The National Board of Review threw curve ball into Hollywood's awards season, naming rollicking apocalyptic adventure Mad Max: Fury Road the best film of 2015.
George Miller's latest installment in the 1979 born action franchise is an unconventional pick from the National Board of Review, one of the oldest awards bodies in movies.
But the group, founded in 1909, has recently tried to shed its stodgy image, previously giving J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year (in 2014) and Spike Jonze's Her (in 2013) its top honor.
In the awards announced today, science-fiction hit The Martian came away with the most wins, taking best actor for Matt Damon, best director for Ridley Scott and best adapted screenplay for Drew Goddard.
In the early going of awards season, The Martian is seen as the popular, big-budget contender likely to compete at the Academy Awards.
The National Board of Review, a collection of film enthusiasts and academics, eschewed several of the top independent contenders, like the journalism drama Spotlight (the big winner at Monday night's Gotham Independent Film Awards) and 1950s romance Carol.
Instead, the NBRs gave Quentin Tarantino's upcoming Western, The Hateful Eight, awards for Tarantino's screenplay and Jennifer Jason Leigh's supporting actress performance.
Sylvester Stallone was named best supporting actor for Creed, the acclaimed reboot of Stallone's Rocky franchise.
