Investigative journalism drama Spotlight won the top prize at the Critics' Choice Awards on Sunday night, while Brie Larson and Leonardo DiCaprio took the top acting prizes for Room and The Revenant.
Both actors won Golden Globes last week and are front-runners for the Oscars.
Mad Max: Fury Road was the most nominated film of the evening, with 13. While it missed out on the top prize, it did win Best Director for George Miller and Best Action Movie. Its stars, Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, also won Best Actor and Actress in an Action Movie.
The financial crisis dramedy The Big Short won Best Comedy, with Christian Bale taking the award for Best Actor in a Comedy.
But it was Spotlight's night. The film also picked up Best Acting Ensemble, beating Straight Outta Compton and The Hateful Eight among others.
Sylvester Stallone followed his Golden Globes coup by winning Best Supporting Actor for reprising his role as Rocky Balboa in the spin-off Creed.
“Before I get into any more trouble I want to say thank you to my director, Ryan Coogler,” Stallone said. “He is a genius. He really made it all happen.” He also described his young co-star Michael B Jordan as a “great talent.”
At the Golden Globe Awards, Stallone forgot to thank his co-star and director in his speech and was criticised for the oversight. He later apologised.
Alicia Vikander won Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Danish Girl, and accepted the Best Sci-fi/Horror Movie award for Ex Machina, in which she starred as a self-aware robot.
This was the first year the Critics’ Choice Awards had combined its movies and television awards into one ceremony, similar to the Golden Globes.
Big winners in the small-screen acting categories include Jeffrey Tambor for Transparent, Idris Elba for the gritty British crime drama Luther, and Rachel Bloom for musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Fargo won Best Movie Made for Television or Limited Series and earned star Kirsten Dunst the award for Best Actress in a Movie Made for Television or Limited Series.
Aziz Ansari's Master of None won Best Comedy Series, while Mr. Robot picked up the Best Drama Series award, plus Best Actor in a Drama Series for star Rami Malek and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Christian Slater.
Trainwreck director Judd Apatow presented a previously announced MVP award to Trainwreck star and writer Amy Schumer, joking that the only way to get her to the ceremony was to make up an award just for her. Trainwreck lost out in the Best Comedy battle, but Schumer did win the award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.
artslife@thenational.ae
