Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Frances McDormand's Oscar-Winning Performance on HBO Max

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Published Jan 30, 2026, 6:30 PM EST

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

As this year's Academy Awards creep closer, and in light of the recent nominations announcement, it seems increasingly more certain that Jessie Buckley will take home the Best Actress prize for her performance as Agnes in Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet. Despite there being several great lead female performances in the past year, Buckley's is destined to be remembered as one of the greats and is sure to receive a Golden Statue on March 15. She will join a select list of hugely talented individuals to win this award in the past decade, one of whom hit a jaw-dropping milestone in the process.

For her Best Actress victory for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Frances McDormand became only the second woman to win the prize three or more times, joining Katharine Hepburn, who is out on her own with four. A film that might've fallen under your radar, for McDormand's powerful lead performance alone, Three Billboards should be high up on your watchlist. Luckily for you, the film is heading to HBO Max in February. McDormand isn't the only acting icon delivering at their best in this Martin McDonagh masterpiece, with Sam Rockwell arguably stealing the spotlight from his co-star in a role for which he also won an Academy Award. A synopsis for the movie reads:

"After months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at William Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command, Officer Dixon -- an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence -- gets involved, the battle is only exacerbated."

'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' Was Also a Box Office Triumph

Against a budget of just $12 million, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri returned an enormous $161 million worldwide, 13.4 times the original investment. Split between a domestic haul of $54 million and a further $107 million from overseas markets, the movie surprised the 2017 theatrical scene by competing with major blockbusters and finishing as high as seventh in the weekend domestic ranking. To this day, the film is still Searchlight's ninth highest-grossing movie of all time worldwide.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is streaming on HBO Max this February. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for all the latest streaming stories.