LOS ANGELES (February 3, 2013)--Ben Affleck won the top film honor Saturday night from the Directors Guild of America for his CIA thriller "Argo," further sealing the film’s status as best-picture front-runner at the Academy Awards.

The prize normally would make Affleck a near shoo-in to win best-director at the Feb. 24 Oscars, because the Directors Guild recipient nearly always goes on to claim the same prize at Hollywood's biggest night, but Affleck surprisingly missed out on an Oscar directing nomination, along with several other key favorites, including fellow Directors Guild contenders Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty" and Tom Hooper for "Les Miserables."

Affleck's Oscar snub has not hurt "Argo" and may even have earned it some favor among awards voters as an underdog favorite.

"Argo" has dominated other awards since the Oscar nominations.