Academy Awards odds for Best Actor, Actress, and Best Picture

The Academy Awards are one of the most bet-on events outside of sports. This year, betting on the Academy Awards is expected to exceed any year on record, according to Tim Williams, a spokesperson for BetUS Sportsbook (pronounced ‘Bet U.S.’) , as bettors look to the big screen during the lull between the Super Bowl and “March Madness,” as the NCAA college basketball playoffs are known. 

BetUS recently opened betting on this year’s 95th Academy Awards, and the odds are changing fast as money and bets poor in, Williams says.  According to the latest Academy Awards odds on BetUS, on Thursday afternoon, Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler are currently tied as the favorites to take home the Oscar for best actor: Fraser for his performance in The Whale and Butler for his role in Elvis. Both are currently at “even money” odds, meaning you double your money if your bet on one of the actors wins.  

The film Everywhere Everything All at Once is currently favored at –325 odds for Best Picture, which translates to a 76.47% implied probability. Because the film is so highly favored to win, the odds are not very lucrative: a $100 bet pays out just $130.77, which includes the return of your $100 stake.  

Cate Blanchett is currently favored –275 to win the Best Actress category, for her role in Tár, meaning a $100 bet would pay out $136.36. 

But with so many talented and worthy nominations and the diversity of their performances, the favorites are anything but a sure bet, and the rest of the field pay much better odds. Each year there are many surprises at the Academy Awards, so here are some other nominations worthy of considering with your betting dollar. 

Best Actor:  

Looking for some better odds than the ‘even money’ offered for bets on Best Actor favorites, Brendan Fraser and Austin Butler? Collin Farrell, Bill Nighty and Austin Butler are all great options that would put more dollars in your pocket should they win.  

Collin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin plays his best career turn as a simple Irishman who tries desperately to reconnect with his former best friend during the Irish Civil War.  Farrell is currently at +450 odds at BetUS, meaning a $100 bet on Farrell to win Best Actor would pay out a cool $550. 

The 73-year-old British actor, Bill Nighty has arguably delivered his career best and has received widespread critical acclaim for his deeply moving performance in Living. His presentation of a terminally ill, gentlemanly character could be the surprise we are all waiting for. If you are as impressed with his performance as the critics, BetUS will pay out a whopping $3,400 for a $100 bet on the British actor at +3300 (33-to-1) odds.  

Last but not least, Paul Mescal acted beautifully as a young father in Aftersun. Mescal was listed with +5000 (50-to-1) odds on BetUS on Thursday, meaning a $100 bet on the actor would result in a $5,100 payout. 

A curious fact about the Best Actor in a Leading Role category: None of the five contenders have ever been nominated.  

Best Actress: 

BetUS has Cate Blanchett as the favorite to win the award for her performance in Tár.  However, according to the critics, Michelle Yeoh’s outstanding performance in Everywhere Everything All at Once of a complex character with numerous versions of herself in a parallel universe has the Malaysian actress neck-and-neck with Blanchett for Best Actress.  

Yeoh could make history by becoming the first Asian woman to win the category. Her odds are not bad at all at +175, which means a $100 bet would return a total of $275.  

Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie), Ana de Armas (Blonde) and Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans) complete the nominations for this category.   

Best Picture:  

Everything Everywhere All at Once (-325), leads the nominations with 11 possible awards, followed closely by The Banshees of Inisherin (+550) and All Quiet on the Western Front (+600 or 6-to-1), a World War I movie, both of which scored nine nominations.   

For their part, The Fabelmans offers odds of +1200 or 12-to-1 and Tár is listed at +3300 or 33-to-1 odds at BetUS. 

The two highest-grossing films of the year, Avatar: The Way of Water and Top Gun: Maverick carry odds of +6600 (66-to-1) and +1000 (10-to-1) respectively.  

Women Talking and Triangle of Sadness both offer the longest odds at +8000 or 80-to-1. A $100 bet on either film to take Best Picture would pay out $8,100.