‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ roars to a best picture win from the National Board of Review

“Max Mad: Fury Road,” George Miller’s pulsating reboot of his post-apocalyptic action-thriller franchise, was named best picture of 2015 Tuesday afternoon by the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

The sci-fi blockbuster “The Martian” won three awards -- director for Ridley Scott, lead actor for Matt Damon and adapted screenplay for Drew Goddard.

“We are thrilled to be awarding George Miller and Ridley Scott, two iconic filmmakers at the top of their game, while also celebrating the next generation of talent,” NBR President Annie Schulhof said in a statement Tuesday.

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Lead actress went to Brie Larson for “Room” for her portrayal of a woman held captive in a small space with her young son. Sylvester Stallone won supporting actor for reprising his iconic role as Rocky Balboa in “Creed.” Jennifer Jason Leigh earned supporting actress honors as a fugitive wanted dead or alive in Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.”

Tarantino also received the NBR award for original screenplay for his western.

In other awards handed out Tuesday:

Animated feature: “Inside Out”

Breakthrough performance: Abraham Attah for “Beasts of No Nation” and Jacob Tremblay for “Room”

Directorial debut: Jonas Carpignano for “Mediterranea”

Foreign language film: “Son of Saul”

Documentary: “Amy”

William K. Everson Film History Award: Cecilia DeMille Presley

Spotlight Award: “Sicario” for outstanding collaborative vision

NBR Freedom of Expression Award: “Beasts of No Nation” and “Mustang”

Ensemble: “The Big Short”

Notably missing from the list of winners was Tom McCarthy’s “Spotlight,” which was the big winner last night at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. The drama only made the list of NBR’s top films of the year.

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, which consists of film enthusiasts, professionals, academics, young filmmakers and students, was founded 106 years ago.

Over the last several years, the NBR and the Academy Awards have agreed to disagree on their top choices. Last year, the NBR picked “A Most Violent Year” as the best film of 2014 -- the crime thriller failed to earn any Oscar nominations -- while the Oscar went to “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).” The last time the two were sympatico was with Danny Boyle’s 2008 drama “Slumdog Millionaire.”

The NBR awards will be handed out Jan 5. at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

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