2026 Oscars Betting Odds, Categories & Information

2026 Oscars Betting Odds, Categories & Information

The 98th Academy Awards, hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), is set for March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Prediction markets are all the craze, and prediction market apps like Kalshi offer users a way to trade contract on who will dominate the Oscars. We have included the latest Oscars odds below for major awards at Kalshi. Use our Kalshi promo code to get started by clicking on the module below.

Updated on 3/5/26

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2026 Best Picture Oscar Odds

2026 Best Director Oscar Odds

2026 Best Actor Oscar Odds

2026 Best Supporting Actor Oscar Odds

2026 Best Actress Oscar Odds

2026 Best Supporting Actress Oscar Odds

2025 Best Picture Oscar Odds

This year's Academy Award for Best Picture was awarded to Anora, recognizing it as the top film of the year and celebrating its outstanding storytelling, direction, and performances.

2025 Best Director Oscar Odds

Sean Baker won the Academy Award for Best Director this year for his exceptional work on the film Anora, earning recognition for his visionary storytelling.

2025 Best Actor Oscar Odds

Adrien Brody won the Academy Award for Best Actor this year for his powerful performance in The Brutalist, earning acclaim for his compelling portrayal.

2025 Best Supporting Actor Oscar Odds

Kieran Culkin won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor this year for his standout performance in A Real Pain, earning praise for his memorable role.

2025 Best Actress Oscar Odds

Mikey Madison won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Actress for her powerful performance in Anora, solidifying her place among Hollywood's finest.

2025 Best Supporting Actress Oscar Odds

Zoe Saldaña won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her outstanding performance in Emilia Pérez, earning well-deserved recognition for her role.

WHAT ODDS ARE OFFERED FOR THE OSCARS?

Typically, most of the big categories will see odds offered at the Academy Awards. The most popular categories include Best PictureBest Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress.

The other categories range from popular ones such as Best Supporting Actor/Actress and Best Director to the smaller-known categories such as Best Costume Design and Best Sound

While betting on the Academy Awards or any award show is only legal in a handful of states, these betting markets could be available any year in states with legal betting moving forward. 

WHO PICKS OSCARS WINNERS?

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences picks the winners of each category for the Oscars. There are over 8,000 members that make up the organization, which comes from a variety of positions within the film industry. 

The Academy is made up of 'branches'. There are specific branches, each branch having at least one category at the Oscars. The branches include:

  • Actors/Actresses
  • Writers
  • Directors
  • Producers
  • Music
  • Makeup
  • Hairstyle
  • Sound
  • Editors
  • Animation
  • Short Films
  • Visual Effects
  • Costume Designers
  • Documentary
  • Production Designers

Each branch has at least one category, in which specific branch members nominate and vote on winners. Directors nominate and vote for directors, production designers nominate and vote for other production designers, etc...

BEST PICTURE OSCARS VOTING

The Best Picture category is the only category that uses a different voting system to pick its winner. In all the other categories, members get just one vote. With the Best Picture category, members rank the movies in order of preference.

This is because there are so many nominations for Best Picture now (up to nine in 2020), the Academy wanted to avoid a winner only receiving a possible 10% of votes. The system used for the Best Picture category is known as 'preferential voting'. 

This system, according to Variety adds up all the No. 1 votes first. If those votes exceed 50% then the film wins, although this is apparently a very rare circumstance.

If a film that receives the most No. 1 vote is under 50%, then the counting goes to the most No. 2 votes until a film exceeds 50%. If no film has over 50% of the votes after counting all No. 1 and No. 2 votes, then the counting moves to the most No. 3 votes. This is repeated until a film goes over the 50% mark.

IMPORTANT AWARDS TO TRACK

There are various awards surrounding the film industry each year, with some more specific than others. Some of these shows are great pre-cursors to guide bettors into the direction of category winners. 

A great example is in 2021 when Mank won the ASC Award for Best Cinematography. Despite Nomadland being the favorite to win Best Cinematography at the Oscars, it was Mank who won at +350.

  • Golden Globes - International award show for television and film
  • SAG - Actors and actresses
  • Writer's Guild of America Awards - Writers
  • Director's Guild of America Awards - Directors
  • MTV Movie & TV Awards - American television and film
  • Golden Reels - Editing
  • ASC Awards - Cinematography
  • ASCAP Awards - Music in film
  • VES Awards - Visual Effects
  • Costume Designer Guild Awards - Costume Designer
  • Hollywood Makeup/Hairstylist Awards - Makeup & Hairstyle
  • Saturn Awards - Fantasy & Horror 

IMPORTANT FILM FESTIVALS TO TRACK

Film festivals are great sources to see how new releases are perceived by critics. There are five main film festivals, which bettors can utilize to see how the industry reacts to new movies.

  • Cannes Film Festival
  • Berlin International Film Festival
  • Venice Film Festival
  • Toronto International Film Festival
  • Sundance Film Festival

HOW TO HANDICAP OSCARS ODDS

You can trade on the Oscars with prediction markets like Kalshi. You can check out our list of the best prediction markets to get started. Be sure to use our Kalshi referral code to claim a new user bonus.

If you're looking to bet on sports, be sure to claim our BetMGM Bonus Code for some of the industry's best odds!