The Oscars 2020: best bets as the nominations are announced

Jeremy Chapman previews the 93rd Academy Awards and reveals his best bet for an Oscar.

When is The Oscars?

The 92nd Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 9 2020, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Best bet

1917 to win Best Picture
3pts 3-1 general

If the first prices after the Oscar nominations were announced are on the money, the only competitive betting heat is Best Picture, where Britain, the USA and, would you believe, South Korea are closely matched.

The fat lady is getting ready to warble in four other categories where Joaquin Phoenix (1-6 to 1-20 for Best Actor), Renee Zellweger (1-4 to 1-9 Best Actress), Brad Pitt (1-6 Supporting Actor) and Laura Dern (1-5 Supporting Actress) are hot tickets.

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time in Hollywood just heads the Sam Mendes war epic 1917 and subtitled surprise Parasite for Best Picture with early favourite The Irishman, all 228 minutes of it, relegated to dangerous outsider status.

Joker topped the poll with 11 nominations, closely followed by 1917, The Irishman and Once Upon A Time in Hollywood with ten. Yet while Joker star Phoenix is virtually unbackable for Best Actor, the gory movie itself is rated a 12-1 shot.

Britain provides the favourite for Best Director with Mendes a shade of odds-on but under threat from Joon-Ho Bong whose Parasite, not seen in the UK yet, is regarded as a masterpiece and has attracted plenty of money.

Nine foreign-language films have been Best Picture-nominated in the past with none successful. Last year the well-touted Roma was beaten by Green Book but got the Foreign Language Oscar consolation in a category renamed Top International.

Like Roma, 4-1 shot Parasite has been doubly nominated and could suffer the same fate. Instead of giving his picture the main Oscar, they may instead reward 5-2 Bong for top director.

As 1917 has already got a Golden Globe and should dominate the Baftas on February 2, the best early play is to back the Mendes movie at 3-1 as it should be shorter by Oscars night the following Sunday.

It’s a pity she’s up against Zellweger’s tour de force as Judy Garland but Saoirse Ronan, so wonderful in Little Women, is overdue an Oscar after losing out for Brooklyn and Lady Bird. The Academy clearly adores her and there are worse 33-1 shots around.

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