Betting on the Academy Awards 2021 – Early Odds and Picks for Best Actor and More

The 2021 Oscars aren’t really on everyone’s mind right now. Everyday life is at a standstill. Major sports leagues still aren’t back in session.

It’s a wild time to be alive, but that shouldn’t stop us from cashing in on some awesome betting opportunities. Depending on your ability to project Oscar nominations and wins, that could come from betting on the 2021 Academy Awards.

To access the most value, of course, you just need to consider placing your bets right now.

BetOnline and other Oscars betting websites have a litany of props out right now, setting the pricing for the major categories.

One prop is betting on who will host the 2021 Oscars, but my focus here is going to be the early 2021 Oscars odds and predictions for major categories.

Tom Hanks opens as the favorite to win Best Actor at the 2021 Academy Awards, but I’m not seeing it. Instead, this could be a spot to target value.

He’ll be facing some stiff competition up top. I won’t rule out Robert Pattinson, who was absolutely fantastic in The Lighthouse and also stars in Tenet, which is gaining traction as a big hit.

There is so much potential betting value to be had here, though, as Timothee Chalamet is attached to one of the biggest films of the year (Dune). He makes my list of 2021 Oscars sleepers we need to keep an eye on.

Ben Affleck is gaining serious steam for his performance in The Way Back, however, and he’s as good of a try as any.

If you’re looking to predict who wins Best Actress in 2021, you’ve got your work cut out for you. There is some insane value all the way down the line, with Witherspoon, Lawrence, and Robbie standing out as viable fliers.

Of course, Viola Davis is a powerhouse favorite up top. She will have her contenders around her, though, with Amy Adams feeling like a legit threat.

Jennifer Hudson may be the best bet, however. The former Oscar winner could get another this year, as her turn as the great Aretha Franklin in Respect is said to be one of the best performances of the year.

David Fincher tentatively leads the way for the much-hyped Mank, which dives into the underbelly of the making of Citizen Kane.

Nominated twice before but never a winner, it’s arguable the brilliant Fincher is due to win.

That may be true, but there’s nothing to say that Mank is the piece that gets him his deserved nod. Spielberg looks like a legit threat, while Ridley Scott has an even stronger case in regards to directors who are due to win an Oscar.

Maybe they’ll just cancel each other out, and the long-sexist Oscars will credit Sofia Coppola for a job well done.

She’s won an Oscar before for her excellent writing in Lost in Translation, but she has gotten passed over for Best Director despite some fantastic work. Perhaps On the Rocks will shine a light on her in 2021.

Every director is deserving of the win in this field (which could obviously change quite a bit by next year), but Coppola has a double narrative working to her advantage.

I’ll be honest, the list actually goes on. You can catch the rest at BetOnline, but to be frank, you can arguably cut the candidates down to the titles leading up to Onward.

The rest are filler, or long shots, and shouldn’t be taken seriously.

I mean, one was Sonic the Hedgehog at +8000. That’s just not happening.

Of the list here, there are a lot of viable options. Values that stand out are Ammonite, King Richard, Macbeth, Greyhound, West Side Story, and Da 5 Bloods.

Oddly enough, those are all more appealing than the current favorites to win Best Picture.

Tenet and Dune look like they’ll be amazing movies, but they may not be Oscar-worthy. Mank probably is but comes off as incredibly boring.

Of the sleeper plays mentioned, Spielberg’s West Side Story could be dangerous, while Ammonite’s forbidden love story — albeit propped up by potentially reckless source material — could overtake the Academy in 2021.

They all have a shot, but the best bang for your buck may come via West Side Story.

As the months pile up, we’ll get a much better idea as to how this year’s Oscars race will shape up.

Of course, it remains to be seen how we’ll get a lot of the data, as the big festivals and award shows have all been postponed or flat-out canceled.

This makes betting on the Oscars more difficult than ever, but we’ll track things the best we can and look at odds, sleepers, and so much more leading into 2021. You’ll be able to find that content grouped together in our entertainment blog.

You can start placing wagers now, but before you do, consider all of our notes, and also be sure to use the best Oscars betting sites.