With Thursday’s announcement of the 97th Academy Awards nominees, bettors looking to get in on the action and sportsbooks offering Oscars odds now have a clear picture. Heading into Mar. 2 Oscars ceremony, there've been some notable changes in the pre-nomination markets while others remain quite similar.
Best Picture
All five of the top five films listed pre-announcement were officially nominated Thursday for one of the most prestigious honors, and the market continues to have a clear-cut favorite.
The Brutalist led the market before and after the announcement, opening as a -165 favorite at DraftKings and -163 at bet365. It remained the favorite Thursday but with shorter -130 odds at DraftKings and -125 at bet365.
Emilia Perez remained at +300 at DraftKings but fell to +600 at bet365 after the announcement. Conclave fell back the most, going from +250 to +600, the same odds as Anora.
Wicked and Dune: Part Two both made the cut but became bigger long shots with +2,500 odds at bet365. A Complete Unknown slipped a tad to +1,600 while Nickel Boys is way back at +1,600.
The Substance (+2,500) and I’m Still Here (+5,000) weren’t listed in some of the pre-announcement odds, but both films were nominated. Sing Sing, with +1,000 pre-nomination odds, didn’t make the Academy Awards list.
Best Actor
Just like Best Picture, the market spoke loudly about Best Actor. Adrien Brody was nominated for his role in The Brutalist and is a -175 favorite at DraftKings and bet365. He was around -200 before the nominations came out.
Timothee Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) is not far behind at +150 while Ralph Fiennes is listed at +650 for his acting job in Conclave. Despite Sing Sing not making the cut for Best Picture, Colman Domingo received a nomination and is listed at +1,200.
Sebastian Stan’s role in A Different Man had better odds before the announcement at +800, but the Oscars went with his character in The Apprentice (+2,500) to round out nominations.
Best Actress
Four of the top five listed in pre-announcement odds ended up getting nominated. Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Hard Truths) was the only one left out.
There was also a switch at the top in the Best Actress category. Demi Moore’s character in The Substance jumped Mikey Madison’s role in Anora to become the favorite after nominations were released. Moore went from +125 to -135 at DraftKings while Madison fell from -135 to +125.
Karla Sofia (Emilia Perez) and Fernanda Torres (I’m Still Here) fell back significantly in odds, going from around +500 to +1,400. Despite not being in the top five early odds, Cynthia Ervio got the nomination for her role in Wicked. She’s still a long shot at +1,400 to win the Oscar.
Best Director
The stars align well for The Brutalist to have a big Oscar night. Brady Corbet is the favorite for Best Director with -500 odds at DraftKings. He was -310 before nominations, strengthening his chances in the market.
Sean Baker, who directed Anora, is currently listed at +450, down from +275 in early odds.
Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez) went from +700 to +800 but moved from fourth to third on the odds list while James Mangold (A Complete Unknown) is +2,000 after not being listed in the pre-announcement market. Coralie Fargeat was also nominated for directing The Substance and is listed at +2,000.
Ridley Scott (Gladiator II), who was previously listed third, and Denis Villeneuve (Dune: Part Two) were both left out of the nominations despite getting early market attention.
Other Oscar markets
Kieran Culkin is a massive -900 favorite at DraftKings to win Best Supporting Actor for his role in A Real Pain. Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) is listed second at +900.
Zoe Saldana (Emilia Perez) is likely to take home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as she’s -700 to win. Ariana Grande (Wicked) is second at +500 with Felicity Jones (The Brutalist) listed third at +1,200. Dune: Part Two is a -500 favorite to capture the Best Visual Effects honor.
