Those of you who often enjoy visiting betting sites and not just online casinos (I know that in a whoooole lot of cases these two groups overlap – I’ve got numerous friends who play slots and also bet on football) know that betting isn’t just for sports maniacs. Whenever there’s some kind of huge event, there’s always going to be people betting on it. I mean, remember a year ago when Kate Middleton was giving birth to what would later be known as Princess Charlotte? Well, betting sites everywhere were all over that, taking bets left and right about the gender of the royal baby. Statistically, the chance of it being a girl was higher than that of it being a boy, so those who bet smart got to enjoy some benefits in the form of a generous payout.
No stats can help people now, though, as the Oscars have given everyone another excuse to run straight to the nearest betting site. Numerous online bookies have revealed the odds of various movies winning Best Picture, as well as several other categories, such as Best Actor and Actress. For best movie, the leading contenders seem to be Spotlight, which has a 5/6 odds of winning, and that makes me think it’s something I should probably watch in the near future, because that is literally the first time I even heard of it. The Revenant is holding 13/8 odds, while The Martian and Big Short have comparatively lower odds. It would be a complete waste of money to vote on The Martian or Mad Max, though – “mainstream” action-heavy movies haven’t won a Best Picture Oscar in years, and they’re not about to start now.
As for Best Actor, fans and bookies alike are convinced that after two nominations that didn’t pan out the Academy will FINALLY acknowledge Leonardo DiCaprio with a trophy, and thus his role in The Revenant holds 1/12 odds. Last year’s winner, Eddie Redmayne, holds a 10/1 odds, while Magnet—Err, Michael Fassbender holds 9/1 odds, making those two Leonardo’s closest competitors in that category. As for Best Actress, it seems like Brie Larson is a favorite for her performance in Room (not to be confused with the 2003 cinematic masterpiece The Room, which, sadly, didn’t win any awards) with odds of 2/7, while Saoirse Ronan from Brooklyn (the movie, not the neighborhood) can brag with 11/2 odds. Jennifer Lawrence, who already won one Oscar for her role in Silver Lining Playbook, is facing 7/1 odds for her role in Joy, which makes her an unlikely candidate to win, but certainly not an impossible one.
So, who are you going to be betting on? Do you believe that poor old Leo will finally receive an acknowledgment from the Academy? Is there even a tiny wee chance of Mad Max grabbing best picture? And will Tommy Wiseau, director of The Room, finally get his long-overdue lifetime achievement award? We’ll find out on February 28th!