Thursday, Jan 10 began as a difficult one for the team behind "Argo" after Ben Affleck, the director of the political thriller was left off the list of Oscar nominees for Best Director. It ended in triumph, however, with "Argo" capturing the Best Picture Critics' Choice Movie Award in a field of heavyweights that included "Life of Pi," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Lincoln," TheWrap reported.

There was also an opportunity to right apparent snubs from the Oscar nomination announcements, as Affleck bounded up to the stage to accept the Best Director honor for his work guiding "Argo." The actor-director and "Zero Dark Thirty" director Kathryn Bigelow were considered to be locks for Academy Award nominations, but found themselves edged out.

"I would like to thank the Academy," Affleck began, to knowing laughter from the audience. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, this is the one that counts."

"Argo's" success came at the expense of "Lincoln," which has been considered the awards front-runner and scored a leading 12 Oscar nominations earlier in the day. The biopic about the 16th president wasn't entirely shut out. It earned awards for its adapted screenplay, score and a Best Actor prize for Daniel Day-Lewis' performance in the title role.