Time for everyone to start placing their bets ahead of Thursday’s announcement with the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards.

The nominations are yet to be revealed, so everyone is free to argue who should or shouldn’t be among the contenders for the golden statues which will be handed out on February 22.

Actor Forest Whitaker, who took home an Oscar for best actor for his performance in “The Last King Of Scotland,” and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis are slated to unveil the nominations in 10 of the 24 award categories at a 5:30 a.m. PT news conference Thursday at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

As far as the best picture award is concerned, there’s a consistent list of flicks that appear suitable, including “Revolutionary Road,” starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Reader,” WWII drama “Defiance” with Daniel Craig, “Slumdog Millionaire,” “Milk,” Brad Pitt’s “The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button” and of course, “The Dark Knight. However, only five will make the cut.  No superhero movie's ever been nominated for best picture, but maybe “Dark Knight” will change that.

Unsurprisingly among the favorites, “The Dark Knight” is also considered by many a valid contender for other Academy Award honors, including best director, cinematography and editing. But a nod for the movie in the main categories could do wonders among the audiences when this year's Academy Awards telecast will be broadcast by ABC.

In other news, the new economic environment is making a mark on this year's Academy Awards telecast which will have a budget of just $1.4 million, down from $1.7 million last year. On top of that, for the first time ever, ABC has decided to break with tradition and air commercials for movies during the show. Ads used to be forbidden in the past in order to avoid giving the impression that movie studios had any involvement in the ceremony itself. The move is apparently a business decision to bring more ad dollars to the program, which netted its lowest ratings in history last year.