soft core trifecta was the perfect groundwork for his future project, Red Shoe Diaries. The name Zalman King would become synonymous with the late night programming of Showtime and Cinemax in the 1990s and hero to every heterosexual teenage boy. Before he would go to that blissful place, King's Wild Orchid would wilt at the box office with a debut of only $2.6 million ($4.4 mil adjusted) and a final of $11 million ($18.7 million adjusted).

All in all, in April 1990, the battle for number one was a two-man fight, rather a four-turtle and one-woman fight. Thanks to its declines of less than 20% for five weeks and 25%+ declines for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pretty Woman finished the month of April on the throne with $81 million already in the bank. Also, Ernest Goes to Jail was the highest grossing film released this month. This seems to highlight the studios' lack of faith in this month for box office revenue.

With summer approaching, how long would Julia Roberts reign? Working in her favor is the fact that this was 1990 and studios still waited to release their summer tentpole blockbusters until late May, unlike today's eager beavers. So, Pretty Woman might just have another month of smooth sailing if May's new films are as lackluster as April's were. May 1990 in Hindsight is coming up next.

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Source for 1990 box office totals: Variety.

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