2016 Oscars Odds and Betting Preview

The Oscars are less than one week away and there has been some movement in a few of the notable categories. While Leonardo DiCaprio and Brie Larson still dominate their respective categories at the 88th Annual Academy Awards, there is a new favorite at the top of the Best Picture board.

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Here are a list of updated odds and analysis leading into the Oscars.

Best Picture Odds

While Spotlight opened as the favorite to snag the Oscar for Best Picture despite losing out on the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture - Drama earlier on this awards season, The Revenant has moved to the top of the odds board and is now the fave at -250.

The Big Short, which had seen a significant line move earlier on, is now at +600 and placed third on the board. The Revenant cleaned up at the Globes so don’t be surprised if it does the same come Oscar time.

Best Actor Odds

DiCaprio just becomes a stronger favorite every time you look at the odds board and although he was -4000 one week ago, he is now priced at -10000 to snag the statue that has eluded him during his career.

Not much needs to be written here. Despite a talented group of nominees, it was certainly Leo’s performance that garnered the bulk of the buzz from critics and movie goers alike.

Best Actress Odds

Some minor movement in this category as Brie Larson goes from a big fave at -1600 to an even bigger fave at -2500 while at the other end of the board, Charlotte Rampling goes from +4000 to +6600.

Though not quite the gulf that we see in the Best Actor category, Best Actress odds have been dominated by Larson since the noms were announced. What’s surprising is Cate Blanchett, who drew rave reviews in Carol, is only +3300.

Best Director Odds

The books make a big line move on Inarritu, adjusting him from -300 to now -1000 for his work on The Revenant. Inarritu has snagged just about everything he was up for already this awards season (as well as everything for his work on last year’s Birdman as well) so this, much like other aforementioned awards, is not really a surprise.

Remaining Odds

Archived Articles

The Academy has officially released their nominations for the Oscars this season and there were not many surprises. Mad Max: Fury Road grabbed the most noms, mostly for technical categories. However, Spotlight and The Revenant seem like the early favorites to win the top awards.

Here are a list of updated odds and analysis leading into the Oscars.

Best Picture Odds

Despite not picking up the Golden Globe for Best Movie – Drama, Spotlight opened as the odds-on favorite to win Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards. Spotlight has won the award for Best Film/Best Picture in most festivals and shows, but many of these were before the wide release of The Revenant.

Early on this category seems like a two movie race between Spotlight and The Revenant. But as the Oscars began to approach there was a large line move towards The Big Short. With less than one month until the awards are handed out, Spotlight, The Big Short and The Revenant in a virutal deadlock.

Best Actor Odds

This may be Leonardo DiCaprio’s best chance to finally win his illusive Oscar. The Revenant star took home the Golden Globe and is a massive favorite to get the Academy’s nod on February 28.

In all honesty, this is a weak year in this category. Only DiCaprio and Matt Damon garnered major buzz for their roles among the mass audience out of the five nominees. Eddie Redmayne won this award last year so a repeat seems highly unlikely and neither Trumbo or Steve Jobs seemed to excite critics or public an awful lot.

Best Actress Odds

Brie Larson has won nearly every single statue in this category, including the Golden Globe, since the start of award season for her role in Room. The emotionally complex journey that Larson was able to portray in a difficult role put her as a prime breakout actress of next year.

The one thing that could topple Larson is the Academy’s perchance for giving the Best Actress award to more romantic roles. With that in mind, Saoirse Ronan seems like the next best candidate to take home the award with her role in Brooklyn playing into that romanticized ideal.

Best Director Odds

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu managed to take a movie that is largely one character wandering through the woods and turn it into one of the top movies of the year. Inarritu nearly swept this award at ever show last year for his direction of Birdman as well, which could possibly play against him this year.

George Miller has taken a big jump as he was fourth in the odds on January 14, but within one week he was only behind Inarritu. Miller was largely forgetten over the past two decades as he was sporadically directing talking animal movies, but his triumphant return to the Mad Max series was widely acclaimed for virtually every technical aspect including his direction.

Remaining Odds

Archived Articles

There's little time to soak in the Golden Globes this year as the Oscar nominations are set to be released just days after. During that small window, we could see how big wins at the Golden Globes could affect the odds of winning the Academy Award later this winter.

Best Picture Odds

After The Revenant shocked many by claiming the Golden Globe for Best Picture – Drama, it closed as an underdog to Spotlight. The odds have seen a lot of movement towards the Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle. At initial Sportsbook The Revenant was +350, but after the Globes it has jumped up to +150. Spotlight still remains the odds-on favorite despite the film not receiving any major awards at the Globes.

Best Actor Odds

Leonardo DiCaprio may honestly win an Oscar. It's a while until the show, but The Revenant star is a massive -700 favorite to bring home the hardware. When the initial odds for the Academy Awards hit the board many of the big movies had yet to hit a wide release. With most early potential candidates falling flat, Dicaprio is the only name that seems to stand out.

Best Actress Odds

Brie Larson has been sweeping awards season thanks to her performance in Room. The indie film has garnered critical acclaim thanks to Larson’s performance, which was the cornerstone of the movie. Larson was a favorite when the initial line hit the board back in November, but after winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress – Drama, she has jumped to being the odds-on favorite.

Best Director Odds

This category looks like it will be a dogfight heading into the Oscars. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu won the Golden Globe for his direction of The Revenant and has put himself into the favorite position for the Academy Award. However, both Tom McCarthy and Ridley Scott are breathing down his neck to try and stop him from winning the award two years in a row.

Best Supporting Actor and Actress Odds

Archived Articles

The holiday season doesn't just bring annoying family members and too much food; it also ushers in the start of the Oscar season. The winter months are when we see the top-tier Oscar bait hit the theatres and this year is no different.

Before these movies hit the big screen, Sportsbook has a long list of odds on who will win The Academy’s biggest awards.

Best Picture Odds

The Best Picture award seems like a two movie race at this point, with Spotlight and The Revenant listed at +250 and +350 respectively.

Spotlight features A-list talent with Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo getting the top billing in a film that follows the Boston Globe reporters that uncovered the child moleSportsbook scandal within the Catholic Church. It's easy to understand why Spotlight is currently the favorite as ensemble casts telling a true story go over very well with the Academy committee. 

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu follows up his breakthrough directorial performance of Birdman last year with The Revenant, a story of a frontiersman in the 1820’s and his path for vengeance after being left for dead. The film’s trailers show a glimpse of a desolate individual that needs to fight nature as well as his own revenge-fuelled demons.

An interesting movie to keep and eye on is The Danish Girl, a pseudo-biographical depiction of the first person to go through a sex change operation. The movie had a limited run on the film festival scene and was once near the top of the odds to win Best Picture, but has fallen after some middling reviews.

Best Actor Odds

Leonardo DiCaprio is the early favorite to win the Best Actor category.

I wouldn't be surprised if you rolled your eyes at the above statement.

DiCaprio is currently listed at +138 Sportsbook for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in The Revenant. Not far behind though is Michael Fassbender for his version of Steve Jobs (which is about the 3,835th portrayal in the past three years) in the film of the same name.

Early in the Oscar season there isn't a lot of roles that seem to peaque the public's interest for Best Actor. After the top two, only Eddie Redmayne (The Danish Girl) is under +1000. A win would make him just the third actor in history to win the award in back-to-back years.

Best Actress Odds

The Best Actress category has been largely lackluster the past few years, mostly dictated by big name actresses in some iffy roles. This season though could see a re-emergence of the Best Actress category.

Brie Larson has taken the early lead after critics and the public alike have swooned over her character in Room, despite a limited release. Larson portrays Ma, the mother of a small child who she gave birth to while being held captive.

Close behind Larson is Cate Blanchett for Carol, a romantic drama that follows a young photographer and her relationship with an older woman set in 1952 New York.

Remaining Odds