Director Anthony Russo accepts the award for best movie for Avengers: Endgame at the MTV Movie and TV Awards on Saturday in California. Photo: IC

Box office-busting Avengers: Endgame dominated the MTV Movie and TV Awards Monday, as Captain Marvel star Brie Larsen led tributes to real-life heroines by ceding the spotlight to her stunt doubles.

Endgame, the second-highest grossing film of all time, picked up the best movie award, as well as best hero for Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man and best villain for Josh Brolin as Thanos.

Oscar-winner Larsen added to the superheroes' haul by picking up the best fight award, praising her stunt workers as the "living embodiment of Captain Marvel" as she brought them up on stage.

Joanna Bennett and Renae Moneymaker, who also trained Larsen for the first female-led Marvel Studios/Disney superhero film, said it was an "honor" to work on the film and "be a part of bringing such a strong female character to life."

The wide-ranging awards show also paid tribute to women beyond Hollywood such as trailblazing Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the subject of documentary RBG, who won a new category for best real-life hero.

And in the evening's most poignant moment, victims of sexual abuse were honored by the producers of Surviving R. Kelly, which won best documentary.

"Survivors walked through the fire and then stood again to tell this story," said Lifetime network executive Brie Miranda Bryant.

The docu-series has led Chicago prosecutors to publicly seek out potential victims of R&B star Kelly, who has pleaded not guilty to felony sex crime charges.

"This isn't just a trophy to us because this really speaks to the important cultural impact that this generated from this documentary," Bryant added.

Newcomer Noah Centineo was the night's biggest individual winner, scooping awards for breakthrough performance and best kiss alongside Lana Condor for Netflix teen romance film To All The Boys I've Loved Before.

But it was a disappointing night for Game of Thrones, which won best show but lost out in three other categories.

The epic fantasy's final season was widely panned by critics and audiences.

The MTV Movie and TV Awards have been taking a sideways look at Hollywood since 1992, honoring films and their actors with "golden popcorn" statuettes.

The nominees are decided by producers and MTV executives, while the winners are chosen by the public, who vote online.

As a result, the awards have historically recognized commercial favorites, in contrast to the Oscars and other events based on critical or industry acclaim.

This year it added off-beat new categories for "most meme-able moment" and "reality royalty."

It also gave non-competitive awards to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jada Pinkett Smith.

For the second year running, the show was pre-recorded on Saturday in a cavernous hangar at Santa Monica Airport in southern California.

Here is part of the list of winners:

BEST MOVIE: Avengers: Endgame

BEST SHOW: Game of Thrones

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A MOVIE: Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born

BEST PERFORMANCE IN A SHOW: Elisabeth Moss - The Handmaid's Tale

BEST HERO: Robert Downey Jr. - Avengers: Endgame


Newspaper headline: Real heroes honored