Oscars Betting Suggests 'The Artist' Will Sweep the Board, Report Sky Bet

LONDON, January 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Leading online betting firm Sky Bet has unveiled its full list of Oscars betting markets following the announcement of the 84^th Academy Awards nominations on Tuesday.

Black and white silent movie 'The Artist', which last week picked up the Producers Guild Award and also won the Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical, is Sky Bet's clear favourite to win Best Picture at 2/7, with the odds having been cut from a pre-Christmas 2/1.  

The French tribute to the silent movie has ten Oscar bids, although it was beaten by Scorsese's 3D charmer 'Hugo', which received 11 nods. This augurs well for its Best Picture hopes as the most nominated film has taken the top prize 15 times in the last 20 years and Sky Bet make 'Hugo' a 10/1 shot, behind Golden Globe Best Drama champion, 'The Descendants' (4/1).

'The Artist' dominates several other categories, with its helmsman Michel Hazanavicius odds-on favourite (8/13) to win Best Director and its leading man Jean Dujardin second in the Best Actor betting at 2/1. George Clooney is hot favourite at 2/5 to take home the lead actor gong for his performance in comedy-drama 'The Descendants'. Gary Oldman picked up his first ever Oscar nomination for 'Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy' and is quoted at 33/1.

Double Oscar winner and 17-time nominee, Meryl Streep, is the short-priced favourite at 1/2 to scoop a third gong for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in 'The Iron Lady'. Viola Davis is her nearest rival for Best Actress at 9/4, with 'My Week with Marilyn' star, Michelle Williams, another threat at 11/4.

Sky Bet's Oscars betting expert, Helen Jacob, said: "The Artist seems way ahead of its rivals in the race to win the top Oscar.

"Other categories, however, are not so clean cut, with the battle for best actress between Meryl Streep and Viola Davis looking particularly close."

For Best Supporting Actor, Christopher Plummer ('Beginners') looks all but home and hosed at 1/12 and Octavia Spencer at 1/8 ('The Help') looks to have the Best Supporting Actress category sewn up.

Sky Bet is also offering a host of novelty special bets on the Oscars ceremony itself, which takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, February 26^th.

Veteran actress Meryl Streep accidentally swore onstage at the Globes and Sky Bet go 7/2 that the Oscars best actress winner turns the air blue again in her acceptance speech. It's even money that the best actress cries during her speech and 10/1 that any recipient's address consists of a single 'Thank you!'

Sky Bet Odds: Oscars Betting

Best Film

The Artist 2/7 The Descendants 4/1 Hugo 10/1 War Horse 12/1 Midnight in Paris 25/1 The Help 25/1 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close 25/1 Moneyball 40/1 The Tree of Life 66/1

Best Actor

George Clooney - The Descendants 2/5 Jean Dujardin - The Artist 2/1 Brad Pitt - Moneyball 14/1 Demian Bichir - A Better Life 25/1 Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 33/1

Best Actress

Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady 1/2 Viola Davis - The Help 9/4 Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn 11/4 Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs 14/1 Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 20/1

Best Director

Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist 8/13  Martin Scorsese - Hugo 2/1 Alexander Payne - The Descendants 11/2 Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris 16/1 Terrance Malik - The Tree of Life 20/1

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer 1/8 Berenice Bejo 8/1 Jessica Chastain 14/1 Melisasa Mccarthy 14/1 Janet McTeer 20/1

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer 1/12 Kenneth Branagh 7/1 Max Von Sydow 12/1 Nick Nolte 12/1 Jonah Hill 25/1

Oscars specials

Lead or supporting actress to cry during acceptance speech Evens

Lead or supporting actor to swear during acceptance speech 9/4

Lead or supporting actress to swear during acceptance speech 7/2

Lead or supporting actor to cry during acceptance speech 6/1

Any recipient's speech to consist of single "thank you" 10/1

Streaker to run on stage and interrupt ceremony 16/1

Any of the 6 major award winners to drop the statuette 16/1

Any winner to fall over on stage 20/1

George Clooney win best actor and Meryl Streep win best actress Evens

George Clooney win best actor and The Descendants win best picture 11/2

George Clooney to win an Oscar Yes ½ no 6/4

Bad night for the bookies? All pre-show favourites to win (George Clooney actor, Meryl Streep actress, Christopher Plummer supporting actor and Octavia Spencer supporting actress.) 6/4

Oscars best actress dress designer

Stella McCartney      5/1

Valentino             6/1

Donna Karan          10/1

Alberta Ferretti     10/1

Balenciaga           10/1

Dior                 10/1

Carolina Herrera     10/1

Yves Saint Laurent   10/1

Catherine Malandrino 12/1

Raoul                12/1

Herve L. Leroux      12/1

Armani               12/1

Alessandra Rich      16/1

Givenchy             16/1

Versace              16/1

Emilio Pucci         16/1

Prada                16/1

Akris                20/1

Chris March          20/1

Gucci                25/1

Chanel               25/1

Victoria Beckham     33/1

Jenny Packam         40/1

Vivienne Westwood    40/1

Notes: Other on request.

To bet on the Oscars, click here

Notes to editor

About Sky Bet

Sky Bet is the sports betting division of Sky Betting and Gaming, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Sky Broadcasting Group plc (Sky). One of the country's leading betting and gaming companies, Sky Bet is based in Leeds, West Yorkshire and fully licensed and regulated by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC). Sky Bet offers an online sports betting service http://www.skybet.com and boasts a recently enhanced mobile platform, Sky Bet Mobile. The Sky Bet app is free to download from the iTunes App store. Customers can also bet through their TV or by telephone.

For more information, please contact:

Helen Jacob, Sky Bet PR Manager
Helen.jacob@bskyb.com
+44(0)113-389-5941
+44(0)7866-442167