If Americans had their say, presidential drama "Lincoln" or musical "Les Miserables" would win the best picture Oscar next month, while Anne Hathaway and Daniel Day-Lewis should take home the movie industry's top prizes for acting, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce on Thursday the films and names of those who will compete for Oscars after a secret ballot by its 6,000 members working in the movie industry.

According to awards watchers, while both "Lincoln" and "Les Miserables" are expected to be among the 5-10 official best picture contenders on Thursday, "The Hobbit" is considered a long-shot, despite its popularity at the worldwide box office.

Americans looked to be on the money when 27 per cent of those questioned picked Hathaway as a likely Oscar winner for her role as the tragic heroine of "Les Miserables", and 18 per cent picked Day-Lewis for his performance as US President Abraham Lincoln.

Both actors are seen as leading contenders for Oscar glory at the Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood of February 24.

But in other areas, the poll showed a wide divergence between popular favorites and likely contenders. Some 52 percent of those questioned had seen none of the 24 movies on the Ipsos poll list.

Meryl Streep, who has a record 17 Oscar nominations and three wins, is not expected to be among this year's contenders. But 57 per cent of those polled thought Streep should be a top five finalist for her role as a frustrated wife in comedy "Hope Springs" and she came second to Hathaway as their top pick to win again in February.

Among favorite actors, Americans chose Day-Lewis (18 per cent), Denzel Washington's alcoholic pilot in "Flight" (16 per cent), Hugh Jackman's turn as convict who makes good in "Les Miserables" (10 pe rcent) and Jamie Foxx's performance as a slave-turned-bounty-hunter in "Django Unchained" (7 per cent) as their top picks for Oscar glory.

In the best picture category - the biggest prize at the Oscars - those interviewed chose "Lincoln" (18 per cent), "Les Miserables" (13 per cent), "The Hobbit" (12 per cent), "Django Unchained" and "Life of Pi" (both 6 per cent), "The Dark Night Rises" and Bond movie "Skyfall" (both 5 per cent), as the films they would pick to win.

The poll was conducted between January 8-9 and has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.