This time of year, state residents are pondering where the Wildcats will be for March Madness — you can check Kentucky Wildcats NCAA seeding odds here — and are anxiously waiting for the track openings of Keeneland (Lexington) and Churchill Downs (Louisville) come April.
But one of the nation’s other big events has gotten significant interest as well, as nominations for the 2024 Oscars were announced this week. The 96th annual Academy Awards feature a strong group of “Best Picture” nominations.
Utilizing Google Trends, BetKentucky.com took a break from Kentucky sports betting and analyzed the search volume of all the “Best Picture” nominees to find who residents would pick as their winner. All movies were analyzed over the last 90 days based on traffic in Kentucky.
And down the stretch they come...
Kentucky’s Picks For 2024 Best Picture Oscar
Although there is a wide variety of items you can place wagers on in the state, Kentucky betting apps don’t accept action on awards shows.
Oppenheimer’s Buzz Still Strong
The prohibitive morning-line favorite to win Best Motion Picture among Kentucky residents is Oppenheimer, topping the list with an interest level of 32.
Having won three Golden Globe Awards earlier this month for Best Motion Picture — Drama, Best Director (Christopher Nolan) and Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), Oppenheimer is a biopic thriller based on J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project during World War II.
Just one point behind is the ever-popular Barbie, portrayed by Margot Robbie along with Ryan Gosling as her iconic boyfriend Ken, finishing second with an interest level of 31. In the middle for third was Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (26) with legendary actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert DeNiro. Poor Things (16) featuring the trio of Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo and Willem DaFoe finished a distant fourth and The Holdovers (11), starring Paul Giamatti, were leftovers rounding out the top five.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for the fourth time, “The Oscars” will air live March 10 at 6 p.m. Eastern (ABC) at Hollywood's famed Dolby Theatre.
Author
Lou Monaco is a contributing writer for BetKentucky.com. Lou had been East Coast Scene columnist for Gaming Today in Las Vegas since June 2019, covering the East Coast sportsbook scene with emphasis on NJ and PA. He also currently is a part-time writer for the high school sports department for NJ Advanced Media (NJ.com) in Iselin, NJ. Lou has over 30 years sports experience with previous stints at ESPN SportsTicker, Daily Racing Form and Oddschecker.
