91st Academy Awards Betting Odds

OddsShark | Sun, Feb 17 2019, 10:00am
Updated: Mon, Feb 25 2019, 8:02am

On February 24, Hollywood elites and other movie professionals gather to celebrate all things cinema for the 91st Academy Awards.

The biggest films of the year go head-to-head vying for top honors, aka a statue that looks like a Ken doll that fell into a vat of matte gold nail polish. Winners are chosen by members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), an organization consisting of approximately 6,000 movie industry professionals.

Oddsmakers calculate Academy Awards betting odds by determining each nominee’s chance of winning their respective category. One of the great things about Oscar betting lines is that they often come with reduced juice – commission that the sportsbook takes from each bet. Since wagering on the Oscars only comes once yearly, unlike betting on football, online betting sites provide cheaper lines to give bettors an incentive.

One of the biggest betting opportunities is a wager on Best Picture. However, one of the worst beats in the history of betting came on February 26, 2017, when Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty presented the award for Best Picture. For those who have chosen to block this from memory, here’s a recap:

Dunaway and Beatty announced that La La Land had won the Oscar for Best Picture. Unfortunatly, the real winner was Moonlight. It was only when the producer of La La Land, Jordan Horowitz, accepted the award that the mistake was realized. Dunaway and Beatty had been handed the wrong envelope – the one containing the results for Best Actress, which had already been awarded to Emma Stone. It was a huge upset, and to say it was an awkward moment would be an understatement.

La La Land was the heavy favorite and bettors thought they’d be collecting their winnings after Bonnie and Clyde announced Best Picture. Unfortunately, those bettors found themselves on the losing side of a bad beat. On the other hand, those who took Moonlight to win Best Picture had it made.

Odds Shark’s Oscar Picks

Betting on the Academy Awards is risky because handicapping a movie or an actor’s performance can be tricky. If you’ve seen any of the nominated films, you’re at an advantage.

Glenn Close has seven Oscar noms under her belt. We believe she’ll finally get that gold statue this year for her performance in The Wife.
Bohemian Rhapsody comes with baggage. First, there’s the accusations against director Bryan Singer. Second, there’s the whole “leaving out a chunk of Freddie Mercury’s life” thing. However, Academy voters didn’t seem to care about any of that when nominating the film for multiple awards. So, our money’s on the film’s star, Rami Malek, to win Best Actor.
Back in the day Alphonso Cuaron directed an adaptation of Great Expectations that was basically all soundtrack. Sure, there was dialogue but it was truly a horrendous movie, probably made to showcase whatever music was considered cool in 1998. That being said, he’s made some decent movies since and we believe Cuaron will win Best Director for Roma even though it should go to Spike Lee.
Speaking of Spike Lee, he’s going to probably take home the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman. Lee has never won an Oscar, which is a travesty. What’s even more surprising is that he’s only been nominated twice, for Do the Right Thing (1990, Best Original Screenplay) and 4 Little Girls (1998, Best Documentary Feature).

Below you’ll find a list of odds for the 91st Academy Awards. You can also check out our expert Best Picture betting guide for extra handicapping materials.

91st Academy Awards – Odds To Win Best Picture

Roma -280
Green Book +300
Bohemian Rhapsody +1800
The Favourite +1800
Black Panther +2500
BlacKkKlansman +2800
A Star Is Born +3300
Vice +6600