The Awardist Licorice Pizza, Will Smith hit Oscars stride among 2021 National Board of Review winners West Side Story star Rachel Zegler, King Richard, Belfast, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and more built Oscar buzz with key NBR victories amid a busy awards season week. By Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi Entertainment Weekly's Oscars expert, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' beat reporter, host of 'Quick Drag' Twitter Spaces, and cohost of 'EW's BINGE' podcast. Almost all of the drag content on this site is my fault (you're welcome). EW's editorial guidelines Published on December 2, 2021 03:11PM EST Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza and Reinaldo Marcus Green's King Richard offered up a delicious serve of awards season goodness among the National Board of Review list of the best films of 2021. At the end of the busiest week of awards season thus far, the NBR named Licorice Pizza as the best of 2021 among its annual slate of year-end winners, which also included honors for King Richard's cast and West Side Story's leading newcomer Rachel Zegler. Among the acting winners were Will Smith, who won Best Actor for his portrayal of the film's titular father to tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, while Zegler earned her first ever major film award for her leading turn in Steven Spielberg's critically lauded big-screen update of the Stephen Sondheim classic. Supporting trophies went to King Richard standout Aunjanue Ellis as the tennis stars' mother, as well as Ciarán Hinds' work in Kenneth Branagh's semi-autobiographical historical drama Belfast. The NBR's picks join those of the Gotham Awards (which Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter steamrolled on Monday) and the New York Film Critics Circle, which is set to reveal its 2021 award winners throughout the day on Friday. National Board of Review winners 'Licorice Pizza' for Best Film, Will Smith for Best Actor in 'King Richard,' and Rachel Zegler for Best Actress in 'West Side Story.'. MGM; Chiabella James/Warner Bros.; Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios Established in 1909 by theater owners fighting the revoking of exhibition licenses by New York City officials, the NBR is now comprised of film enthusiasts, academics, and other movie professionals working inside the industry. In recent years, it has evolved into a vital stepping stone (and visibility booster) on the path to potential Oscar glory for would-be contenders. The group has boosted late-breaking projects into the race at large, like 2013's Her, 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, and Riz Ahmed's NBR-winning performance in Sound of Metal just last year — all of which went on to generate Academy Awards heat. Over the last 20 years, only two of the NBR's top-film winners have missed out on a Best Picture Oscar nomination: 2014's A Most Violent Year and 2020's Da 5 Bloods. Last year, NBR acting winners like Ahmed, Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Paul Raci (Sound of Metal), and Supporting Actress Oscar winner Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari) all made pit stops at the NBR prior to bagging Oscar attention. See the full list of the 2021 National Board of Review winners below. Best Film: Licorice Pizza Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson — Licorice Pizza Best Actor: Will Smith — King Richard Best Actress: Rachel Zegler — West Side Story Best Supporting Actor: Ciarán Hinds — Belfast Best Supporting Actress: Aunjanue Ellis — King Richard Best Original Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi — A Hero Best Adapted Screenplay: Joel Coen — The Tragedy of Macbeth Breakthrough Performance: Alana Haim & Cooper Hoffman — Licorice Pizza Best Directorial Debut: Michael Sarnoski — Pig Best Animated Feature: Encanto Best Foreign Language Film: A Hero Best Documentary: Summer of Soul Best Ensemble: The Harder They Fall Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography: Bruno Delbonnel — The Tragedy of Macbeth NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Flee Top Films (in alphabetical order) BelfastDon't Look UpDuneKing RichardThe Last DuelNightmare AlleyRed RocketThe Tragedy of MacbethWest Side Story Top 5 Foreign Language Films (in alphabetical order) BenedettaLambLingui, The Sacred BondsTitaneThe Worst Person in the World Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order) AscensionAtticaFleeThe RescueRoadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order) The Card CounterC'mon C'monCODAThe Green KnightHollerJockeyOld HenryPigShiva BabyThe Souvenir Part II Check out more from EW's The Awardist, featuring Oscars analysis, exclusive interviews, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's movies and performances. Related content: Dakota Johnson announces her own movie as Best Feature at the Gotham Awards: See the full winners list Oscars heat index: Lady Gaga targets her next Oscar for House of Gucci, sweetie 2022 Oscar predictions: Lady Gaga, Kristen Stewart, more contenders to look out for