Give Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges some credit

Give Bullock and Bridges some credit. The key to a box-office boost from the Oscars this year, it seems, was winning a lead acting trophy.

Lead actress Sandra Bullock’s “The Blind Side” and lead actor Jeff Bridges’ “Crazy Heart” both posted very strong performances this weekend after the stars won Academy Awards the previous Sunday.

Ticket sales for “The Blind Side” grew by 24%, despite a small drop in the number of theaters where it played, bringing total receipts to $252.7 million.

“Crazy Heart” added 87 theaters and saw ticket sales drop a minuscule 6% to $3.1 million. The character study of a down-and-out country singer has collected a total of $34.2 million so far, a very impressive total for an independently produced drama.

Best picture and director winner “The Hurt Locker,” meanwhile, was hamstrung by already being on DVD. Citing policies against playing movies already on DVD, the nation’s biggest theater chain, Regal Entertainment, refused to play the film at all, while its two biggest competitors put the Iraq war drama on only a handful of screens each. As a result, “Hurt Locker” added just $828,000, bringing its total gross to $15.7 million.