Film betting tips: Favourites to win Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars
The 97th Academy Awards are fast approaching, with the extravagant ceremony set to take place on Sunday, March 2.
UK viewers will be able to watch the event starting from 10:30pm, with ITV and ITVX named as the home of Oscars coverage for the second year running - as Jonathan Ross will be the host for the British television network.
Here, Film News Blitz takes you through all of the Best Picture nominees' chances, including some tasty picks for you to sink your teeth into.
The nominees for Best Picture are Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, Emilia Perez, Wicked, The Substance, Nickel Boys, I’m Still Here and Dune: Part Two.
Anora went home empty-handed at the Golden Globes, but recent success at the Producers Guild Awards and the Critics Choice Awards cements their position as the favourite to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
Anora the bookies’ favourite for Best Picture at the Oscars
The American comedy-drama picture, produced, written, directed, and edited by Sean Baker, is the bookies' favourite to swoop in and take the Best Picture award at this year’s Oscars.
The film follows Anora, played by Mikey Madison, as a sex worker from Brooklyn who gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and marries the son of an oligarch.
Being crowned the winner at The Producers Guild Awards is usually a good omen for taking the glory at the Oscars - as five of the last six PGA victors have gone on to achieve success at the Academy Awards.
BEST ODDS: 4/7 (Ladbrokes)
The Brutalist - a close second
The epic period drama, The Brutalist, is directed and produced by Brady Corbet, as the film follows Hungarian-Jewish Holocaust survivor László Tóth - played by Adrien Brody.
Taking the Best Picture Drama award at the Golden Globes, The Brutalist is a close second behind Anora in the bookies’ favourites to snap up the Oscars award.
The odds on offer are quite favourable and should be worth a punt considering its likelihood of snatching the award for Best Picture.
BEST ODDS: 7/1 (Paddy Power)
Conclave
Political thriller film Conclave is based on the 2016 novel by Robert Harris, is directed by Edward Berger and written by Peter Straughan.
The movie has a star-studded cast that includes the likes of Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow.
Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, played by Fiennes, organises a conclave to elect the next pope and finds himself investigating secrets and scandals about the major candidates.
Winning Best Film at the BAFTAs has improved its odds of winning.
BEST ODDS: 11/4 (Unibet)
A Complete Unknown
A Complete Unknown, the 2024 American biographical musical drama film, directed by James Mangold, tells the story of American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan.
The film follows Dylan, played by Timothée Chalamet, as he embarks on his journey as a folk artist and experiences the success that comes with it, before facing significant controversy over his use of electric instruments.
Whilst the film has had box office success, it is highly unlikely that it will be as successful in this category.
BEST ODDS: 50/1 (bet365)
Emilia Perez
The 2024 Spanish-language French musical crime film, Emilia Perez, written and directed by Jacques Audiard, is certainly an outsider on this list.
The film follows a Mexican cartel leader, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, who hires a lawyer, portrayed by Zoe Saldaña, to assist with the cartel leader's transition into a woman and help them disappear.
Its chances at winning took a hit when controversial tweets by Gascón were brought into the limelight following her Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.
BEST ODDS: 66/1 (bet365)
Wicked
Wicked, the 2024 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, is a readaptation of the 2003 stage musical of the same name.
Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, a reimagining of the Oz books and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, was the inspiration for the musical.
The film stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland.
READ MORE: Film opinion: Dear Amazon, don’t fall into the franchise trap with James Bond
The film focuses on Elphaba before she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and her friendship with Galinda, who eventually becomes Glinda the Good.
A win is unlikely for Wicked, but they can always try again next year with Wicked: For Good - which comes out later this year.
BEST ODDS: 100/1 (Ladbrokes)
The Substance
Body horror The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat, follows a fading celebrity, portrayed by Demi Moore, after she is fired by a producer due to her age.
She uses a black-market drug that creates a younger version of herself, however, there are unexpected side effects.
The Substance is the first of four nominees with odds of 100/1, making it one of the clear underdogs in this category.
BEST ODDS: 100/1 (bet365)
I'm Still Here
The 2024 political biographical drama film, I’m Still Here, directed by Walter Salles, powerfully chronicles the life of Eunice Paiva, a mother of five, whose world is irrevocably transformed by the military dictatorship in Brazil in 1971.
Fernanda Montenegro portrays Paiva as the movie made $27.3 million on just a $1.5 million production budget.
A surprise entry but a welcome surprise, its chances of success are minimal, but an appearance on this list is surely more than enough.
BEST ODDS: 100/1 (bet365)
Nickel Boys
An American historical drama film, based on the 2019 novel ‘The Nickel Boys’ by Colson Whitehead, focuses on two African-American boys who are sent to an abusive reform school in 1960s Florida.
It was directed by RaMell Ross and stars Ethan Herisse alongside Brandon Wilson.
The film uses an unorthodox filming style, as it was shot from a first-person point of view, but its odds of claiming the Best Picture award are slim.
BEST ODDS: 100/1 (bet365)
Dune: Part Two
Finally, the last nominee on this list is the 2024 American epic space opera epic Dune: Part Two, which also stars Chalamet - rounding off a good year for the American-French actor.
The sequel is the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel Dune by Frank Herbert.
In the film, Paul Atreides unites with the Fremen people of the desert planet Arrakis to wage war against House Harkonnen.
A win for Dune would be a complete upset, but victories in other categories are likely.
BEST ODDS: 100/1 (bet365)
