Let’s have a look at the Oscars 2022 betting picks.
It’s the 94th Academy Awards a.k.a. the 2022 Oscars. The nominees were just announced a week ago and despite COVID causing delays, we have a solid slate of films – so much so that the Academy thought it worthy to nominate ten films, the maximum, for the Best Picture category. The Power of the Dog leads everyone with a dozen nominations. So will it be their year or will we see the power of the underdog prevail?
Let’s have a look at the Oscars 2022 betting picks.
It’s the 94th Academy Awards a.k.a. the 2022 Oscars. The nominees were just announced a week ago and despite COVID causing delays, we have a solid slate of films – so much so that the Academy thought it worthy to nominate ten films, the maximum, for the Best Picture category. The Power of the Dog leads everyone with a dozen nominations. So will it be their year or will we see the power of the underdog prevail?
Check out the Best Picture and The Oscars odds via Sports Interaction (SIA), one of Canada’s best books per the best sportsbooks reviews of 2022. Going by what we have right now, The Power of the Dog looks like a solid favourite garnering over a 55% chance to capture the most prestigious award. But keep an eye on the odds as these are bound to shift as we draw nearer to the March 27 ceremony.
| Best Picture Winner |  |
|---|---|
| The Power of the Dog | 1.61 |
| Belfast | 3.60 |
| West Side Story | 7.01 |
| Licorice Pizza | 21.00 |
| Dune | 23.00 |
| King Richard | 26.00 |
| CODA | 26.00 |
| Drive My Car | 29.00 |
| Don’t Look Up | 39.00 |
| Nightmare Alley | 51.00 |
94th Academy Awards 2022: The Best Picture Contenders
We’ve seen plenty of upsets in this category. Moonlight captured the award over heavily favoured La La Land in 2017 amid the fiasco that happened on stage. And prior to that, Crash stunned Brokeback Mountain in 2006. With The Power of the Dog leading the way, which of the ten nominees are worth considering?
The Favourites
The Power of the Dog (1.61) is the obvious favourite. This psychological Western film has already dominated in numerous award shows having captured the Golden Globes, New York Film Critics, and the AACTA International Awards.
However, not too far is Belfast (3.60). Without the magnitude or hype of the favourite, Belfast is the type of feel-good movie that may just trip up the heavier fare from The Power of the Dog. It won the People’s Choice Award in the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Best Screenplay from the Golden Globes.
In third place, albeit distant, is West Side Story (7.01). The film was considered a flop and it’s hard to see it winning although don’t underestimate the kind of pull Steven Spielberg has on the Academy, not to mention winning the Golden Globe’s Best Motion Picture for Musical or Comedy.
Of these three, we’re leaning on Belfast from a betting perspective. The Power of the Dog may win but we think this race is closer to 50/50 than these odds indicate.
The Underdogs
As far as the underdogs, we don’t recommend max betting the rest of the nominees even at these lucrative odds. Some have no chance at all like Nightmare Alley (51.00) or even Dune (23.00) due to their genre (a shame but that’s reality).
But two underdogs we’re contemplating a small bet on are King Richard (26.00) and Licorice Pizza (21.00). King Richard is a biopic, which features the Best Actor favourite in Will Smith. The academy loves biopics and in an attempt to be “woke”, may just elect to award this film as it is centred on prominent black figures.
On another note, Licorice Pizza won the National Board of Review’s “Best Film” award and is nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. It also stars heavyweight Sean Penn and Paul Thomas Anderson has been known to appeal to members of the Academy from time to time.
We’ll go with King Richard here as a longshot who may just pull off the upset. Fingers crossed.
The Other Oscars Worth Betting
Beyond the Best Picture, there is a slew of other Academy Awards worth paying attention to. Almost every year, we see an upset or two such as Anthony Hopkins swiping the Best Actor award last year despite being a 10-1 underdog per the entertainment betting online odds. Will we see another one this year? We’re actually leaning on a few underdogs:
Best Actor
Will Smith (1.28), one an underdog himself, is the runaway favourite for his portrayal of the Williams sisters’ father, Richard Williams. In honesty, Benedict Cumberbatch (4.97) has tempting odds here as he gives a powerful performance in The Power of the Dog. But this is one of those “lifetime achievement” awards for Smith. And not to poo on his performance as he was awesome too.
Best Actress
It’s tough to bet against Nicole Kidman (2.10) in this spot. She’s already won this prestigious award and has been nominated repeatedly. The Academy loves her. However, the people’s favourite is obviously Kristin Stewart (3.00) as she stunned audiences with her transformation to the late Princess Diana. She’s our bet to win while her odds are this long. Over time, she may gain more traction and we see a tighter race.
Best Director
Tied to The Power of the Dog being the favourite to capture Best Picture is its director, Jane Champion winning Best Director. Distant runner-ups are Spielberg (9.00) and Kenneth Branagh (10.00). We like Branagh here at 9-1 but Champion is overdue for the award. She is one of the most underrated cinematic geniuses behind the chair and like Smith getting his due, Champion gets hers.
You can find the rest of the Oscar odds from Sports Interaction (SIA) and the top online sportsbooks for Canadians. Read our Sports Interaction review to learn more about getting a deposit bonus so you have more to play with.
