Martin Scorsese's Massive Mafia Epic “The Irishman” Has Been Named Best Picture by the National Board of Review

Martin Scorsese's sprawling crime epic “The Irishman” has been named best picture by the National Board of Review.

The awards, announced Tuesday by the National Board of Review, handed Netflix its second major honor in Hollywood's quickening awards season. On Monday evening, Noah Baumbach's “Marriage Story” won best feature at the IFP Gotham Awards, which honor independent film. Both movies are widely expected to eventually reap numerous nominations at the Oscars, with either potentially landing Netflix its first best-picture win.

“The Irishman” also took best adapted screenplay, for Steven Zaillian's script, and an icon award for Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

The picks by the National Board of Review, a long-running organization comprised of academics and film professionals, have in recent years seldom lined up with eventual Academy Awards winners. But its best-feature choice last year, “Green Book," went on to triumph at the Oscars.

The awards will be handed out in a ceremony in New York on January 8, hosted by Willie Geist.