At the North American box office, Crazy Heart (above), The Blind Side, and The Hurt Locker were the only three movies that benefited from their Oscar victories last Sunday.
Starring Jeff Bridges as a down-and-out country singer who strikes up a relationship with a younger woman (Maggie Gyllenhaal), Crazy Heart earned Bridges the Best Actor Oscar, in addition to another statuette for Best Original Song ("The Weary Kind" by T Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham).
More than any other film, Crazy Heart has been immensely helped by the awards season buzz. Following Bridges' win the film lost a mere 5.7 percent from the previous weekend — the smallest decrease among the top twelve films at the North American box office according to Box Office Mojo. To date, Crazy Heart has grossed $34.2 million.
At #13 this weekend, The Blind Side did even better, gaining 24.3 percent despite losing 19 screens. The sentimental drama stars Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock. The film's total currently stands at $252.6 million.
After adding 75 screens for a total of 349 venues, Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker grossed $828K, or $2,372 per screen, at #17. Not a huge average, but not insignificant, either, considering that the Iraq War drama was initially released last summer and has already become a sizable hit on DVD. The Hurt Locker won five other Oscars, including Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow) and Best Original Screenplay (Mark Boal). Total to date: $15.7 million.
Despite its two Oscar wins — Best Adapted Screenplay for Geoffrey Fletcher and Best Supporting Actress for Mo'Nique — Precious didn't fare very well. It lost nearly two-thirds of its box-office income, taking in only $70K at 115 screens, for a $609 average.
Avatar, which won three Oscars in the technical categories, dropped 18.7 percent compared to last week. Except for the Alice in Wonderland opening weekend, Avatar's decreases have usually ranged between 10 and 20 percent. So, the Oscars probably didn't make much of a difference here.
Photo: Crazy Heart (Lorey Sebastian / 20th Century Fox)