Martin McDonagh’s Film4 backed Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri today won two Academy Awards: Frances McDormand was honoured with the prize for Actress in a Leading Role for playing Mildred Hayes, while Sam Rockwell took home the award for Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Officer Dixon.

Director of Film4 Daniel Battsek commented: “Congratulations to Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell, and to all the Three Billboards nominees. Film4 could not be happier to have been on this journey with the filmmakers and our partners at Fox Searchlight.”

Film4 have backed all of writer/director Martin McDonagh’s screen work to date, from his Oscar-winning 2006 short film Six Shooter, to his Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning debut feature In Bruges (2008), the 2013 BAFTA-nominated Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

The awards for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri continue a run of success at the Academy Awards that have seen Film4 productions win 18 Oscars in the last 11 years for films including Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Amy, Ex Machina and Room, and a total of 34 Oscars in Film4’s 36 year history.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri had previously won five BAFTAs, four Golden Globes, three SAG awards, two Independent Spirit Awards, two British Independent Film Awards and was voted Film of the Year by the London Film Critics Circle. The film premiered at the 2017 autumn film festivals, where it won the Best Screenplay prize at Venice and the Grolsch People’s Choice Award at Toronto, following in the footsteps of previous Film4 backed winners Room (2015), 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). The film has also won audience awards at film festivals in San Sebastián, Denver and Leeds as well as at Camerimage, and received awards or nominations from critics’ groups in Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, Chicago, Austin, San Francisco and Washington, as well as the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and the African American Film Critics Association.

The film this weekend crossed $52 million at the US box office and $131 million worldwide through Fox Searchlight.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a Blueprint Pictures production, financed on a 50/50 basis by Film4 and Fox Searchlight Pictures, with the studio taking worldwide distribution rights. Film4’s parent company Channel 4 Television retains UK TV rights – profits from which will be used to support future British film production.