…………………………………………………

Top Ten Film Posters of 2021

2021 was an improvement upon the previous year due to the increased number of movies being released, so obviously that led to a lot of great posters. Now, the movie’s quality should not be taken into account when assessing its poster, which leads to my list consisting of some films that I even strongly disliked, but I had to include their strong posters. Here is the list.

10. Belle

I adore this anime. It’s not just Mamoru Hosoda’s amazing return to form, but also the best animated film of the year. The main poster for it is pretty good, emphasizing the avatar girl’s beauty, but the second poster with the beast and the girl perfectly positioned is my favorite. I love it so much that I even ended up using it as my Android wallpaper for some time.

9. Drive My Car

I really did not care for this Japanese bore of a film, but there is no denying that its poster is impressively memorable. Just seeing the protagonist against the very red car made for striking imagery. It’s a shame that the movie never fulfilled the poster’s potential.

8. Flee

Flee’s poster is renowned and for a great reason. It has a lot of people on it, emphasizing the movie’s central immigration theme. The colors are subdued fittingly so while the positioning of each person was terrific. It’s such a striking, moving poster that explains the product so well.

7. The Rescue

This one is a very underappreciated poster that not a lot of people are talking about, but it is just terrific. The Rescue is a documentary that is set in a cave and the immediacy of its situation is deftly showcased in this imagery of a diver heading toward the children trapped in this cave.

6. Belfast

Jude Hill’s protagonist running in the middle of the street with a sword and shield makes Belfast’s poster truly stunning. The yellow title letters and the black-and-white imagery are excellent here. The movie itself looks great and the poster is fittingly very appealing too.

5. Ascension

Ascension is a gorgeous-looking documentary that is all about China’s technological breakthroughs and fascinating societal dichotomy and the poster perfectly embodies its artistic cinematography – it’s just so striking, perfectly framed and colorful.

4. Lamb

A woman carrying a lamb in a blanket instantly made me want to see this crazy movie that was too insane for me personally, but still that initial poster intriguing me so much is reason enough for me to include it on the list. A poster needs to sell you on the product and this one does exactly that.

3. C’mon C’mon

A kid jumping in air while Joaquin Phoenix is standing with hands in his pockets with the white-colored title above their heads, the poster for C’mon C’mon surely is instantly memorable and just so beautiful in its timeless black-and-white aesthetic.

2. Annette

I hated this frustrating movie, but leaving Annette’s poster out of the list would be a travesty, so I had to include it. Yes, this is amazing stuff. A couple dancing in the middle of a stormy ocean made for iconic imagery. The poster is just perfect from top to bottom that it made me extra angry that the product itself was just so bad.

1. Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar

The first place goes to Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar, which is this very silly, but wonderful and underrated comedy that is quite old-fashioned and endearing. The poster sells the movie’s exuberant energy and charm perfectly. It is immensely colorful, beautiful to behold and intricately detailed. Its cartoony marine aesthetic made for a surprisingly strange, joyous poster that should be especially appreciated during this period of dark cinema. It deserves its top placement for sure.

Honorable Mentions:

Spencer – The main character’s kneeling while the beautiful dress is all over the floor made for a sad, instantly memorable poster for this underrated gem.

Red Rocket – Simon Rex in a doughnut, what’s not to like here? This poster for Red Rocket perfectly sums up the movie’s protagonist and the film’s sex industry subject matter.

Titane – Seeing the back of a woman’s head with a robotic part would make you think this is a cool SF movie, but unfortunately it’s repulsive French trash that did not deserve such a cool artwork.

The Green Knight – I really like this film’s huge letters, their coloring and the imagery in the center of it. It’s all done so well for this stellar feature.

Mortal Kombat – Fire and ice perfectly contrast Scorpion and Sub-Zero, both staples of the franchise. Mortal Kombat is a wildly underrated movie and its poster is just so cool.