If there was ever a way to catch the attention of your audience, it’s with an eye-catching film poster. Posters alone can bring people into the cinema to see a new film, and a lot of effort goes into the process.
From the design to poster printing, there is a lot to take into consideration when making a movie poster – and some of the best ones still stay in peoples’ minds today. Here’s a round-up of some of the very best movie posters of all time that you’ll instantly recall seeing.
The Dark Knight Rises
Through both the teaser poster and the official release, fans of the Batman series went wild over the lead up to the movie. It consisted of a bat design with countless skyscrapers falling down around it. The shot is taken from below, with pieces of the building hitting the ground. Dozens of reviews complimented the design, with The Guardian reporting that one fan wrote: “I think it’s perfect. Perfectly captures the tone for this final film, and I think it certainly gives the message of massive destruction and chaos.” It remains a well-known poster to this day and with the film earning £821 million at the box office it’s safe to say from the marketing to the final cut, The Dark Knight Rises is a masterpiece.
Jaws
Despite being released in 1975, Jaws remains one of the most memorable movie posters of all time. Although the way posters are designed has changed to make things look more realistic, the original Jaws poster is still a terrifying image. The original movie did so well, that three more followed shortly after. The poster was always similar, with the front of a shark facing upwards while someone was swimming. With the shark’s mouth open wide and its dangerous-looking teeth, it’s no surprise people wanted to watch the movies in the cinemas. Following the huge success, Jaws landed £383 million at the box office.
Alien
The film poster for Alien is a standout piece of work and its simplicity which in turn spurred intrigue, is perhaps something that drew people into the cinemas. Despite being released in 1979, it’s still incredibly impressive, and the poster continues to be a topic of discussion today. The Telegraph said: “The images they conjured give each film a certain permanent aura. In the case of Alien, that ghastly egg was seminal and apt: there’s never been a finer way to hatch a franchise.” The poster clearly helped launch the film into success, as the movie went on to hit £195 million at the box office.
E.T.
E.T.’s movie poster is perhaps one of the most famous since its release in 1982. The poster closely resembles the Christian painting of The Creation of Adam, making it instantly recognisable. With a full moon in the background and a flying bicycle, it gave just enough information away to tempt people to go and watch the film. Following the release, E.T managed to score £645 million at the box office.
Titanic
Titanic already had a lot of interest around it because of the tragedy which the movie was based on, but the design of the poster was incredibly eye-catching. The ship was the main focus of the design, with the two leads, Jack and Rose embracing one another in the top photo. With immense success resulting from the hit movie, Titanic hit a whopping £1.7 billion at the box office.