Oscar predictions 2014: 12 Years A Slave set to earn nominations

The drama is hotly tipped ahead of the nominations announcement today

Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as kidnapped slave Solomon Northup in 12 Years A Slave, the bookmakers' favourite for Best Actor (Associated Press)

Nominations for the 86th Academy Awards are announced today, with many film critics expecting last weekend’s Golden Globe winners to predict the outcome once again.

Oscars 2014: List of nominees in full

But how reliable are the Golden Globe Awards for predicting triumphs at the glitzy Oscars ceremony in Beverley Hills on 2 March?

Dark comedy American Hustle, Steve McQueen's harrowing 12 Years a Slave and Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, are the bookmakers' favourites to be tipped to win the most Oscars.

Best Actor and Actress

British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is the current favourite to win Best Actor for his performance in 12 Years a Slave with odds of 8/11, with Matthew McConaughey another popular choice at 2/1.

Robert Redford, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bruce Dern are also hot contenders. But, surprisingly, Idris Elba is at 40/1 for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela, according to odds comparison site easyodds.com.

DiCaprio, star of The Wolf of Wall Street, has been nominated for three Oscars in the past, but has failed to win so far. He is currently the fourth favourite to win with odds of 20/1.

Cate Blanchett is the bookies' favourite for Best Actress

Cate Blanchett’s performance in Blue Jasmine has earned her pole position at the bookmakers for Best Actress with odds of 1/8, while Sandra Bullock, Amy Adams, Judi Dench and Emma Thompson are also predicted to earn nominations.

Best Picture

This year’s current bookmakers' favourite is 12 Years a Slave, with odds of 3/10, while David O Russell’s American Hustle is at 9/2 and space epic Gravity at 7/1.

Consistent frontrunners Gravity, American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave may seem the likely contenders for Best Picture, but Golden Globe wins for Matthew McCounaughey in Dallas Buyers Club and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street may throw up some unexpected surprises.

Golden Globes 2014: Leonardo DiCaprio wins Best Actor

Last year’s Best Picture was won by Ben Affleck’s Iraq drama Argo, as predicted following the film’s Golden Globe win. Similarly in 2012, silent film The Artist took Best Picture at the Oscars after picking up the Best Musical or Comedy award at the Golden Globes.

In 2010 and 2011, however, Avatar and The Social Network won Golden Globes but lost out to The Hurt Locker and The King’s Speech at the Oscars.

The fake team: Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Christian Bale in American Hustle (Francois Duhamel)

Just 59 per cent of Golden Globe Best Picture nominees have received Oscar nods since 2009, according to the The Hollywood Reporter.

As the likes of Blue Jasmine, Saving Mr Banks and August: Osage County did not earn Golden Globe nominations for Best Drama, Musical or Comedy this year, some film fans will be wondering whether such movies could possibly win Best Picture at the Oscars.

However, in 2004, Crash picked up Best Picture without having first secured a Golden Globe nomination for Best Drama.

Over the past ten years, the Golden Globes have predicted just four Best Picture winners, including The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Slumdog Millionaire, Argo and The Artist.

Best Director

David O Russell, director of American Hustle, won Best Director in 2013 for Silver Linings Playbook, proving that the Academy has admired his work in the past, but will they reward him again?

Gravity director Alfonso Cuaron is the bookmakers' favourite at 4/11 while Russell’s current best odds are 14/1.

US comedian and chat show host Ellen DeGeneres will host this year's prestigious Academy Awards and the theme for the event will be iconic movie heroes past and present.

Update: The Oscar nominations have now been announced. Click here to see them in full

Current odds for the top ten candidates

Best Actor

Chiwetel Ejiofor (8/11)

Matthew McConaughey (2/1)

Robert Redford (16/1)

Leonardo Di Caprio (20/1)

Bruce Dern (25/1)

Idris Elba (40/1)

Tom Hanks (50/1)

Forest Whitaker (100/1)

Christian Bale (100/1)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett (1/8)

Sandra Bullock (8/1)

Amy Adams (25/1)

Judi Dench (33/1)

Emma Thompson (40/1)

Adele Exarchopuolos (100/1)

Julia Roberts (100/1)

Meryl Streep (100/1)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (80/1)

Rooney Mara (100/1)

Best Picture

12 Years A Slave (3/10)

American Hustle (9/2)

Gravity (7/1)

Saving Mr Banks (33/1)

Captain Phillips (40/1)

The Wolf of Wall Street (40/1)

Mandela (66/1)

The Dallas Buyers Club (100/1)

Blue Jasmine (100/1)

Her (100/1)

Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron (4/11)

Steve McQueen (5/2)

David O'Russell (14/1)

Martin Scorcese (28/1)

Bennett Miller (66/1)

Spike Jonze (80/1)

Paul Greengrass (80/1)

Joel and Ethan Coen (100/1)

Alexander Payne (100/1)

Ron Howard (100/1)

(Source: easyodds.com)