'Birdman' Wins at Directors Guild Awards: Does This Boost its Oscars Odds?

"Birdman" gets Oscars hype after winning at the Directors Guild Awards.

ByABC News

February 8, 2015, 2:18 PM

This file photo released by Twentieth Century Fox shows Michael Keaton, left, as Riggan in a scene from the film, "Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance" directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.
Twentieth Century Fox, Atsushi Nishijima/AP Photo

 -- Since "Birdman" topped the Directors Guild of America Awards, that could mean it's now the odds-on favorite to win the biggest prize at the Oscars.

History is certainly on its side.

Director Alejandro Inarritu claimed the prize for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for "Birdman" Saturday night at the DGA award ceremony.

The critically acclaimed film -- in which Michael Keaton plays an actor looking for a comeback -- is one of eight films up for best picture at the Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 22.

Only seven times since the Directors Guild of America Awards began in 1948 has the top award winner not gone on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

While we still have to wait two weeks until the big Oscar winner is revealed, "Birdman" has been getting recognition throughout the awards season. Keaton won Best Actor at the Golden Globes and the film took home top prize for best performance by a cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Besides "Birdman", the other films up for Best Picture at this year's Oscars are "American Sniper," "Boyhood," "Selma," "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "The Imitation Game," "The Theory of Everything" and "Whiplash."