Ben Affleck was named Best Director at Thursday night's Critics' Choice Movie Awards - just hours after being snubbed in the same category at the Oscar nominations.

The actor-and-director was a surprise omission from the Academy Awards' shortlist for the same honour but he didn't let it get him down and was thrilled to take home the prize for his film 'Argo'.

After accepted the award, Ben joked: "I would like to thank the Academy. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. This is the one that counts. No, I do want to thank the Broadcast Film Critics Association.

"It is very, very cool for me. There was a time when the Ben Affleck's Critics' Award was a 'Saturday Night Live' sketch."

And it turned out to be a very good night for Ben because 'Argo' also took home Best Picture.

As expected, Anne Hathaway was named Best Supporting Actress for her role as tragic Fantine in Les 'Miserables', a feat she is expected to repeat at next month's Academy Awards.

During the ceremony - which took place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California - Jennifer Lawrence was named Best Actress in both the Action and Comedy categories for 'The Hunger Games' and 'Silver Linings Playbook' respectively.

Her 'Silver Linings Playbook' co-star Bradley Cooper won the award for Best Actor in a Comedy, while the film was honoured with Best Comedy and Best Acting Ensemble.

Jessica Chastain took home the prize for Best Actress for her role in 'Zero Dark Thirty' while 'Lincoln' star Daniel Day-Lewis was named Best Actor.

Other winners included 'Skyfall', Philip Seymour Hoffman and Quentin Tarantino.

 

Full list of winners from the 2013 Critics' Choice Movie Awards:

BEST PICTURE - 'Argo'

ACTOR - Daniel Day-Lewis - 'Lincoln'

ACTRESS - Jessica Chastain - 'Zero Dark Thirty'

SUPPORTING ACTOR - Philip Seymour Hoffman - 'The Master'

SUPPORTING ACTRESS Anne Hathaway - 'Les Misérables'

YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS - Quvenzhané Wallis - 'Beasts of the Southern Wild''

ACTING ENSEMBLE - Silver Linings Playbook

DIRECTOR - Ben Affleck - 'Argo'

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - Quentin Tarantino - 'Django Unchained'

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - Tony Kushner - 'Lincoln'

CINEMATOGRAPHY - 'Life of Pi' - Claudio Miranda

ART DIRECTION - 'Anna Karenina' - Sarah Greenwood/Production Designer; Katie Spencer/Set Decorator

EDITING - 'Zero Dark Thirty' - William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor

COSTUME DESIGN - 'Anna Karenina' - Jacqueline Durran

MAKEUP - 'Cloud Atlas'

VISUAL EFFECTS - 'Life of Pi'

ANIMATED FEATURE - 'Wreck-It Ralph'

ACTION MOVIE - 'Skyfall'

ACTOR IN AN ACTION MOVIE  - Daniel Craig - 'Skyfall'

ACTRESS IN AN ACTION MOVIE  - Jennifer Lawrence - 'The Hunger Games'

COMEDY - 'Silver Linings Playbook'

ACTOR IN A COMEDY - Bradley Cooper - 'Silver Linings Playbook'

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY - Jennifer Lawrence - 'Silver Linings Playbook'

SCI-FI/HORROR MOVIE - 'Looper'

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - 'Amour'

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - 'Searching for Sugar Man'

SONG - 'Skyfall' - performed by Adele/written by Adele Adkins & Paul Epworth - 'Skyfall'

SCORE - 'Lincoln' - John Williams