Bookmaker Releases Odds On 79th Annual Academy Awards

Just minutes after the official Oscar nominations were announced, the odds makers at Pinnacle Sports began calculating odds for the 79th Annual Academy Awards.

With odds on the six major categories finished only minutes after the nominees were announced, Pinnacle Sports has released the first official betting lines on this year's Oscars.

The largest Sport Betting site on the internet, Pinnacle Sports has created betting options on the six major Oscar categories, including: Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. The Departed has been pegged as the early favorite to win the Oscar for Best Motion Picture (4/5) and Best Director for Martin Scorsese (1/6). Despite leading the way with eight overall nominations, Dreamgirls is not in the running for Best Picture, but both Eddie Murphy (2/5) and Jennifer Hudson (1/4) are favored to capture the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Actress, respectively. Pinnacle Sports lists Forest Whitaker as the favorite to take Best Actor honors for his role in The Last King of Scotland at 1/6 odds. Meanwhile, Helen Mirren is a virtual lock to win Best Actress listed as an overwhelming 1/49 (i.e., win $1 for every $49 bet) favorite to win the award for her role in The Queen.

All eyes will be on Hollywood's finest as the winners are announced during the awards ceremony on Sunday, February 25th, but the hype surrounding the awards begins today with the official nominations. Below are the current odds offered by Pinnacle Sports with nominees appearing in descending order from favorites to long shots under each category heading.

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Current Betting Odds

Best Motion Picture

The Departed 4/5

Babel 3/2

The Queen 12/1

Letters From Iwo Jima 13/1

Little Miss Sunshine 49/1

Best Actor

Forest Whitaker 1/6

Peter O'Toole 6/1

Leonardo DiCaprio 14/1

Will Smith 24/1

Ryan Gosling 49/1

Best Actress

Helen Mirren 1/49

Meryl Streep 14/1

Kate Winslet 28/1

Penelope Cruz 28/1

Judi Dench 66/1

Best Supporting Actor

Eddie Murphy 2/5

Jackie Earle Haley 4/1

Djimon Hounsou 9/1

Mark Wahlberg 19/1

Alan Arkin 13/1

Best Supporting Actress

Jennifer Hudson 1/4

Rinko Kikuchi 7/1

Cate Blanchett 9/1

Adriana Barraza 12/1

Abigail Breslin 49/1

Best Director

Martin Scorsese 1/6

Paul Greengrass 9/1

Stephen Frears 13/1

Clint Eastwood 19/1

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu 26/1