Sideshow: The film critics speak

Inside Llewyn Davis, Joel and Ethan Coen's study of a struggling folk singer in 1961, was the big winner Saturday at the National Society of Film Critics, taking best film, best actor for Oscar Isaac, best director for the Coens, and best cinematography for Bruno Delbonnel.

American Hustle and 12 Years a Slave placed second and third for best film; Chiwetel Ejiofor in Slave and Robert Redford in All is Lost were runners-up for best actor. Alfonso Cuaron was second in the directing category for Gravity, and Steve McQueen placed third for Slave.

The win was redemption for Llewyn Davis, snubbed last week for a Producers Guild of America Award nomination - a leading indicator for a best-film Oscar nod.

Cate Blanchett won the lead actress award for her role as a troubled widow in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. Adele Exarchopoulous in Blue is the Warmest Color placed second, and Julie Delpy in Before Midnight was third. James Franco earned a supporting actor win for his role in Spring Breakers. Jennifer Lawrence in American Hustle was voted best supporting actress.

Disney's Frozen retook the box-office top spot with $20.7 million over the weekend, freezing out Paramount's horror spinoff Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, which debuted in second place with $18.2 million. Frozen has been a hit for seven weeks and has surpassed $600 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing Disney Animation release, behind The Lion King. It's rare for a film to lead in its seventh weekend, and rarer still for one to retake the lead so late in its run. The last was Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ in 2004, says box-office tracker Rentrak.

Another holdover, Warner Bros.' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, came in third with $16.3 million in its fourth week. Other late-year successes include Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street ($63.3 million in two weeks for Paramount), David O. Russell's American Hustle ($88.7 million in four weeks for Sony) and the Will Ferrell sequel Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, (well past $100 million in three weeks for Paramount).