The 97th Academy Awards take place in Los Angeles on 2nd March, and the race for the main awards has thoroughly heated up. A number of films are up for the biggest gongs, including Emilia Perez, Anora, Conclave, The Brutalist, and A Complete Unknown, making it one of the most exciting editions in recent memory.

Emilia Perez has the most nominations with 13, whilst Wicked and The Brutalist are each up for 10, but the diversity of nominated films for six of the major awards – Best Picture, Best Director, and the four acting awards – means that we could see six different movies each scoop a statuette in those categories.

Anora is the current favourite to win Best Picture at UK betting sites, however it’s closely shadowed by political thriller Conclave and biopic The Brutalist, so it faces a tough test to claim the big award.

Meanwhile, it appears to be a two-horse race between Adrien Brody and Timothee Chalamet for Best Actor, whilst Demi Moore and Mikey Madison are battling for Best Actress at new betting sites that provide odds on the awards.

Anora and Conclave Battle For Best Picture

Comedy-drama Anora leads the way in Oscars Best Picture betting across major betting apps in the UK, with the film also having scooped the equivalent title at both the Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globes over the last few weeks, adding to its Palme d'Or win at Cannes Film Festival last year.

The film, about a marriage between a sex worker and the son of a Russian oligarch, is also nominated for five other awards including Best Director and two acting gongs.

Meanwhile, Vatican-set thriller Conclave has seen its odds drop at top UK betting sites in recent weeks, thanks largely to winning Best Film at the BAFTAs and Outstanding Performance by a Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Conclave is nominated for eight Academy Awards in total and boasts an all-star cast featuring Ralph Fiennes, Isabella Rossellini, Stanley Tucci and John Lithgow.

The Brutalist has also made a late push for consideration after scooping the award for Best Motion Picture - Drama at the Golden Globes, with the 202-minute epic documenting the tale of a Holocaust survivor who emigrates to the USA in search of the American Dream. 

Timothee Chalamet Looking to Usurp Adrien Brody as Youngest Best Actor Winner

Timothee Chalamet continued his meteoric rise up the industry with his second Best Actor nomination at the age of just 29, having also got the nod for Call Me by Your Name in 2018 but ultimately losing out to Gary Oldman.

His portrayal as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown solidified him as one of the finest actors of this generation and victory here would see him surpass Adrien Brody as the youngest ever Best Actor Oscar winner. Brody was 29 years and 343 days old when he won for The Pianist in 2003, whereas Chalamet will be 29 years and 65 days old if he wins this year.

In perhaps ironic circumstances, the man expected to win Best Actor by the best betting sites is Brody himself for his performance as Laszlo Toth in The Brutalist.

Brody holds the momentum going into the Oscars thanks to his wins of equivalent awards at the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards, and BAFTAs, but the Screen Actors Guild gave their Best Actor award to Chalamet just last week and could prove pivotal.

Demi Moore On Track For First Oscar

It's stunning to think that not only has Demi Moore never won an Academy Award, she had also never even been nominated until this year. Her turn as ageing A-List celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle in horror movie The Substance turned heads and forced the Academy to finally take notice.

It wasn't long before she was installed as favourite at many sites on our list of online bookmakers, and she soon backed that up with Best Actress wins at the Golden Globes, Critics' Choice Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.

The only major award she didn't win was at the BAFTAs, which went to Mikey Madison for her work as the title character in Anora where she plays a sex worker who marries the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch.

Madison remains second-favourite for Best Actress behind Moore, but with Anora expected to win Best Picture, the Academy may also decide to reward her with a maiden Oscar.

Anora Aiming For Picture and Director Double

It's no surprise that the favourite for Best Picture is also favourite for Best Director on Apple Pay betting sites with 68 of the 89 films nominated for both going on to win both.

Sean Baker had been quietly creating well-received films like The Florida Project and Red Rocket before finally getting his flowers with Anora, for which he is personally nominated for four Oscars and is odds-on to win Best Director. All five directors this year are first-time nominees for the first time since 1998.

He won the Outstanding Directing award at the Directors Guild of American Awards last month but actually lost out at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs to Brady Corbet for The Brutalist. 

Corbet is second favourite for the Oscar but recent award wins could see him prove to be a shrewd bet and provide further interest for the Best Picture award at the end of the night.

Oscars Accumulator Betting

Many Trustly betting sites in the UK don't let you create accumulators of Oscar winners, even if they're for different awards or involving different people.

You may have the opportunity to bet on a pre-built bet builder at some sites, which is effectively an accumulator but doesn't give you the opportunity to decide which markets you add.