LOS ANGELES, Feb 25: Remember 1997? That was the year that "Titanic" dominated the Oscars on its way to becoming the highest grossing film of all time. Seven years later, the good years could return for another blockbuster that has proved similarly attractive to both audiences and critics.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kings" is the hottest favourite in years to dominate the prestigious awards ceremony Sunday night. The movie has nabbed 11 Oscar nominations and already earned key awards at the Golden Globes, Directors Guild and Screen Actors Guild, and is likely to be saluted in similar fashion by the more than 6,500 members who make up the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

But, as anyone in the entertainment world will tell you, "This is Hollywood, baby!", a place where there's no such thing as a sure thing. Thus the crowning achievement of the much-admired Peter Jackson could start the glittering night a hot favourite and walk away with nothing.

"Oscars voters historically often upend easy predictions," notes the Los Angeles Times critic John Horn. "It's easier to nail jello to a tree than make concrete assessments about any film's Academy Award chances."

Still the oddsmakers in London and Vegas don't seem to agree. In Las Vegas, the Stardust casino put "Lord of the Rings" at 6-to-5 and Bally's gave it 4-to-5, or more than even odds of winning. And in the animation category, you'd have to be Goofy the Dog to bet against "Finding Nemo".

Ladbrokes in London put "Lord of the Rings" at 1-to-3 and said its oddsmakers thought twice about taking bets on the best picture category, since they see the Middle Earth picture as a shoo-in.

The big question in the acting categories is whether the voters will agree with the critics that this year's leading nominees represent a historical high point in the art of acting.

A.O. Scott of the New York Times said the performances of Sean Penn, in "Mystic River", and Charlize Theron in "Monster" had ushered in a "new golden age of screen acting".

Despite Johnny Depp's surprise victory in the Screen Actors Guild awards, no-one is considered a strong rival to Theron or Penn unless Academy voters revert to their old favourite Diane Keaton.

Scott may or may not be right. But the nominations show that American acting may actually be in crisis. Of the five female nominees, only Diane Keaton is American. Of the males, three of the five are Yanks.

In the race for best director, many industry insiders think Academy voters will follow the best picture lead and honour Peter Jackson. Others think that they will split their votes, giving one prize to Jackson or "The Lord of the Rings" and the other to Clint Eastwood or "Mystic River". -DPA