The best movie posters of all time – famous film posters picked by the experts

Three of the best movie posters: posters for Jaws, Vertigo and Akira on a yellow and orange background

(Image credit: Universal Pictures / Paramount Pictures / Tokyo Movie Shinsha Co / Future)

The best movie posters prove that working in cinema doesn't necessarily mean sitting behind or in front of a camera. Graphic designers can also play a big role in the success of a film. The greatest movie posters serve a vital role in creating interest in an upcoming release and maintaining its momentum and legacy.

From early 20th century classics to the modern day, some famous movie posters have become regarded as works of art in their own right. Styles and trends have evolved, but the best poster designs manage to encapsulate the tone and themes of a film into a striking image, which has the power to become iconic. But what's the secret?

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Jaws wasn't just a great movie, it was the first summer blockbuster. Previously, studios had tended to open their biggest films during the autumn and winter. But in 1975, director Steven Spielberg believed his disaster movie about a killer shark roaming crowded beaches could attract a big summer audience, and he couldn't have been more right. This led to an industry-wide switch to the hotter months, and the summer blockbuster has been the default mode ever since.

One of the reasons for its huge popularity was its dramatic poster, still one of the most famous movie posters today. "Probably one of – if not the – most iconic poster of all time, and one of the best examples of visual marketing and story-telling," says Lauren Richardson, senior account executive at Marketing Signals. "Featuring the giant great white, rising to capture its victim as she swims, naked and vulnerable, across the top of the poster, it’s both captivating and utterly terrifying all at the same time.

Even if you haven't watched the film, Ruari McDowall, lead designer at Sticky Ideas and Advertising, sees as the Jaws poster as a model for designers everywhere. "Hierarchy, hierarchy, hierarchy," he enthuses. "Jaws, innocent swimmer, doom! Nothing says impending doom like a massive shark, but one in wait, ready to ambush, is terrifying. One where you can see scale that's humbling. One so fearsome it only needs four letters to understand the horror in wait.

Karim Salama, director at e-innovate, adds: "Its minimalistic design, with a lone swimmer being unaware of the shark below them, is a fantastic example of dramatic irony. The focus on the atmosphere and mood, as well as the use of negative space with treble ocean, imposes a sense of isolation and vulnerability. And, of course, there have been many films since that have tried to replicate this structure; only for them to fail to live up to the expectations set by this innovative poster design."

As Diogo Tovar, senior art director at Cheil UK recalls: "The poster perfectly captured the energy and gritty nature of the film. With its minimal design using black and white photography, combined with a bright orange colour palette and Helvetica typography, it reminded you a bit of an album cover and really stood out amongst other film posters of the time. Almost like a warning sign to what you were about to watch. It’s a poster that has since become iconic and the fact it's been parodied countless times is testament to its cultural impact and timelessness."

Alice Lang, senior digital PR executive at Marketing Signals, couldn't agree more. "With its bold aesthetic, the imagery matched the movie's fresh, boundary-pushing vision," she says. "Personally, I love the vibrant orange background – which was actually inspired by prescription drug warnings – against the contrast of the black and white cast portraits. It's also interesting that they chose the Helvetica typeface, because of its similarity to that used on train timetables."

1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of the great romantic comedies. Following a naïve, eccentric café society girl who falls in love with a struggling writer while attempting to marry for money, it established Audrey Hepburn as both a great comedy actress and a style icon to boot. And although lightweight, the film also resonated surprisingly deeply with audiences due to its intelligent focus on topics like love, independence, and finding one's place in the world.

Released in 1927, Metropolis may be almost a century old, but its dystopian vision of the future continues to command respect and entertain audiences today. This German silent film showed a world where wealthy industrialists reigned over the city of Metropolis from colossal skyscrapers, while underground-dwelling workers toiled to operate the great machines that power it. All that is instantly summed up by this arresting poster, designed by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm.

The highest bar for a movie poster to clear, Sam believes, is being an entertaining and engaging experience in itself. "And, to me, Metropolis makes it over with room to spare," he insists. "Who is that robot? Are they the mayor of the city? How far in the future are we? The poster gracefully blends Art Deco and German expressionism to create something new and unique. Maybe I’ll watch the movie one day, but I’m happy to just look at the poster in the meantime."

2015's The Lobster is one of the weirdest films ever to break into the mainstream, creating the space for 2024 Oscar nominee Poor Things among others. The absurdist dystopian comedy stars Colin Farrell as a newly single bachelor who moves into a hotel with other singletons. All of them have been told they must find a romantic partner in 45 days, or they will be transformed into animals. Yes, it's that odd.

Whether you love that sort of thing or hate it, though, you can't deny the brilliance of its poster, crafted by Greek designer Vasilis Marmatakis. As Indigo Price, designer at Poppins, puts it. "The poster beautifully utilises negative space to create a visual void that represents the loneliness that Colin Farrell’s single character feels, in a dystopian world where he must have a partner. I love the confidence of the negative space in the design. The poster says so much more by saying less."

Some of the greatest movie posters used just a single simple concept, as illustrated here. Released in 1984, Ghostbusters successfully blended comedy, sci-fi and horror in a way that few others have matched since. It was family friendly in the truest sense; mum and dad were as engaged and entertained as their kids. Its cast of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis was pure comedy gold. And from a designer's point of view, the in-movie Ghostbusters branding, which also worked as the movie's own branding, was brilliantly realised.

It is, though, the logo that really makes it. "What an incredible piece of production design by Michael C Gross, from an original idea dreamed up by Dan Ackroyd which apparently took several years of iteration to get right," says Moog. "And man, did they get it right. Here's a logo that is absolutely recognisable an any size, from any distance. There's no way you don't know what's going on. No Ghosts. Perfect.

The Graduate became one of the most loved movies of the 20th century, but at the time, audiences might have been dubious about going to see it. A young graduate played by a then unknown Dustin Hoffman is first seduced by a much older friend of his parents, and then falls for her daughter. With the lead lacking classic movie-star looks, it was a potentially tough sell. But thankfully this superb movie poster did a lot of heavy lifting in that department.

"Great movie posters needed to communicate so much back in 1967," explains Stephen Haggarty, executive partner, creative at Yonder. "As a window into a movie, viewed while standing in line waiting to buy a ticket, posters became a way to sell." And selling was important. "You always had to have options going to the cinema," Stephen points out. "If the movie sold out before you got to the front of the queue, then you had to select another one. So storytelling through great poster design was critical."

And this one nails it, thanks in part to its hidden depths. "On the face of it, things look fairly simple," says Stephen. "It’s a story about a recent graduate who has some difficult choices to make about his future. But there’s something in the way the story on the right is written. Is it sarcastically alluding to things that are not what they seem? Look at the colours. Black, white: simple and straightforward. But then red, the colour of lust, for the collegiate slab serif font. Is this the first sign of the transition to adulthood?

"When we move to the image, it looks like it’s been taken quickly, perhaps from a bed. But was it taken by someone else? Consider the position, size and composition of the photograph: it’s set off to the left, small in relation to the poster frame. Not so confident, it’s unsure, just like Dustin Hoffman’s character Benjamin, who's caught between two worlds of boyhood and manhood. It isn’t taking centre stage; it’s hesitant."

Finally, Stephen walks us through the subject matter. "A stockinged leg: dressing or undressing? It cuts Benjamin, who is semi-dressed, in two across his crotch. More symbolism here, around adulthood again, and the journey he's on. He’s full of indecision, shown by the angle of his head. He has doubts. He doesn’t look aroused. It’s clearly daylight, so this is an afternoon scene, which brings even more frisson to the image. It’s just a brilliant poster!"

Based on gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's 1971 novel, 1998's Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas is the thinking person's stoner comedy. Directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam, the story follows its protagonist, Raoul Duke, and his attorney, Doctor Gonzo, as they descend on Las Vegas to chase the American Dream through a drug-induced haze, all the while ruminating on the failure of the 1960s countercultural movement.

The poster sums up all these elements brilliantly, and it's a personal favourite of Jay Short, co-founder of Solarflare Studio. "The design was weird enough to make me want to find out more, and sufficiently representative of the film itself for me to then understand the aesthetic after watching it," he says. "In contrast, movie posters are either brazen adverts for the stars that they tease very little about the film or so obtuse that it only makes sense after; think the bar of soap in the Fight Club poster.”

"The film poster accurately depicts a sense of isolation in the film, with a very minimal, striking, and bold execution," says James Lunn, senior designer at Wonderhood Studios. "The graphic device of simplifying the image of the moon down to concentric circles does a great job of drawing you in. It's only after viewing the film that you realise that it also alludes to the boundaries the main character is placed under. As does the detail of only having the starring role listed. Monochromatic colour is also truthful to its setting. What's not to love?"

"This version of the Akira poster, where Kaneda is walking away from the viewer toward the coolest possible bike, is now one of the most iconic and reproduced images in the world of anime," says Maciek Strychalski, digital designer at Cheil UK. "Just search ‘Barbie Akira’ as an example of how it still resonates."

Its centred layout with three strong elements reminds him of the simplicity of the Jaws poster, he adds. "The seemingly naïve use of an Impact-like font, overlaid with katakana characters, is a precursor to how Japanese sensibility in western font use is becoming more understood and used now; especially in movements like Acid Design. And the clean reds backed by the stark, almost luminescent white of the concrete really pop.

"It was the Rule of Cool, though, that led to it being the only movie poster up on my teenage wall. The way our hero is turned away from you, as if he just doesn’t care, is great. And the way the design pulls all our focus toward that unbelievably slick bike is genius. I had no idea what the film was going to be about, but I knew it was going to be one hell of a ride."

In an era when superhero films were starting to get budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars, 2006's Little Miss Sunshine, which cost a modest $8million, was a breath of fresh air. The tragicomedy road movie saw members of a dysfunctional family taking their youngest, played by Amber Breslin, to compete in a child beauty pageant. It wasn't the kind of movie people usually flocked to see, and so its success was all the more heartening for the future of cinema.

The poster arguably played a significant part in that, and it's the colour palette here that makes it another personal favourite for Indigo. "Like The Lobster, it is not afraid to leave negative space, which boldens the sunny bright yellow of the backdrop," she explains. "The happiness of the yellow contrasts with the chaotic scene of a family chasing after their van. The yellow allows for the shadows of the family to be emphasised, which for me summarises the whole premise of the film; that there is no light without dark."

Ruari loves the way that, as with Ghostbusters, the branding worked both within and without the world of the movie. "In the film, it’s an emblem for a theme park – a dinosaur entertainment park where it’s all going to be great," he says. "Even the African/Tiki style typography hints that this is all going to be fun… but the bright red background suggests otherwise. It makes sure we see the striking T-Rex skeleton, a powerful image in its own right, taken directly from Chip Kidd’s original book cover."

Either way, we can't deny that this is one of the coolest movie posters we've ever seen. "It's iconic for its powerful visual storytelling and foreshadowing," enthuses Dipti Bramhandkar, executive strategy director, North America for Iris. "The design is centred around a young Anakin Skywalker, whose shadow forms the silhouette of Darth Vader on a Tatooine building, subtly hinting at his dark future." It's a detail that's easy to miss at first glance, which means it makes all the more dramatic impact when you realise the trick.

Matt Crump, creative director at Atomic London, had a similar reaction to it. "The film's teaser poster managed to summarise the whole trilogy in a single image," he recalls. "It’s simple, tragic, and got 12-year-old me insanely excited to experience a new Star Wars film for the first time in my lifetime," he recalls. "Ultimately, the poster was better than the film – three words: Jar Jar Binks – but the poster did set an incredibly high bar."

Set in New York City, the film depicts the unlikely friendship between two hustlers: a naïve prostitute (Jon Voight) and an ailing con man (Dustin Hoffman). The original American poster features a black and white photo of the two, and does a good job conveying the mood and content of the film. "But for me, it pales in comparison to the sheer beauty and graphic simplicity of Swierzy’s design," says Joel. "I really enjoy the boldness of covering some of the title type with the hat illustration."

"It’s not often that we witness such impactful, typography-led designs," she explains. "Minimalist at its core, the key art maintains a clear information hierarchy. I love the details of the custom type, set over a dramatic textured backdrop – it creates a striking and inspiring atmosphere. Gawain’s pose masks the type just enough to create visual intrigue and emphasises the lead character’s quest of self-discovery without giving away too much of the plot."

"Der Film transports us through colour and composition to the absorbing feeling of the movie theatre," he explains. "A simple typographic splice alludes to the depth and drama of film, but also its functional workings. Although designed in 1960, before so many great films, it sums up the atmosphere of film perfectly. In the spirit of the Swiss modernist rational approach, it does so in such a singular and iconic style."

Why do so many movie posters look the same?

A lot of people suggest that many movie posters look the same today, or at least follow the same layout. The typical culprit is the 'floating head' or 'head salad' poster style, in which the faces of the movie's main actors are appear floating on a backdrop of scenes from the movie, often sized according to the importance of each actor on the billing.

This may seem like a half-hearted approach, but it's worth remembering that design isn't art. The purpose of a movie poster, or at least the main movie poster, isn't to create something that's interesting to look at, but to sell a movie. And while it might seem that creating something different and memorable would be an effective way to do that, studios know that, in many markets, the actors sell a film more than the story or premise. This makes a poster featuring stars' faces the safest bet.

The floating head layout isn't a new phenomenon, either. It was used way back in the days when movie posters were hand drawn and painted, but older posters may look more original and less obviously repetitive because of each artist's individual style, while today's movie posters often use photographs. But some movie posters take other approaches, which leads to the next question...

Why do movies have multiple posters?

There are several reasons why movies have several poster designs, but it's often because of the modern marketing cycle. A studio may start promoting a film over a year before it's released, which is a long time to be using the same poster, particularly in the era of digital and social media, in which there's a demand for regular new content.

Films with big enough advertising budgets will often have several posters with different objectives. To gradually build anticipation, there will often be a teaser poster first. This will typically show little information or imagery from the film, and is intended to create curiosity and get people talking.

Closer to release, the main poster design will often include more information and show the stars of the movie. Some films also have individual character posters, which offer more content for fans to chew over on social media as well as the opportunity to fill a cinema lobby with poster design, although only big releases tend to get that luxury.

Another reason for multiple movie poster designs is that a film may have different target markets, and not every poster will appeal to every potential viewer. This can include overseas markets but also different demographic groups within a country.

Sometimes, more artistic poster variations are made too. These are the ones that are more typically designed to be displayed as a work of art. The objective here is to create interest, to appeal to fans or to increase sales through collectible limited-edition merchandise, sometimes including limited-edition designs.

Why do movie posters reverse actors' names?

In Hollywood movie posters in particular, it often looks like actors' names on movies posters have been accidentally switched, with each name appearing above the image of a different actor. But it's not a mistake; it usually happens because of billing order.

The order in which actors' names appear in the cast of a movie is subject to negotiations between filmmakers and agents, and it's written into actors' contracts. The position of the names on movie posters respect this order, running from from left to right.

Sometimes a poster design is made before the billing order is agreed on, and sometimes the original billing order may change if an actor becomes more prominent. But it would often be undesirable to show actors' faces according to the billing order from left to right because it would mean placing the top-billing actor on the far left when the most prominent position is often in the centre of the design.

Who are the most famous movie poster designers?

Some of the most famous movie poster designers are Saul Bass, Bill Gold, Drew Struzan and Bob Peak.

The graphic designer Saul Bass made movie posters as well as film titles sequences, logos and more. Some of his most iconic work in movies included his poster for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, which we've included in our pick, and posters for Otto Preminger films The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) and Anatomy of a Murder (1959). He would continue to design posters for right up to his death in 1996, including The Shining poster and designs for Martin Scorcese films Goodfellas and Casino.

Drew Struzan's most famous movie poster art includes his work for The Thing (mentioned in our pick above), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Goonies and several Star Wars posters.

Bill Gold designed iconic movie posters for A Clockwork Orange and The Exorcist, and Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, while Bob Peak made stunning painterly artwork for films as varied as Superman, My Fair Lady and The Spy Who Loved Me, Hair and Apocalypse Now.

How are movie posters made?

Early movie posters were created by hand and printed as lithographs. Today, poster artists most often use digital art software and graphic design software to create their designs.

Artists need to understand the film, so the concepting process usually involves discussions with the director and producers in order to understand theme, tone and target audience. After initial brainstorming, artists will often receive feedback from the film's marketing team and will then develop rough sketches and digital mock-ups, exploring potential layouts

If necessary, photo shoots will be arranged, but artists and designers may use stills from the film, or illustrators may be brought in to create original artwork. In the later stages, retouching and colour adjustments will be made, and the film title, tagline, actors names and any other text is added. When this is complete, there will often be several rounds of revisions with feedback from marketing, directors and producers.

What are the different types of movie posters?

As we mentioned above, movies will often have several poster designs, which will often be released at different points in the marketing cycle.

A teaser poster is often released long ahead of the movie to create early buzz. It will often intentionally reveal little detail about the film, and may be as simple as a logo or an enigmatic reference.

The main poster is often call the theatrical poster. This provides the full details of the film including the main actors' names according to the billing order along with the tagline and release date.

The theatrical poster may be accompanied by individual character posters which appeal to fans of particular actors, provide more content for social media, and can allow a big film to make good use of multiple poster slots in cinema lobbies.

Many films have international posters, which may feature different artwork intended to appeal more to specific geographic audience.s

Artistic posters or limited-edition/collectible posters provide chances to be more experimental while providing extra content to get people talking on social media and opportunities for merchandise sales to big fans.

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Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects.

The best movie posters of all time – famous film posters picked by the experts

01. Jaws

02. Trainspotting

03. Vertigo

04. 2001: A Space Odyssey

05. Breakfast at Tiffany's

06. The Exorcist

07. Metropolis

08. The Lobster

09. Ghostbusters

10. The Graduate

11. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

12. Moon

13. Akira

14. Little Miss Sunshine

15. Jurassic Park

16. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

17. Midnight Cowboy (Poland)

18. Logan

19. The Green Knight

20. Harakiri

21. The Thing

21. Vamp

22. Der Film

23. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

24. The Grand Budapest Hotel