Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Steve McQueen and Gravity will be the big winners at the Oscars this week if a company which analyses social media continues its run of accurate predictions.
The winners are announced on Sunday amid great secrecy, but Ebuzzing Lab's experts believe DiCaprio should prepare a winner's speech as he is about to win his first Oscar for his work in the Wolf Of Wall Street. The actor has been nominated four times without winning so far.
After analysing English language tweets since the nominees were announced last month, Ebuzzing also believes Streep will beat Australian Cate Blanchett to pick up her fourth Oscar for best actress, this time for August: Osage County.
McQueen will win best director for Twelve Years A Slave, if Ebuzzing's predictions come true, as they have for recent X Factor winners and the US presidential elections.
The firm, specialists in online video advertising, also foresee Gravity, which stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, picking up best picture.
The 6,000 Academy Awards members vote for the Oscars, with absolute secrecy maintained until the winners are announced on television.
Ebuzzing said that in previous years there has been a "remarkably strong correlation" between social media buzz and the actual winners.
However, the bookmakers do not agree with the technology firm's predictions.
Alfonso Cuaron is the favourite to win best director for Gravity, Twelve Years A Slave is tipped to win best picture, Matthew McConaughey, in The Dallas Buyers Club, is favourite to foil DiCaprio yet again for best actor and Blanchett is strongly backed to be awarded best actress for Blue Jasmine.
Jeremy Arditi, UK managing director at Ebuzzing, said: "The Ebuzzing Labs is used day to day to track and analyse social media sentiment related to global brands as part of video advertising campaigns.
"It is also a great indicator of engagement and an accurate reflection of current public opinion - whether it is who social media wants to win a political election or an awards ceremony.
"Our share of voice study produced by the Ebuzzing Labs shows Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Steve McQueen and Gravity have already 'won the Oscars' in terms of social media conversation and pre-awards buzz.
"We are quietly confident our predictions will also be the big winners on Oscar night."
