'Wicked' named best film, Daniel Craig best actor by National Board of Review

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Board of Review put its full support behind Jon M. Chu's "Wicked," naming the lavish musical the best film of the year, Chu best director and awarding its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, a prize for their collaboration, in awards announced Wednesday.

Already a box-office force, “Wicked” is also embarking on an awards campaign expected to make it a major Academy Awards contender. The National Board of Review, a long-running New York-based organization comprised of film enthusiasts and academics founded in 1909, has no correlation with the film academy. But the win hands “Wicked” some early momentum ahead of Monday's Golden Globe nominations, where it should perform well.

"Wicked represents the pure magic that movies can bring to audiences," said Annie Schulhof, NBR president. “Every detail is beautifully crafted and designed, the actors are all exceptional and the music is second-to-none — together it adds up to a transporting experience like no other.”

Best actor went to Daniel Craig for his performance in Luca Guadagnino's William S. Burroughs' adaptation, "Queer." Nicole Kidman took best actress for Halina Reijn's "Babygirl," in which she plays a high-ranking executive who has a romance with an intern (Harris Dickinson).

The supporting acting winners were Kieran Culkin for "A Real Pain," and Elle Fanning for "A Complete Unknown."

The NBRs add to the recent run of prizes dished out this week, including the Gotham Awards on Monday, the New York Film Critics Circle on Tuesday and the Spirit Awards nominations announced Wednesday. The NBR Awards will be handed out in an untelevised gala Jan. 7 in New York hosted by Willie Geist.