Bookmakers tip Will Smith to take Oscar

The Power of The Dog is this year’s Academy Award frontrunner for best picture and Will Smith is expected to hold up his Oscar tonight, too, for his role as King Richard.

This is according to bookmaker World Sports Betting (WSB) the western drama Power of The Dog is listed at odds of seven to ten. Coming in at a close second is the family drama Coda which is priced at thirteen to ten by the odds-makers.

But, said Ryno du Plessis of WSB, there have been upsets before and brave wagers in the Best Picture category include the doomsday satire starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Don’t Look Up. It’s ranked at 66:1 odd with Nightmare Alley at the bottom of the list of nominees at 125:1.

The eternal fresh prince of cinema, Will Smith, is tipped to take the honours as Best Actor for his role as King Richard. Current betting is at four to one hundred on a win. Denzel Washington and Benedict Cumberbatch are trailing far enough behind Smith to call the win a dead certainty.

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Coda and Power of The Dog lead in the best Supporting Actor category with Troy Kotsur presently in the lead for Coda. Bookmakers say he has around a 82% chance of lifting the trophy while Power of The Dog’s Kodi Smit-McPhee is forecast with a 20-something percentage opportunity and fellow cast member Jesse Plemons comes in at 2%.

The Best Actress race is tight at the top with Jessica Chastain slightly in the lead for her role in The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Chastain’s chances are currently at five to ten in the market while Kirsten Stewart, whose portrayal of Lady Diana in Spencer gained her a nomination, is only slightly behind with a six to ten opportunity to deliver her speech on a win. Nicole Kidman, Olivia Coleman and Penelope Cruz are also in the race, but right now the marker favours Stewart and Chastain.

Ariana DeBose is likely to bolt past the finishing line for her performance in Spielberg’s West Side Story. Betting seems to rule out any contenders as DeBose is given almost a 95% chance of winning an Academy Award.

Kirsten Dunst is second with a 14% chance of winning for her role in Power of The Dog. Other nominees, including Dame Judi Dench, were all given less than a 5% chance of victory.

Animated feature Encanto has been given a 70% chance to win an Academy Award. Luca, its closest competitor, is ranked at about a 20% chance to take home an Oscar with Mitchells Versus the Machines in third place with an 11% chance.