Oscars Betting Guide: Full Odds, Favorites for 2026 Academy Awards

There are 24 categories available to bet on ahead of this year’s Academy Awards, ranging from the heavy-hitters like Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Actress to the more niche entries for Best Live-Action Short and Best Documentary Short. 

All betting odds are provided by Bovada and current as of March 2. 

Best Actor

• Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme (-125)
• Michael B. Jordan – Sinners (+125)
• Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another (+1800)
• Wagner Moura – The Secret Agent (+1800)
• Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon (+2500)

There’s no overwhelming favorite for Best Actor, but this is thought to be a two-person race between Chalamet and Jordan. Chalamet has been nominated for four Academy Awards throughout his career, but a win here would be his first. Jordan won best actor for his performance in “Sinners” at the Actor Awards on March 1.

Best Actress

• Jessie Buckley – Hamnet (-3300)
• Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (+1400)
• Kate Hudson – Song Sung Blue (+1800)
• Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value (+2000)
• Emma Stone – Bugonia (+2500)

Buckley is a near-lock to win Best Actress for her performance in “Hamnet,” a drama based on the life of William Shakespeare’s family. Buckley has already won the category at the Actor Awards, BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice Awards and Golden Globes. 

Best Adapted Screenplay

• One Battle After Another – Warner Bros. (-3300)
• Hamnet – Focus Features (+1400)
• Train Dreams – Netflix (+1600)
• Bugonia – Focus Features (+2500)
• Frankenstein – Netflix (+2500)

“One Battle After Another” is an overwhelming -3300 favorite to win Best Adapted Screenplay, among numerous other categories. The film is inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel “Vineland.” 

Best Director

• Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another (-3300)
• Chloé Zhao – Hamnet (+1400)
• Ryan Coogler – Sinners (+1400)
• Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme (+3300)
• Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value (+4000)

Paul Thomas Anderson is expected to win Best Director for his work on “One Battle After Another.” He’s earned 14 career nominations from the Academy, including three this year for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture. 

Best Original Screenplay

• Sinners – Warner Bros. (-800)
• Marty Supreme – A24 (+700)
• It Was Just An Accident – Neon (+900)
• Sentimental Value – Neon (+1400)
• Blue Moon – Sony Pictures Classics (+4000)

“Sinners” is heavily favored to win Best Original Screenplay. It has received 21 total nominations for the category from various associations, with wins at the BAFTAs, Critics’ Choice Awards and more.  

Best Picture

• One Battle After Another (-700)
• Sinners (+450)
• Hamnet (+1400)
• Marty Supreme (+3000)
• Sentimental Value (+6000)
• Bugonia (+10000)
• Frankenstein (+10000)
• Train Dreams (+10000)
• F1 (+20000)
• The Secret Agent (+20000)

The final award of the night is widely expected to go to “One Battle After Another” for Best Picture. The loaded category has “Sinners” projected as a close runner-up. The favorite has already won Best Picture at the Critics’ Choice Awards and Best Film at the BAFTAs, among others.

Best Supporting Actor

• Sean Penn – One Battle After Another (-450)
• Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value (+500)
• Delroy Lindo – Sinners (+750)
• Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein (+2000)
• Benicio Del Toro – One Battle After Another (+2500)

Penn’s performance in “One Battle After Another” has him positioned atop the odds board to win Best Supporting Actor, but this category is something of a toss-up. Penn won at the Actor Awards and BAFTAs, while Elordi won the Critics’ Choice Award and Skarsgård won the Golden Globe. 

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Madigan – Weapons (+115)
• Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another (+225)
• Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners (+225)
• Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value (+3000)
• Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value (+10000)

Another toss-up – Madigan is favored to win Best Supporting Actress at +115, with Taylor and Mosaku close behind at +225. Madigan won the Critics’ Choice and Actor Awards, while Taylor won the Golden Globe and Mosaku took the BAFTA. 

Best Animated Feature

• KPop Demon Hunters (-1400)
• Zootopia 2 (+1000)
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (+1200)
• Arco (+3500)
• Elio (+3500)

“KPop Demon Hunters” is the runaway favorite to win Best Animated Feature. The Netflix film has become a cultural phenomenon, thanks in part to its original song “Golden,” which was also nominated for Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards. 

Best Animated Short

• Butterfly – Sacrebleu Productions (+120)
• The Girl Who Cried Pearls – National Film Board of Canada (+135)
• Retirement Plan – John Kelly and Andrew Freedman (+400)
• Forevergreen – Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears (+1200)
• The Three Sisters – Polydont Films/Rymanco Ventures (+1800)

This category can surprise, and the odds reflect that. Three of the five nominees have odds of +400 or shorter, with the top two almost equals at +120 and +135. If you’re looking for value, “Retirement Plan” may be your best bet. 

Best Casting

• Sinners – Warner Bros. (-300)
• One Battle After Another – Warner Bros. (+225)
• Marty Supreme – A24 (+1600)
• Hamnet – Focus Features (+2500)
• The Secret Agent – Neon (+2500)

“Sinners” has the edge in Best Casting, with “One Battle After Another” not far behind. Notably, Michael B. Jordan plays dual roles as twin brothers Smoke and Stack in “Sinners.” This is the first new category at the Oscars since 2002, and it aims to recognize the work of casting directors.  

Best Cinematography

• One Battle After Another – Warner Bros. (-210)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+200)
• Train Dreams – Netflix (+675)
• Frankenstein – Netflix (+2000)
• Marty Supreme – A24 (+5000)

Best Cinematography is a measure of a film’s visual storytelling, technical execution and overall artistry. “One Battle After Another” was filmed using VistaVision – something that’s been done sparingly since the 1960s – which is part of the reason why it’s favored at -210. If you’re looking for an outsider pick, “Train Dreams” is far more visually appealing than its +675 price tag suggests. 

Best Costume Design

• Frankenstein – Netflix (-3000)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+1400)
• Hamnet – Focus Features (+1600)
• Avatar: Fire and Ash – Disney (+2500)
• Marty Supreme – A24 (+3000)

It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to see “Frankenstein” heavily favored to win Best Costume Design. The film marked designer Kate Hawley’s third time working with director Guillermo Del Toro: previous titles include “Pacific Rim” (2013) and “Crimson Peak” (2015). 

Best Documentary Feature

• The Perfect Neighbor (-275)
• Mr. Nobody Against Putin (+300)
• Come See Me in the Good Light (+700)
• The Alabama Solution (+1400)
• Cutting Through Rocks (+5000)

There are three documentary films in a prime position to win this award, with “The Perfect Neighbor” emerging atop the crowd. It won the Critics’ Choice Award in the same category, while the BAFTA was given to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin.”

Best Documentary Short

• All The Empty Rooms – Netflix (-160)
• Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud – HBO (+250)
• The Devil is Busy – HBO (+500)
• Perfectly a Strangeness – Second Sight Pictures (+650)
• Children No More: “Were And Are Gone” – Sky (+2500) 

Best Documentary Short presents another toss-up: “All The Empty Rooms” is the favorite at -160, while “Armed Only with a Camera” and “The Devil is Busy” round out the top three. These each have heavy themes and play into politics. 

Best Film Editing

• One Battle After Another – Warner Bros. (-225)
• F1 – Apple (+135)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+1600)
• Marty Supreme – A24 (+2000)
• Sentimental Value – Neon (+8000)

“One Battle After Another” is favored for yet another award, but don’t sleep on “F1” here at +135. The fast-paced Apple production is also nominated for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects, and it could come into play here if the Academy starts getting voter fatigue. 

Best International Feature

• Sentimental Value – Norway (-250)
• The Secret Agent – Brazil (+135)
• It Was Just an Accident – France (+1600)
• The Voice of Hind Rajab – Tunisia (+2800)
• Sirat – Spain (+5000)

“Sentimental Value” is the highest-ranked Best Picture candidate from this field, so it’s reasonable to see it favored for Best International Feature. Neon’s “The Secret Agent” was a massive critical success, however, and could be a surprise winner at +135. There’s certainly some value there. 

Best Live-Action Short

• The Singers – Netflix (+125)
• Two People Exchanging Saliva – Canal+/The New Yorker (+130)
• A Friend of Dorothy – Lee Knight and James Dean (+500)
• Butcher’s Stain – Tel Aviv University (+800)
• Jane Austen’s Period Drama – Julia Aks and Steve Pinder (+1400)

You could go one of two ways here: Bet either of the favorites at +125 or +130, or go for more of a value play and back “A Friend of Dorothy” at +500. “Two People Exchanging Saliva” has generated significant buzz online and may well be the best bet. 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling

• Frankenstein – Netflix (-3000)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+1000)
• The Smashing Machine – A24 (+1400)
• Kokuho – GKIDS (+2500)
• The Ugly Stepsister – Independent Film Company/Shudder (+2500)

There’s no use in placing a bet on this category – “Frankenstein” is a considerable -3000 favorite, which feels fairly standard for a Guillermo Del Toro film. The makeup used to convert Jacob Elordi to The Creature is Oscar-worthy in its own right, let alone the rest of the movie’s cast. 

Best Original Score

• Ludwig Göransson – Sinners (-2500)
• Jonny Greenwood – One Battle After Another (+1200)
• Alexandre Desplat – Frankenstein (+1600)
• Max Richter – Hamnet (+1600)
• Jerskin Fendrix – Bugonia (+2500)

Another category with a runaway favorite: “Sinners” leads the way thanks to Ludwig Göransson’s score. He won an Oscar each of the last two times he was nominated in this category for 2019’s “Black Panther” and 2024’s “Oppenheimer.”

Best Original Song

• Golden – KPop Demon Hunters (-1200)
• I Lied To You – Sinners (+600)
• Dear Me – Diane Warren: Relentless (+2000)
• Train Dreams – Train Dreams (+2000)
• Sweet Dreams Of Joy – Viva Verdi! (+3500)

After falling short for Song of the Year at the Grammy Awards, “Golden” is likely to be recognized as the Best Original Song at the Oscars. The breakout hit from “KPop Demon Hunters” has accumulated over one billion views on YouTube alone. 

Best Production Design

• Frankenstein – Netflix (-1200)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+600)
• Hamnet – Focus Features (+2000)
• One Battle After Another – Warner Bros. (+2000)
• Marty Supreme – A24 (+2500)

Visually speaking, “Frankenstein” is the clear winner of this year’s Academy Awards. As such, it comes in atop the list in another related category: Best Production Design. “Sinners” also has a fighting chance at +600, but it likely isn’t worth a wager with Netflix’s film landing at -1200. 

Best Sound

• F1 – Apple (-700)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+600)
• Sirat – Neon (+1000)
• One Battle After Another – Warner Bros. (+1600)
• Frankenstein – Netflix (+3000)

Apple’s “F1” leads the way in Best Sound. Roaring engines, screeching tires, you name it – this film nailed down this category. “Sinners” is another close contender – its all-around dominance at this year’s Oscars are rivaled only by “One Battle After Another” – but “F1” is thought to be a massive favorite. 

Best Visual Effects

• Avatar: Fire and Ash – Disney (-3000)
• F1 – Apple (+1400)
• Sinners – Warner Bros. (+1400)
• The Lost Bus – Apple (+2500)
• Jurassic World Rebirth – Universal (+3000)

Finally, “Avatar: Fire and Ash” gets a likely Oscar for its stunning visual effects. The original film won the same award in 2009, and the franchise has only doubled-down since then. “F1” and “Sinners” are second, but at a considerable distance.