Certainly, any film that wins big in New York is in line for a nomination from the Academy; 2007 was the only year in the last 11 years that a film won the NYFCC Best Picture award without being nominated for the same category at the Oscars. That was United 93.

Watch the American Hustle trailer here

When it comes to actual Oscar winners, it has a pretty good record, too. In total, the prestigious New York gong has seen 31 eventual Oscar winners crowned, from 79 ceremonies – and it could still make it 32/79 should American Hustle prove triumphant in March 2014.

But the majority of those Oscars came on and before 1994, when there was – presumably – less competition and political bias involved in the selection process. In the 19 ceremonies since ’94, the NYFCC has picked out four winners: The Lord of The Rings: Return of The King, No Country for Old Men, The Hurt Locker and The Artist.

With a nomination basically guaranteed, American Hustle’s odds have dropped to make it third favorite behind Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity and Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave. You can still see it at 5/1, which could be worth a flutter considering it’s early success. Bottom line, though: an Oscar winner the NYFCC does not make.

American Hustle posterAmerican Hustle hits cinemas on Dec 18th in the U.S and Jan 3rd in the U.K