2010 OSCARS ODDS AND LATEST ACADEMY AWARD BETTING TIPS
We are only a few short days away from the 2010 Academy Awards and the betting markets at Betfair have been heating up for quite some time. There is some very serious betting volume out there already and I expect it to grow exponentially in the next few days. There are some seemingly foregone conclusions about this year's awards that are slated to be hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.
The narrative heading into the 2010 Oscars is Avatar vs Hurt Locker in a head-to-head battle. The producer of the Hurt Locker, Nicolas Chartier, has been banned from the Oscar ceremony by publically disparaging Avatar- a practice that the Academy explicitly forbids.
The Hurt Locker is the odds-on favourite to win best picture this year after picking up a BAFTA award a few weeks ago. Avatar and the Hurt Locker are virtually the only films in contention for the 2010 Best Picture betting. The Hurt Locker trades at 1.96 to win while Avatar can be backed at 2.28. The closest competitor is Inglorious Basterds at 22.0. Up in the Air, tipped to be the favourite at one point, sits at a lengthy 75.0.
The Best Director Odds for the 2010 Academy Awards indicate that Kathryn Bigelow has it sown up already with a price of 1.24 against James Cameron's 5.5. Quentin Tarantino sits at 38.0.
Best leading actor looks to be Jeff Bridges, who is priced very short at 1.16 to win with his closest competition being Colin Firth at 22.0. Morgan Freeman can be backed at 25.0 for his performance in Invictus.
The race for the 2010 Best Actress Oscar is a bit more competitive and looks to be a race between Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep. Bullock is favoured by quite a bit at 1.64 while Streep can be backed at 3.3. Carey Mulligan is the dark horse at 15.5.
Christopher Waltz is the heaviest favourite of the entire Oscars betting market with a price of 1.06 for his role in the Inglorious Basterds. MoNique is also a virtual lock at 1.07 for her breakout role in Precious.
Inglorious Basterds looks set to pick up the Best Original Screenplay Award with a 1.54 listing against the Hurt Locker at 3.15.
Avatar is solid in the editing and effects markets, but the Hurt Locker has started to pull away rapidly for the 2010 Oscar for Film Editing. The Hurt Locker sits at 1.35 while Avatar can be backed at 2.74. Avatar is at 1.41 to win for Best Sound Editing while Best Sound Mixing has the Cameron blockbuster priced at 1.63. Avatar is an absolute lock for Visual Effects at 1.03. Avatar is also at 1.2 for best Art Direction.
Best Cinematography is very competitive with Avatar at 2.36 and the Hurt Locker at 2.98. The White Ribbon is also in contention at 4.9.
Betfair also has head-to-head betting markets for the 2010 Academy Awards. Avatar is at 1.42 to get more awards than The Hurt Locker, which trades at 2.34.
Stay tuned on Oscar Night as we'll be bringing you even more last minute betting updates!