Best of the silver screen
It’s that time of year again, when the world’s biggest movie stars finally get the attention they’ve been desperately missing out on their whole lives. The 95th Academy Awards will take place on March 13 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and the judges have just announced the nominees for each category, including Best Picture:
For betting fans, the night also provides an opportunity to make a quick buck. Most major sportsbooks across the US, including DraftKings, BetMGM, and PointsBet, are providing odds on the winner of the Best Picture 2023 category. VegasSlotsOnline News has scoured these books to list the major contenders.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
-150
In what seems a unanimous judgment, sportsbooks have deemed Everything Everywhere All at Once the most likely to take the win for Best Picture at -150 with DraftKings.
Critics have heaped praise on the comedy-drama – written and directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – since its release last year. As a result, it’s earned an 8.0 rating on IMDB and 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also won Best Picture at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards just last week and is nominated for ten BAFTAs.
characters with literal sausages for fingers
The science fiction film is the story of a Chinese immigrant played by Michelle Yeoh – a struggling laundromat owner in the US who is catapulted into a bizarre adventure involving parallel universes and multiple unlived lives. It really has to be seen to be believed, but this film has everything from characters with literal sausages for fingers to a racoon controlling a chef Ratatouille-style.
Yeoh is also up for Best Actress while Ke Huy Quan, her husband in the film, is nominated for Best Supporting Actor. They both missed out on trophies at the Golden Globes but Huy Quan won his category in the Critics Choice Awards. Paul Rogers, the film’s editor, also claimed victory in the Best Editing category.
The Banshees of Inisherin
+175
Martin McDonagh’s incredibly Irish The Banshees of Inisherin is next up at +175 with PointsBet.
The dark comedy came out towards the end of last year and has been tipped for awards ever since. While it’s received a lesser ranking of 7.8 on IMDB, the movie has picked up a rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, placing it higher than Everything Everywhere All at Once. Not only that, but it recently took home the award for Best Motion Picture at the Golden Globes and is also up for ten BAFTAs.
in equal parts heartbreaking and funny
In the classic style of director McDonagh – the brain behind In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths – The Banshees of Inisherin is in equal parts heartbreaking and funny. It tells the tale of a friendship between two men that ends abruptly when one suddenly announces he doesn’t like the other. Shot on a lonely Irish island, the movie seemingly couldn’t be more at odds with our first contender, but it actually covers very similar topics of unlived potential and mortality.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson have reunited for the picture, with both last appearing together in 2008’s In Bruges. Farrell is up for Best Actor at the Oscars, while Gleeson is nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Both men won their respective categories at the Golden Globes. Also worth mentioning is Barry Keoghan, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his moving depiction of the loveable but troubled Dominic.
The Fabelmans
+700
Stephen Spielberg isn’t a director you’d typically consider an outside shot for any award. He has two Best Director Academy Awards to his name already, plus nine Golden Globes, and 12 Emmy Awards. That said, his latest semi-autobiographical release The Fabelmans is not tipped to win Best Picture with sportsbooks at +700 with BetMGM.
the story is based loosely on his own childhood
Earning itself a 7.7 rating on IMDB and 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Fabelmans tells the tale of young Sammy Fabelman as he attempts to become a filmmaker in a post-World War II era Arizona. Spielberg has confirmed the story is based loosely on his own childhood, family troubles, and introduction to filmmaking.
The movie features former Oscar winner Michelle Williams as Fabelman’s mother and Paul Dano as his father. Meanwhile, Seth Rogen also makes an appearance as the father’s best friend who has a very significant role to play in the unwinding of the family as the story goes on.
While it might be an outside shot for Best Picture at the Oscars, The Fabelmans has earned its fair share of awards already. It picked up Best Drama Motion Picture, Best Director of a Motion Picture, and Best Screenplay, among other awards at the Golden Globes.
Top Gun Maverick
+1000
Our next contender needs little introduction. It’s Tom Cruise in a fighter jet, what’s not to like? While it might not seem a typical Academy-friendly film, the stunning stunts and visual effects in Maverick’s latest outing has led Draftkings to give Top Gun a +1000 chance of taking home Best Picture.
Top Gun Maverick has gone down a storm
Reboots are all the rage these days, despite the fact that plenty of them miss the mark. But Top Gun Maverick has gone down a storm with critics and fans alike. The film now has an 8.3 rating on IMDB – the highest of the films so far – and a 96% rank on Rotten Tomatoes. Not only that, it also won the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Cinematography and is up for four BAFTAs.
The film sees the return of Pete Mitchell, aka Maverick, who this time has to train a group of younger pilots before leading them on a top-secret mission. At the same time as attempting to keep his plane in the air, Maverick must handle a difficult relationship with Miles Teller’s character Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, who is holding a grudge relating to another poultry-monikered pilot from the previous film.
Tár
+2800
At +2800, Cate Blanchett’s Tár is a long shot for this year’s Best Picture category. The psychological drama, written and directed by Todd Field, has earned a 7.7 rating on IMDB and just 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest of our films so far.
one of the greatest living composers
The story follows fictional American composer Lydia Tár, played by Blanchett, who is considered one of the greatest living composers and the first female director of a major German orchestra. Living with her wife, played by Nina Hoss, and their daughter in Berlin, Tár struggles to compose a live recording of a famous Symphony while juggling a book launch, and family life. At the same time, allegations made by one of her former students threaten to upend her legacy completely.
Tár has already won several different awards, including Best Score at the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The film is almost overshadowed by Blanchett’s performance, with the star already earning herself a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice for Best Actress and nominated for the same category in the Oscars.