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Martin McDonagh

Martin McDonagh

Director, writer and producer · Born March 26, 1970 (56) · Camberwell, London, England, UK

Oscar winner · 2 Golden Globes · 6 BAFTA Awards · 5 other major award bodies

Martin Faranan McDonagh (/məkˈdɒnə/; born 26 March 1970) is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his absurdist dark humour, which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has won numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, six BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Olivier Awards, in addition to nominations for five Tony Awards. His plays, many of which have been produced on the West End and Broadway, include The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Cripple of Inishmaan (both 1996), The Lonesome West (1997), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), The Pillowman (2003), A Behanding in Spokane (2010), and Hangmen (2015). McDonagh won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for Six Shooter and has received nominations for six other Academy Awards for his work on In Bruges (2008), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). He directed the black comedy film Seven Psychopaths (2012) and was executive producer on The Second Death (2000) and The Guard (2011). Description above from the Wikipedia article Martin McDonagh, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
March 26, 1970 (56)
From
Camberwell, London, England, UK
Works as
Director, writer and producer
Titles
6 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 155 days to Oct 26Down 24% in 30 days

What are Martin McDonagh's films like?

Across their 6 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
34%
Bonds
33%
Survival
16%
Ideas
8%
Self
6%
Society
4%
Friendship5 titles, browse their movies with this themeGrief2 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 4

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 2 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 2

Whiplash: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their whiplash movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 0 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 4

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 3

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 2 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 4

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
5
Absurd
4
Melancholic
4
Bittersweet
3
Warm
1

How their films linger

Bittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 2 with a twist

  • Bittersweet4
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Martin McDonagh's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 6 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Martin McDonagh's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

12 credits, 6 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Wild Horse Nine(2026)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • The Banshees of Inisherin(2022)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Origins of Ebbing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director · as Self - Director/Writer

  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri(2017)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • National Theatre Live: Hangmen (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Writer

  • Seven Psychopaths(2012)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Guard(2011)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films

  • In Bruges(2008)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Cinema 16: European Short Films (U.S. Edition) (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Director

  • Six Shooter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Writer

  • The Beauty Queen of the Mountains (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Theatre Play

  • The Second Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)

    Executive Producer

Career shape

A full career of 12 titles, 11 of them dated from 2000 to 2022.

Biggest box office

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

$163M worldwide

Highest rated

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Wild Horse Nine (2026)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Directing8 of 12: 2 only directing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score97thWriting8 of 12: 2 only writing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score97thProducing6 of 12: 2 only producing, 4 with another role · typical Midcredits score96th

12 titles, 6 with more than one role — directing and writing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

2000s5 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s1 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

an Oscar, 2 Golden Globes, 6 BAFTA Awards and 2 other major awards from 38 major nominations, 2005–2026.

WinNomination
  1. 2026
    • Venice award, nominated · Best Film
  2. 2023
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Achievement in Directing
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Director - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Screenplay (Original)
    • BAFTA Award, won · Outstanding British Film of the Year
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Director
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Film
    • +3 other major bodies · 4 nominations
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Director
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
  3. 2022
    • Venice award, won · Best Screenplay
    • Venice award, nominated · Best Film
  4. 2018
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Motion Picture of the Year
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
    • Golden Globe, won · Best Screenplay - Motion Picture
    • Golden Globe, nominated · Best Director - Motion Picture
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Film
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Screenplay (Original)
    • BAFTA Award, won · Outstanding British Film of the Year
    • BAFTA Award, nominated
    • +4 other major bodies · 5 nominations
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Director
      • Critics Choice Award, nominated · Best Original Screenplay
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Screenplay
  5. 2017
    • Venice award, won · Best Screenplay
    • Venice award, nominated · Best Film
  6. 2013
    • BAFTA Award, nominated
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Screenplay
  7. 2009
    • Oscar, nominated · Best Writing, Original Screenplay
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Screenplay - Original
    • BAFTA Award, nominated
  8. 2006
    • Oscar, won · Best Short Film, Live Action
Show 1 earlier year
  1. 2005
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Short Film

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Martin McDonagh's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 97th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 95th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

95thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

95thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

96thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 6 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up6

Shape of the crowd

None of their 6 titles divides audiences: 4 are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved4
  • Crowd Pleaser2

Most loved · director, writer, producer

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Midcredits 99th · 91% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 77/100 and the pacing 58/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Martin McDonagh's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity, alcohol & drugs and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore5 titles68–96 · median 71 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity5 titles33–50 · median 42 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles76–94 · median 93 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs5 titles46–79 · median 54 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense5 titles44–73 · median 64 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Martin McDonagh work with?

People who share at least 2 of Martin McDonagh's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Carter Burwell shares the most, 5.

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers