2018 BAFTA British Academy Film Awards Betting Odds

–The BAFTA Awards are essentially the British equivalent of the US Academy Awards

–BAFTA Award nominations were announced on January 9, 2018

–The BAFTA Awards presentation will take place on February 18, 2018

The 71st British Academy Film Awards will be held in London on February 18, 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall. The awards are under the auspices of the British Academy for Film and Television Arts aka BAFTA. The British Academy Television Awards are held separately and will take place later in the year.

The mission statement of BAFTA is very similar to that of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. BAFTA exists to “support, develop and promote the art forms of the moving image, by identifying and rewarding excellence, inspiring practitioners and benefiting the public”. The purpose of the British Academy Film Awards specifically is to “honour the best British and international contributions to film.” The award categories are also very similar to the Academy Awards with the addition of a few that are unique to the British Awards. The one for ‘Best British Film’ should be obvious enough. There’s also a category called ‘Best Rising Star’–this award was created to honor casting director Mary Selway after her death in 2004. The ‘Rising Star’ award serves to ‘recognize new talents in the acting industry’.

The BAFTA Awards are considered to be a ‘precursor’ to the Academy Awards despite minimal overlap in the voting membership of the British Academy and the US Academy. Much of that has to do with the (relatively) similar cultural tastes shared between the US and Great Britain as well as the common language. BAFTA has been quick to change rules to reflect new societal and technological trends. In the past couple of years they’ve changed rules to ‘encourage diversity’ in casting and direction as well as to allow films that were made for on-demand streaming platforms (eg: Netflix and Amazon) to be considered for awards despite not having a theatrical release.

As you can see from the nominations lists, the majority of the films and individuals recognized by BAFTA are also under consideration for US Academy Awards (‘Paddington 2) is an exception. Here’s the SPORTS BETTING EXPERTS odds on the major categories as well as the ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Best British Films’ award:

2018 BAFTA FILM AWARDS BETTING ODDS

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST FILM’?

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: -115
Dunkirk: +250
The Shape of Water: +300
Darkest Hour: +1000
Call Me By Your Name: +1000

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM’?

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: -500
Darkest Hour: +350
The Death of Stalin: +1150
Paddington 2: +2500
God’s Own Country: +2500
Lady Macbeth: +2500

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST LEADING ACTOR’?

Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour): -1500
Daniel Day Lewis (Phantom Thread): +900
Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name): +900
Jamie Bell (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool): +1750
Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out): +1750

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST LEADING ACTRESS’?

Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri): -300
Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird): +500
Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water): +500
Margot Robbie (I, Tonya): +750
Annette Bening (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool): +1500

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST DIRECTOR’?

Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water): -150
Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk): +130
Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri): +750
Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name): +1750
Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049): +1750

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR’?

Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri): -750
Willem Dafoe(The Florida Project): +450
Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World): +1000
Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri): +1500
Hugh Grant (Paddington 2): +2500

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS’?

Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird): -160
Allison Janney (I, Tonya): +120
Kristin Scott Thomas (Darkest Hour): +1250
Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread): +1250
Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water): +2500

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘RISING STAR’?

Timothee Chalamet: -750
Daniel Kaluuya: +450
Florence Pugh: +1500
Tessa Thompson: +1500
Josh O’Connor: +1500

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY’?

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: -700
Lady Bird: +350
The Shape of Water: +1200
I, Tonya: +2500
Get Out: +2500

TO WIN THE BAFTA AWARD FOR ‘BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY’?

Call Me By Your Name: -1750
Molly’s Game: +1000
The Death of Stalin: +1000
Paddington 2: +1500
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool: +1500

About the Author: Jim Murphy

For more than 25 years, Jim Murphy has written extensively on sports betting as well as handicapping theory and practice. Jim Murphy has been quoted in media from the Wall Street Journal to REASON Magazine. Murphy worked as a radio and podcasting host broadcasting to an international audience that depended on his expertise and advice. Murphy is an odds making consultant for sports and 'non-sport novelty bets' focused on the entertainment business, politics, technology, financial markets and more.