10 Best Movie Posters of the Past 5 Years, Ranked

Eye-catching, informative, and often larger-than-life movie posters serve as the first visual touchstone for many audience members. The role of movie posters these days has evolved beyond mere promotional tools displayed in theaters and on city streets. Today, a movie poster is tasked with captivating scrolling audiences across digital platforms, from social media feeds to streaming service thumbnails. The digital landscape demands that posters be visually arresting, even at a smaller scale, ensuring they stand out amid a flood of content.

This shift necessitates a blend of traditional artistic elements with modern design techniques that cater to the fast-paced, image-centric nature of online media. Over the past five years, marketing teams and graphic designers have created some truly stunning and evocative posters that encapsulate the themes, emotions, and narratives of their respective films through striking imagery, clever symbolism, and bold design choices. These are the best movie posters of the last 5 years, memorable art pieces that effectively convey their films’ main themes.

10 ‘Monkey Man’ (2024)

Directed by Dev Patel

Directed by and starring Dev Patel, Monkey Man generated significant buzz for its thematic intensity and fast-paced, graphic violence. The movie follows an unnamed protagonist navigating a chaotic urban landscape, seeking revenge for a personal tragedy with deep ties to modern Indian politics. The poster for Monkey Man is striking in its simplicity yet brimming with tension. It features a solitary figure, the central character known as “Kid,” at the center, shrouded in a stark block of red light against a black background.

This image is pulled straight from the Monkey Man trailer, yet the scene is elevated through simplicity. The protagonist, gripping a knife, is arresting and dangerous. The design of the Monkey Man poster masterfully uses color and contrast to create an immediate visual impact. The vibrant red light, a color mimicked in the text that accompanies the poster, telegraphs the impending danger and violence of the film, drawing the viewer’s eye to the central figure. Contrastingly, the stark black background amplifies a sense of isolation and foreboding, hinting at the dark circumstances that Kid finds himself in throughout the movie. With a minimalist yet powerful composition, the poster for Monkey Man leaves much to the imagination.

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9 ‘Us’ (2019)

Directed by Jordan Peele

Jordan Peele‘s second feature film, Us, is a horror film that explores themes of identity and societal duality through the lens of a family’s terrifying encounter with murderous doppelgängers. The film stars Lupita Nyong’o, who delivers a gripping performance as the protagonist and her sinister double. The poster for Us is iconic, featuring Nyong’o holding a mask of her own face. A single tear tracks down her cheek, and her expression is one of profound terror and great sorrow.

This poster is a masterclass in depicting intrigue and fear. The use of the mask as a prop is a clever way of representing the film’s exploration of the hidden self and the dual nature of identity. With an intense expression on her face, Nyong’o’s character would be frightening if not for the tear running down her cheek, which adds an unexpected layer of vulnerability, elevating basic horror to something truly unsettling. The poster’s simplicity, originality, and emotional depth make it memorable and effective, perfectly encapsulating the disturbing nature of the film.

8 ‘The Green Knight’ (2021)

Directed by David Lowery

Released in 2021, The Green Knight is a medieval fantasy film based on the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The movie stars Dev Patel as Gawain, who embarks on a quest to confront and duel the enigmatic Green Knight. The poster is bold and memorable, featuring a solid, dull red background with a silhouetted figure wearing heavy chain mail and an ornate crown, facing away from the camera.

The poster’s use of color and silhouette is striking and symbolic. The solid red conveys a sense of passion and stress, recalling blood. The silhouetted king, with his back turned, communicates mystery and a sense of concealed emotion, and the presence of chain mail depicts a sense of dread and danger. Marketing a film called The Green Knight but neglecting the color green entirely from the poster’s design is a powerful and risky decision that successfully conjures questions in the viewer’s mind. This combination of bold color, simple imagery, and rich symbolism makes the poster a powerful visual statement.

7 ‘Spencer’ (2021)

Directed by Pablo Larraín

Released in 2021, Spencer is a biographical drama that delves into the life of Princess Diana, focusing on a crucial Christmas holiday during which she contemplates ending her marriage to Prince Charles. Kristen Stewart stars as Diana, delivering a critically acclaimed, Oscar-nominated performance. The poster for Spencer features Stewart’s Diana lying on the ground in despair, her exquisite white gown spread out around her. Meanwhile, the top of the frame is occupied by black space, emphasizing her isolation and emotional turmoil.

The design of the Spencer poster is visually stunning and evocative. The use of negative space creates a stark contrast with the luxury of Diana’s gown, symbolizing the pressure and loneliness she feels despite her royal status. There is a sense of irony in depicting someone with so much obvious wealth and power in such a position of emotional distress. The positioning of Diana, prone and vulnerable, conveys deep sorrow and entrapment, and as she turns her body to hide her face, the viewer is forced to imagine her expression. This poignant imagery invites viewers to connect with Diana’s plight on an intimate level, making it a singularly powerful piece of promotional artwork.

6 ‘Oppenheimer’ (2023)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Directed by Christopher Nolan and released in 2023, Oppenheimer is a biographical drama centered on the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist known as the “father of the atomic bomb.” Cillian Murphy stars as the titular character, and the film delves into his complex legacy and the moral dilemmas he faced. The poster for Oppenheimer features Murphy’s character facing away from the camera, looking through a small viewing window at the fiery explosion of a nuclear test. He wears protective goggles, and the image’s highlights are blown out, showing the blast’s extremity.

This poster is as haunting and thought-provoking as the film itself. It highlights the magnitude of the atomic bomb’s destructive power through the use of a single circle of light. The harsh contrast between the dark shadows and bright highlights is eye-catching and further demonstrates the detonation’s power. By communicating the danger and heightened dramatic potential, Oppenheimer‘s poster does justice to its subject matter without glorifying or overly embellishing it.

5 ‘Tár’ (2022)

Directed by Todd Field

Tár, released in 2022, is a psychological drama featuring Cate Blanchett in the title role as a renowned conductor facing personal and professional crises. The film delves into themes of power, art, and the pressures of having a successful career in the artistic world. The poster for Tár is striking, featuring a disorienting upward camera angle and Blanchett with her arms spread wide as she conducts an unseen orchestra.

The camera angle here is a brilliant choice, creating a sense of grandeur that alienates the viewer from the familiar shapes of the human body and suggests Blanchett’s character is in full control while still feeling unsteady and unsupported by the blank and empty background. This powerful imagery effectively captures the duality of strength and vulnerability that defines the film. Thus, the poster is a striking representation of Tár‘s emotional depth and complexity, celebrating and upending its fraught central character in equal measure.

4 ‘American Fiction’ (2023)

Directed by Cord Jefferson

A satirical drama starring Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction critiques cultural stereotypes and the commodification of Black identities in America through the eyes of an author whose sarcastic joke goes a little too far. Wright’s character, Thelonious Ellison, is a frustrated novelist grappling with the publishing industry’s expectations. The poster for American Fiction depicts Wright in a suit and tie overlaid with drawn lines depicting street-wear items such as a puffer jacket and iced-out chains.

This poster design is provocative and entertaining. The suit demonstrates the character’s professional demeanor, while the superimposed street-wear elements symbolize the stereotypes and cultural expectations forced upon Thelonious. This visual metaphor effortlessly encapsulates American Fiction‘s critique of identity and representation, a remarkable feat of graphic design. Much like the excellent film it advertises, the poster for American Fiction is incredibly clever, allowing the viewer to feel “in on the punchline” and making it a powerful promotional tool that succinctly conveys the film’s thematic concerns.

3 ‘The French Dispatch’ (2021)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Eccentric and unapologetically original, Wes Anderson‘s The French Dispatch is an anthology that depicts a collection of stories from the final issue of a fictional American magazine published in a French city. The film features an ensemble cast, and its intricate, highly stylized narrative is mirrored in its advertisement. The poster is a densely populated illustration of a French street, with wide open windows displaying drawn representations of the movie’s immense cast.

This poster is a vibrant celebration of The French Dispatch‘s aesthetic and storytelling style. The detailed illustration invites viewers to explore the world, much like perusing a political cartoon or a seek-and-find puzzle, capturing the whimsical and meticulously crafted nature of Wes Anderson’s vision. Each window is a separate vignette, showcasing the diverse characters and their interwoven stories. This busy yet coherent composition reflects The French Dispatch‘s structure and artistic tone, turning this poster into a perfect visual summary of the film’s charm.

2 ‘Parasite’ (2019)

Directed by Bong Joon-ho

Lauded as one of the greatest films of the decade and the first international feature to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Bon Joon-ho‘s Parasite is a darkly comedic thriller that depicts issues of class disparity and family dynamics in South Korea. The film’s narrative unfolds primarily within the affluent Park family’s home, which the destitute Kim family infiltrates as employees. The poster for Parasite features the Kim family standing in the backyard of the Park residence, with black redacted lines obscuring their eyes.

This provocative, unsettling design encapsulates the film’s themes of secrecy, deception, and social division. The lines obscuring each character’s eyes suggest anonymity and the loss of identity, reflecting their roles as impostors. This design choice evokes a sense of surveillance and censorship, while the disembodied legs of an unseen cast member occupy the lower left of the poster. This seemingly bizarre detail demonstrates that, although the film may start with a lighthearted tone, audiences can expect things to go downhill fast.

1 ‘Everything Everywhere, All At Once’ (2022)

Directed by the Daniels

Everything Everywhere, All At Once is a mind-bending sci-fi adventure that explores a colorful, wild and unstable multiverse through the experiences of a Chinese-American woman named Evelyn. The film’s narrative is chaotic, poignant, and visually stunning, themes that are perfectly captured in the equally busy poster featuring the cast in a collection of psychedelic colors and shapes.

The poster is a feast for the eyes, mirroring the film’s vibrant and eclectic style. The swirling colors and shapes create a sense of motion while showcasing every major character. The bright, contrasting colors draw viewers into the film’s fantastical world and promise a wild and wonderful experience. This poster not only captures Everything Everywhere All at Once‘s adventurous spirit but also serves as an invitation to experience its unique blend of chaos and harmony.

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