Why we shouldn't get too excited about A Star is Born winning Best Picture at the Oscars.

Since its release in October, Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born has been tipped to storm the awards season, and has been nominated for seven categories in next week’s Oscars.

But if history is anything to go by, we shouldn’t get our hopes up for the dramatic musical to take home the night’s most coveted awards.

This latest version of A Star Is Born isn’t the first to be touted as an Oscar favourite only to miss out on the Academy’s favour.

Beginning with the 1937 original, all three previous A Star Is Born movies have had disappointing experiences at the awards night.

The film had been part of a comeback story for star Janet Gaynor, who was nominated for Best Actress. At the same time, the film was nominated for the other major awards, Best Picture and Best Director, while the male lead, Fredric March, was nominated for Best Actor.

And then - somehow - the cast and team behind the film missed out on all four awards. As Vulture noted, it only picked up two minor awards for writing and cinematography.

But surely Judy Garland and the cast and crew of 1954's A Star Is Born would have more luck, the people of the time thought.

Again, the film had served as a comeback vehicle for its female lead and everyone was sure that Garland was going to win Best Actress.  So sure in fact, that a camera crew had been sent to the actress' hospital bed where she sat after the arrival of her newborn son Joey.

Yet, in one of the biggest upsets in the Oscars' history, the former Wizard of Oz darling missed out, losing to Grace Kelly for her role in Country Girl. 

That disappointment continued for the entire night, as the film lost in all six categories it or its stars had been nominated in.

The 1976 version of A Star Is Born was not as critically well-received as its predecessors, but much like the success of 'Shallow', it did have a hit original song.

That track, 'Evergreen', had topped the Billboard charts and been nominated in the Best Original Song, which it actually won. But the film missed out in the categories of Score, Sound and Cinematography.

The Oscars experience of this year's A Star Is Born has already been a source of "embarrassment" for star, producer and director Bradley Cooper when he missed out on a Best Director nomination.

Still, fans of the film wish for this snub to be the only let-down of the 91st Academy Awards for A Star Is Born.  

Perhaps, though, they shouldn't get their hopes up.