The National Board of Review includes teachers, actors, writers and movie-production workers. The organization publishes the magazine Films in Review. The winners were announced Dec. 4, 2003.
| Best Picture: | Mystic River |
| Best Foreign Film: | The Barbarian Invasions (Canada) |
| Best Actor: | Sean Penn, Mystic River and 21 Grams |
| Best Actress: | Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give |
| Best Supporting Actor: | Alec Baldwin, The Cooler |
| Best Supporting Actress: | Patricia Clarkson , Pieces of April and The Station Agent |
| Best Ensemble: | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
| Breakthrough Performances: | Paul Giamatti, American Splendor and Charlize Theron, Monster |
| Best Director: | Edward Zwick, The Last Samurai |
| Best Directorial Debut: | Vadim Perelman, House of Sand and Fog |
| Screenplay of the Year: | Cold Mountain (Best Adapted) and In America (Best Original) |
| Best Documentary: | The Fog of War |
| Best Animated Feature: | Finding Nemo |
| Best Made-for-Cable Movie/Miniseries: | Angels in America |
| Special Filmmaking Achievement: | Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation |
| Career Achievement Awards: | Morgan Freeman (acting), Hans Zimmer (music composition), John Toll (cinematography) |
| Billy Wilder Award for Excellence in Directing: | Norman Jewison |
| William K. Everson Award for Film History: | Richard LaGravenese and Ted Demme, A Decade Under the Influence |
| Producers Award: | Gale Anne Hurde, Kathleen Kennedy, Christine Vachon |
| Special Recognition of Films that Reflect the Freedom of Expression: | Capturing the Friedmans, Dirty Pretty Things, The Magdalene Sisters, and September 11 |
| Special Mention for Excellence in Filmmaking: | American Splendor, Bend It Like Beckham, The Cooler, Dirty Pretty Things, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Pieces of April, The Secret Lives of Dentists, Shattered Glass, The Statement, Thirteen, and Whale Rider |
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