Box office The film grossed $54.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $105.7 million in other countries, for a worldwide box office total of $160.2 million. It made $1.1 million from 53 theaters its second weekend and $4.4 million from 614 its third, finishing 9th and 10th at the box office, respectively. The weekend following its four Golden Globe wins on January 7, 2018, the film was added to 712 theaters (for a total of 1,022) and grossed $2.3 million, an increase of 226% from the previous weekend's $706,188. Two weeks later, following the announcement of the film's seven Oscar nominations, it made $3.6 million, an increase of 87% over the previous week's $1.9 million, finishing 13th at the American box office. The weekend of March 9–11, following its two Oscar wins on March 4, the film made $705,000, down 45% from the previous weekend's $1.3 million.
Critical response Richard Roeper awarded the film a perfect 4-star rating, writing "We think we know these people, because the writer-director Martin McDonagh has done a masterful job with the script and with his visuals, and because the cast turns in perhaps the best ensemble work of any movie this year," concluding "
Three Billboards provided some of the strongest laughs and some of the most poignant moments of heartbreak of any movie in recent memory. This is the best movie I've seen this year."
Peter Travers, writing for
Rolling Stone, called the film "a renegade masterpiece that will get you good", and said "by turns hellaciously hilarious and deeply sorrowful, the film hits you where it hurts." Writing for
RogerEbert.com, Brian Tallerico stated: "
Three Billboards is one of those truly rare films that feels both profound and grounded; inspirational without ever manipulatively trying to be so. Very few recent movies have made me laugh and cry in equal measure as much as this one. Very few films recently are this good."
Leonard Maltin was also enthusiastic, writing: "You never know what to expect, and that's one reason this film is so striking. The small-town setting feels real, and so do most of the characters. Sometimes I wish McDonough’s world view wasn't quite so twisted, but he's never dull and he showed great wisdom in casting McDormand in the leading role. She is incapable of striking a false note, and that more than anything else is what makes
Three Billboards a must-see." In a review for
Variety,
Owen Gleiberman described the film as a dark, morally ambiguous drama centered on grief, anger, and justice. He praised Frances McDormand's performance as the film's driving force, while noting that the film operates as a stylized, theatrical narrative that explores shifting moral perspectives rather than offering a clear resolution. Steve Pond, writing for
TheWrap, described the film as a darkly comic drama that balances violence and humor. He praised Frances McDormand's performance as a central strength of the film, while noting that "after an unexpected twist halfway through the film, the pacing slackens and McDonagh struggles to keep the story on track as the violence escalates to ludicrous levels". Other reviews were more critical;
Vox summarized that the film "went from film fest darling to awards-season controversy". In a review for
The New York Times, columnist
Wesley Morris argued that the film presents an unconvincing and stylized depiction of the United States. He criticized McDonagh's handling of violence, race, and social themes, suggesting that the film relies on contrived storytelling and tonal inconsistency rather than offering meaningful insight into American society.
Manohla Dargis, also writing for
The New York Times, described the film as an uneven film that blends comedy and violence while exploring grief and vengeance. She praised Frances McDormand's performance, though she argued that McDonagh's tonal shifts and thematic ideas sometimes feel forced or overly constructed. In
The New Yorker,
Tim Parks praised the film's "magnificently photographed images", but wrote that the plot contained "a thousand cheap coincidences", Some took issue with the film's handling of racial themes, particularly surrounding the redemptive arc of Officer Dixon, whose alleged torturing of an African American prisoner before the events of the film is referred to several times. In
The Daily Beast, podcaster
Ira Madison III described the treatment of Rockwell's character as "altogether offensive [...] McDonagh's attempts to script the black experience in America are often fumbling and backward and full of outdated tropes." Alyssa Rosenberg noted in
The Washington Post that the film is dramatically uneven and undermined by the redemption arc of the racist police officer Dixon, played by Sam Rockwell. She contended that the film's attempt to morally rehabilitate the character weakens its narrative structure and limits its exploration of racism and justice in the fictional town. Ira Madison III also critiqued the film by highlighting Mcdonagh's "overall outsider perspective toward race in America and the casual racism that permeates the fictional Midwest town". Focusing on the film's treatment of sexual violence, Oliver Kenny pointed out that the film is unusual for not foregrounding images of the rape victim, and welcomed the shift from a focus on the rape itself to how the community handles rape, however poorly or mishandled their approach may be. Kenny argues that the film avoids "pursuing eye-for-an-eye revenge narratives as a crowd-pleasing solution and without pandering to a black-and-white narrative of evil-doing perpetrators, angelic victims and innocent bystanders".
Accolades At the
75th Golden Globe Awards,
Three Billboards won
Best Motion Picture – Drama,
Best Actress – Drama (McDormand),
Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), and
Best Screenplay, and it was also nominated for
Best Director and
Best Original Score. The film was nominated in nine categories at the
71st British Academy Film Awards and won five awards: both
Best Film and
Outstanding British Film (making it and ''
The King's Speech'' (2010) the only films to win both awards since the latter category was reintroduced in 1992),
Best Leading Actress (McDormand),
Best Supporting Actor (Rockwell), and
Best Screenplay (Original). At the
24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, the film was nominated for four awards and won three, including
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. It was nominated for six awards at the
23rd Critics' Choice Awards and won three, including
Best Acting Ensemble. At the
90th Academy Awards, the film received seven nominations, including for
Best Picture,
Best Actress (McDormand),
Best Supporting Actor (both Rockwell and Harrelson), and
Best Original Screenplay, and McDormand and Rockwell took home their respective awards. The film was named one of the
top 10 films of the year by the
American Film Institute. It won the top prize, the
People's Choice Award, at the
2017 Toronto International Film Festival, and won the Audience Award at the 2017
San Sebastián International Film Festival. In 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of
The New York Times list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 181. ==Impact==