The nominations arrive on Monday. Here’s what the smart money is on…
Election fever may be about to sweep across the nation but there’s still plenty of room for awards buzz to take hold.
Monday will bring the full list of nominations for this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, honouring the very best from the world of cinema in recent times.
As such, it’s a good time to consult the latest betting odds regarding who and what is expected to take home Oscar gold come February.
According to betting site aggregator Oddschecker, several heavy hitters from 2019 are in line for glory.
Chief among them, Joker himself – Joaquin Phoenix.
Fresh from getting arrested over the weekend and landing a Golden Globe the weekend before that, the actor is currently the 2/17 favourite to be named as Best Actor at the Academy Awards on Sunday 9 February.
Next to him you have the likes of Adam Driver for Marriage Story (6/1), Taron Egerton for Elton John biopic Rocketman (12/1) and Antonio Banderas for Pain and Glory (14/1).
Leonardo DiCaprio lags behind those four, which, if an accurate prediction, would mean a Robert De Niro shut-out for The Irishman, which seems unlikely, surely?
Best Actress has Renee Zellweger as the outright favourite (1/4) for her turn as Judy Garland in Judy, with Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story (7/1), Charlize Theron for Bombshell (10/1) and Cynthia Erivo for Harriet (11/1) following on.
Interestingly, Lupita N’yongo takes the fifth spot which, if her name is read out during the nominations, would see her put forward for Us, giving the horror genre a rare representation at the usually drama-heavy bash.
As for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, the smart money is on Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Laura Dern (Marriage Story), respectively.
As far as the other major awards go, the latest odds favour Quentin Tarantino’s ’60s hangout adventure Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Best Picture on 2/1, just ahead of Sam Mendes’ war epic 1917 on 3/1.
Joker, if you’re interested, is on a 10/1 shot.
Best Director, meanwhile, has Sam Mendes in the frame on 6/5 odds, with Bong Joon Ho (Parasite), Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Quentin Tarantino (Hollywood) and Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) in the chasing pack.
Roll on Monday.
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