How the 2025 Oscars award winners compared to the bookmakers' odds before the event

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The 97th Academy Awards ceremony took place on 2 March 2025 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California. 

The show got underway with an appearance from, Wicked's Glinda, Ariana Grande who performed ‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ against the backdrop of a moon and a starry sky. 

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As the Oscars awards were presented for the winners of the 23 categories, the stars aligned for some, while others were eclipsed on the night. 

Leading the nominations was Netflix’s musical / crime drama fusion Emilia Perez, which was listed for 13 honours. That meant the title was just one short of the record 14 nominations for a single film. 

That accolade is shared by Titanic, All About Eve, and La La Land.

Wicked and The Brutalist also received significant acclaim ahead of Sunday’s event, with 10 nominations each.

Read on to find out who the favourites were in each category and how they did on the night. 

Best picture

The Brutalist was the clear favourite to win best picture, listed at 8/11 with Betway, after Brady Corbet’s epic period drama scooped three Golden Globes, including one for best drama picture. 

Emilia Perez (7/2) was in second place, with rom-com Anora and thriller Conclave the outside bets at 5/1 and 6/1, respectively.

The best picture category turned out to be the first of five awards on the night for Anora, directed by Sean Baker.

Best actor

Again, it was The Brutalist taking centre-stage as the favourite in this category, with Adrian Brody listed at 8/13 for his portrayal as Laszlo Toth.

Ralph Fiennes as Cardinal Lawrence in Conclave was 7/1, followed by Timothee Chalamet, for his role as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. He was in line for his first Oscars award at 6/4.

The winner of the best actor award was Adrien Brody.

Best actress

Demi Moore was at the top of the pile in the predictions for best actress at for her role in The Substance at 4/7.

Next in line were Mikey Madison (9/4) and Fernanda Torres (6/1) for their roles in Anora and I’m Still Here, with both receiving rave reviews for their performances as lead actress.

The award was presented to the 25-year old US actress Madison, also known for her casting in the FX comedy series Better Things. 

Best director

With The Brutalist tipped as the favourite in the best picture and best actor categories, it wasn’t a surprise to see Brady Corbet given short odds of 1/6 by the bookies.

Sean Baker was next in line for his efforts with Anora, while Jacques Audiard who directed Emilia Perez (8/1) was third in line among the top-three favourites for this category. 

The award was won by Baker for Anora.

Best supporting actor/actress

Best supporting actor was won by Kieran Culkin for his role in Real Pain (1/10).

He was strongly fancied, with justification, in front of Guy Pierce at 8/1 (The Brutalist) and Edward Norton at 9/1 (A Complete Unknown). 

A similar situation played out in the best supporting actress category. 

Zoe Saldana at (1/7) was the top contender for her performance in Emilia Perez, and she prevailed to collect the accolade. 

Ariana Grande was second on the list (11/2) for her role in Wicked, followed by Felicity Jones (12/1) in The Brutalist.

Overall, Anora was the big winner with five awards, followed by The Brutalist with three awards, while Wicked racked up a brace of Oscars statuettes for best production design and best costume design.

The full list of Oscar award winners was as follows:

All odds mentioned via Betway