Producer Thomas Langmann received the award given on Saturday at the Beverly Hilton by the Producers Guild of America, as The Artist beat out George Clooney's family drama The Descendants and six other films.
The Artist won best musical or comedy at the Golden Globes and The Descendants won best drama, making the movies likely rivals for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
HBO's Boardwalk Empire won the producers' award for television drama series, keeping AMC's Mad Men from winning its fourth straight PGA Award.
The ABC sitcom Modern Family took the award for best comedy series for the second straight year.