The Oscars 2021 Betting Picks

Quinn Allen
By , Updated on: Sep 4, 2022 08:00 PM
The Oscars 2021 Betting Picks

And the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture is...Well, wouldn't you like to know! Fortunately, we've got The Oscars betting picks you need to capitalize on all your wagering options.

Our 2021 Oscars picks will cover all the major honors: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director. For now, here are The Oscars betting odds for Best Picture, courtesy of Bovada:

MovieBovada
Nomadland-600
The Trial of the Chicago 7+850
Minari+1200
Promising Young Woman+1400
Mank+2200
Judas and the Black Messiah+2800
Sound of Metal+8000
The Father+8000

As always, make sure you confirm these Oscars betting lines before deciding on a wager. You'll also want to make sure they're not different if you're using another sportsbook like BetOnline or BetUs. On to our Oscars picks!

The Oscars Betting Breakdown

  • When: Sunday, April 25
  • Time: 8 p.m. EST
  • Where: Dolby Theatre and Union Station in Los Angeles, California
  • TV: ABC

2021 Oscars Predictions: Best Picture

Best Picture is normally a hotter contested category at The Oscars. This year is the exception of all exceptions.

The coronavirus pandemic shut down plenty of movies that were scheduled to be released. Productions were halted, and select franchises pushed back releases entirely to later 2021 and early 2022.

The pandemic itself also led to less attention for the moves that were released. Releasing new films over apps like HBO Max didn't generate the success and fanfare some expected. On top of that, among the movies that were released, there were logistical issues. Entire plots and endings were changed to accommodate the conditions under which movies were trying to film.

nomadland

This is all to say: Nomadland is a clear choice.

Starring Frances McDormand, this movie follows a widow in her sixties who lost everything during The Great Recession. With only herself, she decides to explore the "American West." Living in a van, she has deemed a contemporary nomad. The film has garnered tons of compliments for its affecting plot and the compelling performance from McDormand, who essentially carries the movie solo, with only the beautiful backdrops to serve as her true co-star.

Feel free to give some consideration to The Trial of the Chicago 7 (+850). But we're pretty sure Nomadland is getting the nod.

OSB Prediction: Nomadland (-600)

Nomadland To win Academy Award for Best Picture
-600
Bovada

2021 Oscar Predictions: Best Director

Check out the Oscar betting odds for Best Director:

Prepare yourselves for a lot of runaway categories. This was not the year to create intense competitions. It is a case in which one movie has a chance to take over the Oscars.

That brings us to Chloe Zhao (-1200), the director of Nomadland

So many have devoted time to applaud the way in which the movie was filmed. It wasn't just McDormand's performance, but the journey itself. People longed to see the scenery on the biggest screen, and the camera work was really intimate and able to reflect the mood and tenor of each individual moment. 

To be honest, we're not even considering another director. Risk-takers, however, are free to roll the dice on Lee Isaac Chung for his work on Minari.

OSB Prediction: Chloe Zhao (-1200)

Chloe Zhao To win Academy Award for Best Director
-1200
Bovada

2021 Oscar Predictions: Best Actor

Check out the Oscar betting odds for Best Actor:

ActorBovada
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)-2000
Anthony Hopkins (The Father)+800
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)+1400
Gary Oldman (Mank)+2500
Steven Yeun (Minari)+2500

This award is the biggest lock of the whole Academy Awards process. Chadwick Boseman is a shoo-in to take home Best Actor honors posthumously for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.

At -2000, he's actually the heaviest favorite in any of these groups. And this isn't a lifetime achievement award situation. Produced by Denzel Washington, the drama follows a barriers-shattering blues singer, Ma Rainey, and her band as they are contracted to record an album in Chicago during the late 1920s.

It should also be noted that Boseman already earned the Golden Globe Best Actor for Drama award for his role in this movie. Don't bother searching for a surprise option. It doesn't exist.

OSB Prediction: Chadwick Boseman (-2000)

Chadwick Boseman To win Academy Award for Best Actor
-2000
Bovada

2021 Oscar Predictions: Best Actress

Check out the Oscar betting odds for Best Actress:

ActressBovada
Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)-175
Frances McDormand (Nomadland)+275
Andra Day (The United States vs Billie Holiday)+450
Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)+1200
Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)+2000

Although Carey Mulligan is the odds-on favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actress following her starring role in Promising Young Woman, this field is actually more tightly contested than it appears.

Frances McDormand has received plenty of acclaim for her part in Nomadland. The movie, which as we already mentioned follows a woman in her sixties who lost everything during The Great Recession as she travels the West in a van, has a 94 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, and McDormand earned heavy consideration for her starring role at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Speaking of the Screen Actors Guild Awards, it was Viola Davis who actually took home the honors for her lead role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. We're not quite sure why she's listed as such a heavy long shot at +1200—because, believe it or not, she's our pick.

Viola Davis

OSB Prediction: Viola Davis (+1200)

Viola Davis To win Academy Award for Best Actress
-1200
Bovada

Check out this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one is right for all your Oscars betting:

Meet the author

Quinn Allen

Quinn Allen leverages his broadcast journalism degree and passion for sports in his betting previews and analysis. Based in Kelowna, Canada, he has emerged as an expert voice with picks featured on OSB, MTS, SBD, and as a ClutchPoints editor. With a lifelong fandom of...

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