30 best movie posters of all time ranked

best movie posters of all time
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The best movie posters are works of art. But what are the best movie posters of all time? 

Here we select the very best film posters, which will no doubt make you want to watch the movies! We've now updated our list, adding more posters including one recent gem...

The best movie posters of all time...

30. Bullitt (1968)

Bullitt movie poster 1968

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An incredibly vivid poster for this wonderful movie that sealed Steve McQueen's reputation as the king of cool.

29. Apocalypse Now (1979)

Apocalypse Now poster

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Bob Peak is one of the true greats of poster design and his work for Francis Coppola's awesome Vietnam War epic stands out.

28. Invasion of the Saucer-Men

Invasion of the Saucer Men poster

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"CREEPING HORROR… from the depths of time and space!" Hugely fun poster for this 1950s sci-fi B movie classic. 

27. West Side Story (1961)

West Side Story 1961 poster

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Another stunning Bob Peak poster captures the energy of the movie. Peak didn't just create movie posters and one of his more interesting commissions was designing thirty stamps for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. 

26. Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner poster

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Illustrator John Alvin designed this great poster for Ridley Scott's sci-fi classic, Blade Runner. Alvin worked on a number of other huge movies including E.T. and Star Wars.

25. The Creator (2023)

A truly beautiful piece of art promoting this 2023 sci-fi. Just sit back and admire.

24. Rear Window (1954)

Rear Window poster

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Featuring James Stewart staring through his binoculars, this poster perfectly captures the suspense of the Hitchcock classic.

23. King Kong (1933)

King Kong poster

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King Kong posters are just so much fun and worth thousands! Back in 1999, a King Kong Poster sold for nearly $250,000!

22. Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park

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Another classic poster designed by John Alvin. Jurassic Park, based on Michael Crichton's book, became a box office smash. 

21. Back to the Future (1985)

Back to the Future poster

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A terrific film deserves a terrific poster and the opening movie in this frenetic trilogy got just that. Hero Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) checks his watch as he races to go back to the future...

20. Titanic (1997)

Titanic poster

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The moment you look at this poster, Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" will no doubt start ringing around your head. Star Leonardo DiCaprio is actually a keen collector of original movie posters. Spoilers, the film doesn't end well!

19. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid poster

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"You never met a pair like Butch and The Kid," declares the poster. Featuring the final scene from the Western starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, this has become much sort after.

18. Ghostbusters (1984)

Ghostbusters poster

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What's wonderful about this poster is the way it captures the fun and magic of the movie. Ghostbusters has had sequels and spin-offs, but it's never been bettered.

17. The Graduate (1967)

The Graduate poster

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One of the most memorable movies of the 1960s got this fab poster. The tagline ran: "This is Benjamin. He's a little worried about his future." 

16. The Exorcist (1973)

The Exorcist poster

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The cult horror classic got this fantastically atmospheric poster. It was nowhere near as controversial as the film, which was subject to protests at the time of its release. 

15. Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars 1977 poster

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The original Star Wars poster, designed by Tom Jung, remains iconic. Oddly, the poster wasn’t actually delivered until after the film's May 1977 release! Jung designed many other notable posters, including works for The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Raging Bull (1980).

14. Dr. No (1962)

Dr No Poster

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This British poster was the first for a Bond film and remains arguably the best. Back in 2019, Sotherby’s sold one for just over $100,000!

13. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Raiders of the Lost Ark poster

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Not only is Raiders of the Ark the best Indiana Jones movie, it also has the series' best poster.

12. The Time Machine (1960)

Time Machine poster

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A highly desirable poster for the popular sci-fi film. 

11. Metropolis (1927)

Movie poster Metropolis by Fritz Lang, 1926.

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A string of stunning posters were released for the 1927 film Metropolis. If you have this lurking in your attic it's worth noting that one of the posters from the German sci-film sold for nearly $700,000, making it the most expensive movie poster ever!

10. Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Silence of the Lambs poster

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Creepy film, creepy poster! Jodie Foster's Clarice is seen with a death head's moth covering her lips, cutting a chilling image.

9. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Audrey Hepburn in movie art for the film 'Breakfast At Tiffany's', 1961

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Audrey Hepburn's iconic look is perfectly captured in this stylish poster for her most famous film. Rare and very sort after. 

8. Attack of the 50ft Woman (1958)

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman poster

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The 1950s was a decade packed with wonderful posters and few more memorable than this one for Attack of the 50ft Woman. Designed by Reynold Brown, it's now highly collectible. 

7. Jaws (1975)

Jaws poster

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Everyone knows the Jaws poster and that just illustrates how successful it is as a piece of art. Interestingly, the iconic image originally appeared on the book by Peter Benchley, which was billed as "a novel of relentless terror".

6. The Godfather (1972)

The Godfather poster

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The Godfather is for many people the greatest movie of all time and its original release was marked by this brooding poster, featuring Marlon Brando.

5. The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

The Man with the Golden Arm poster

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Saul Bass is probably the greatest ever poster designer. He crafted this wonderful poster for The Man with the Golden Arm and he also created the title sequence for the Frank Sinatra film. 

4. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Pulp Fiction poster

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An ice-cool poster featuring Uma Thurman declaring: "Girls like me don't make invitations like this to just anyone". An iconic poster for an iconic movie.

3. Mean Streets (1973)

Mean Streets poster

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You just can't keep your eyes off this striking poster for the Martin Scorsese movie, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. 

2. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

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Michelle Yeoh's Everything Everywhere All at Once was a critical hit and wow, what a gorgeous poster! Fans have been raving about its beauty and it's hard to argue with them.

1. Vertigo (1958)

A poster for the movie Vertigo, directed by Alfred Hitchcock for Paramount and starring James Stewart and Kim Novak, 1958.

(Image credit: (Photo by Archive Photos/Getty Images))

This masterpiece designed by Saul Bass beautifully advertises the Hitchcock thriller, which saw the director team up with James Stewart for the final time. More than 60 years after its release this poster remains mesmerizing and an all time best.

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David Hollingsworth
Editor

David is the What To Watch Editor and has over 20 years of experience in television journalism. He is currently writing about the latest television and film news for What To Watch.

Before working for What To Watch, David spent many years working for TV Times magazine, interviewing some of television's most famous stars including Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland, singer Lionel Richie and wildlife legend Sir David Attenborough. 

David started out as a writer for TV Times before becoming the title's deputy features editor and then features editor. During his time on TV Times, David also helped run the annual TV Times Awards. David is a huge Death in Paradise fan, although he's still failed to solve a case before the show's detective! He also loves James Bond and controversially thinks that Timothy Dalton was an excellent 007.

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