The 74th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2002, were announced on 4 December 2002 and given on 14 January 2003.

Top 10 films

1. The Hours
2. Chicago
3. Gangs of New York
4. The Quiet American
5. Adaptation.
6. Rabbit-Proof Fence
7. The Pianist
8. Far from Heaven
9. Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
10. Frida

Top Foreign Films

1. Talk to Her
2. Y Tu Mamá También
3. 8 Women
4. City of God
5. El crimen del Padre Amaro

Winners

• Best Film:
  • The Hours
• Best Foreign Language Film:
  • Hable con ella (Talk to Her), Spain
• Best Actor:
  • Campbell Scott – Roger Dodger
• Best Actress:
  • Julianne Moore – Far from Heaven
• Best Supporting Actor:
  • Chris Cooper – Adaptation.
• Best Supporting Actress:
  • Kathy Bates – About Schmidt
• Best Cast:
  • Nicholas Nickleby
• Breakthrough Performance – Male:
  • Derek Luke – Antwone Fisher
• Breakthrough Performance – Female:
  • Maggie Gyllenhaal – Secretary
• Best Director:
  • Phillip Noyce – The Quiet American and Rabbit-Proof Fence
• Best Debut Director:
  • Rob Marshall – Chicago
• Best Screenplay:
  • Charlie Kaufman – Adaptation., Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Human Nature
• Best Documentary Feature:
  • Bowling for Columbine
• Best Animated Feature:
  • Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away)
• Best Film Made For Cable TV:
  • The Laramie Project
• Career Achievement Award:
  • Christopher Plummer
• Special Award for Visionary Cinematic Achievement:
  • George Lucas
• Special Filmmaking Achievement:
  • George Clooney, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
• Career Achievement – Music Composition:
  • Elmer Bernstein
• Career Achievement – Cinematography:
  • Conrad Hall
• Humanitarian Award:
  • Sheila Nevins (HBO)
• William K. Everson Award For Film History:
  • Annette Insdorf, Films and the Holocaust
• Freedom Of Expression:
  • Rabbit-Proof Fence
  • Ararat
  • Bloody Sunday
  • The Grey Zone
• Special Recognition For Excellence In Filmmaking:
  • Frailty
  • The Good Girl
  • The Guys
  • Heaven
  • Igby Goes Down
  • Max
  • Personal Velocity: Three Portraits
  • Real Women Have Curves
  • Roger Dodger
  • Sunshine State
  • Tadpole
  • Tully