Baftas Betting 2023: Who’s Favourite In The Main Categories?
Daire Walsh
It is just over a fortnight until he 76th British Academy Film Awards (also known as the Baftas) takes place and with some heavyweight contenders on display, the ceremony promises to be one to remember.
Serving as a precursor to the Academy Awards in America, the Baftas normally piques the interest of betting sites out there and this year is proving to be no different.
Co-hosted by British acting royalty Richard E Grant and TV personality Alison Hammond, the latest edition of this awards spectacle is set to take place at the Royal Festival Hall on February 19.
This will be exactly one month on from the unveiling of the Bafta nominees by actors Hayley Atwell and Toheeb Jimoh.
By the time the ceremony actually takes place, cinema aficionados will have had ample opportunity to examine the prime challengers for the main Bafta categories.
Banshees Of Inisherin Leading Best Film Race
Understandably, the race for Best Film had lots of tongues wagging, but there is one clear favourite to come away with this particular gong.
Directed by London-born filmmaker Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin has been taking the awards season by storm thus far.
Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland (the country where both of McDonagh’s parents hailed from), it has garnered considerable critical acclaim and was nominated for no fewer than nine Oscars awards in the past week.
It has gone one better at the Baftas and despite some high-profile competition, specials betting sites rates their chances of success in the Best Film category at 1/2.
While it isn’t quite a formality, it would be a major surprise if Banshees was to be denied this top prize by the Bafta voters.
The biggest threat to their candidacy appears to be the comedy-drama Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Having achieved near-universal praise from critics and audiences alike, it has been given odds of 7/4 in the battle for Best Film.
Despite having the most nominations at the Baftas with 14 in total, All Quiet on the Western Front only comes in at 11/1 for the prestigious accolade of the year’s best motion picture.
Todd Field’s Tár is just behind it at 14/1, while Baz Luhrmann’s intoxicating music biopic Elvis is a rank outsider at 40/1.
Directing Duo The Favourites For Bafta Success
Whereas there are just five nominees for Best Film, there are six options available in the Best Director category at this year’s Baftas.
Technically speaking, there are seven filmmakers under consideration as Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert are jointly credited for their work on Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Because this production was viewed by many as a technical marvel, the directorial duo known collectively as “Daniels” were always going to figure highly in the betting for this category.
At the time of writing, there is Evens available on them being rewarded for their work behind the camera.
The aforementioned Martin McDonagh has a previous Baftas Best Director nomination for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and while he won no fewer than three awards for that film in 2018, he wasn’t honoured for his helming work.
He is set to be a strong contender this year, but is just behind the “Daniels” in the minds of Unibet at 6/4.
Todd Field is back in the limelight with Tár – his first film since 2006’s Little Children – and he is an outside bet at 9/1.
The same could be said for Edward Berger, who is listed a 12/1 for All Quiet on the Western Front.
Meanwhile, there are odds of 25/1 on Gina Prince-Bythewood for her impressive work on The Woman King and famed South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook is coming in at 40/1 for the romantic mystery picture Decision to Leave.
Farrell Out In Front In Battle Of First-Timers
Heading a list of first-time nominees, Colin Farrell is the 4/9 favourite with betting apps to take home the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for his part as Pádraic Súilleabháin in The Banshees of Inisherin.
Having already won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (he was a previous winner of the same accolade for In Bruges), he certainly seems like the sensible option on the night.
After slowly coming back into the limelight in recent years, Brendan Fraser is a name that is very much back on people’s lips at the moment.
His portrayal of Charlie in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale has been garnering the former star of The Mummy franchise considerable recognition and you can get odds of 9/2 on him securing the Best Actor Bafta.
Playing a real-life figure is a good way to grab the attention of academy voters, but there is far more to Austin Butler’s performance as Elvis Presley than meets the eye.
He is rated at 7/1 with Ladbrokes for his work in Elvis and certainly shouldn’t be ruled out of the equation.
At the age of 73, Bill Nighy finally finds himself in the shake-up at awards season after many years of outstanding work across a variety of mediums.
He is nominated for a Best Actor Bafta for Living and there are odds of 33/1 available on him for this award.
Coming in at odds of 50/1 and 66/1 with BetUK respectively, Irish actors Paul Mescal (Aftersun) and Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) are seen as long shots for the Best Actor prize.
Blanchett Leading Best Actress Pack
One of the most feted stars of her generation, there seems to be very little stopping Australian native Cate Blanchett in the race for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
For her eponymous portrayal in Tár, she is rated as a 4/6 favourite with William Hill.
The nearest challenger to Blanchett appears to be Michelle Yeoh, who was nominated in the same category for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon all of 22 years ago.
The odds on the Malaysian star being the Best Actress winner are a not insubstantial 12/5 with Bet365.
Danielle Deadwyler also features in the reckoning at 14/1 for Till as does Ana de Armas at 22/1 for Blonde.
Viola Davis is a 25/1 outsider for her portrayal of Nanisca in The Woman King and you can get odds of 33/1 on Emma Thompson winning a third Best Actress Bafta for her work as Nancy Stokes/Susan Robinson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande.