10 Best Movie Posters of 2017 - Box Office-Boosting Key Art for Movies in Theatre
- 6 years ago
You can’t judge a book by its cover but you can usually determine if it’s worth seeing a movie in theatres or not based on its key art. (Case in point, WTF happened to the film poster for Inferno last year with Tom Hanks? In case anyone was actually thinking of seeing that).
Whether presented on film posters or home-release movie covers, movie key art can make or break a motion picture’s success at the box office. With that in mind, it’s impossible to overestimate the importance – commercially and creatively – of these award-winning works of art. So, in the lead-up to Hollywood awards season and surrounding ‘best of the year’ buzz, here’s 10 of the best examples of triumphant graphic design that built on exciting trends, innovated in movie marketing and drew me to the theatre in 2017. In other words, here's the key art I think helped Hollywood boost the 2017 box office with movies in theatre.
Stay tuned for my list of the 10 worst movie posters of 2017!
The Full List:
10: XXX: Return of Xander Cage Poster
(2017, Starring Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen and Deepika Padukone)
Character posters was another trend that continued to pick up steam in 2017 but perhaps XXX did it best, with conventional but effective pseudo-watercolour designs that literally add an eye-catching splash of appealing colour to each portrait.
9: Muse Poster
(2017, Starring Elliot Cowan and Franka Potente)
Muse rides a fine line; it’s almost too simple but the eerie expression on the characters’ face coupled with the moody lighting really works. This poster is simple, evocative and intriguing.
8: Spider Man: Homecoming Poster
(2017, Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei)
The teaser posters ingeniously pose Spider-Man leisurely hanging around fictionalized New York locales. These posters perfectly captured the refreshed style and direction of the franchise without any major spoilers. The way they seamlessly blend comic art and live-action sensibilities is also impressive
7: Kong: Skull Island Poster
(2017, Starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson)
Kong: Skull Island brings not one, not two but a whole slew of posters that strike the perfect balance between nostalgic throw-back and contemporary branding, with suitably epic proportions. A win-win for one of the genre's 2017 best movies.
6: War For the Planet of the Apes Poster
(2017, Starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson and Steve Zahn)
Once franchise gets to a certain level of popularity it gives marketers and designers and opportunity to play with the conventions of the genre, and that’s what they did here with this touching, unnerving, teaser poster that moves beyond the action of war to focus on the complex relationships that it helps to create – and puts in peril.
5: Jigsaw Poster
(2017, Starring Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie and Hannah Emily Anderson)
Jigsaw deserves a shoutout for its marketing campaign – the central element of which was a series of bold, strange teaser posters. Taken out of the context of a movie theatre, they were sure to give many passers-by pause, and probably some goosebumps.
4: The Ice Cream Truck Poster
(2017, Deanna Russo, Emil Johnsen, John Redlinger)
It’s hard to make a poster stand out when drab colours and typography is simply the most appropriate for the story, but the concept here is strong enough that it carries the whole composition. Sweet justice for these graphic designers.
3: Baby Driver Poster
(2017, Starring Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal and Jon Hamm)
Like Kong, Baby Driver benefits from a unique range of posters that – despite their variety – harmoniously build a memorable brand for the movie.
2: The Void Poster
(2016, Starring Aaron Poole, Kenneth Welsh and Daniel Fathers)
Here’s a twisted, throwback sci-fi horror flick with artistic pizzazz to rival the strangest of things. In terms of the movie key art, it’s hard to pick a favourite. What I think it achieves even better than any other 2016/2017 flick is a cohesive brand with that creepy triangle it just burns into your retinas.
1: Easy Living Poster
(2017, Starring Elizabeth Marvel, Caroline Dhavernas, Daniel Eric Gold)
I haven’t seen this movie, but I’d still put up any of its brilliant theatrical posters in a heartbeat. The genius here is not just how captivating and memorable the concepts are, but how succinctly they communicate the movie’s central themes.
HONOURABLE MENTION: Thor Ragnarok
(2017, Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Cate Blanchett)
This is a photoshop-style, character-centric poster done right, with clean, cohesive graphic design and images that perfectly capture the personality of each character. The thing I really love about this poster, though, is the color scheme.
ranscript):
Whether presented on film posters or home-release movie covers, movie key art can make or break a motion picture’s success at the box office. With that in mind, it’s impossible to overestimate the importance – commercially and creatively – of these award-winning works of art. So, in the lead-up to Hollywood awards season and surrounding ‘best of the year’ buzz, here’s 10 of the best examples of triumphant graphic design that built on exciting trends, innovated in movie marketing and drew me to the theatre in 2017. In other words, here's the key art I think helped Hollywood boost the 2017 box office with movies in theatre.
Stay tuned for my list of the 10 worst movie posters of 2017!
The Full List:
10: XXX: Return of Xander Cage Poster
(2017, Starring Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen and Deepika Padukone)
Character posters was another trend that continued to pick up steam in 2017 but perhaps XXX did it best, with conventional but effective pseudo-watercolour designs that literally add an eye-catching splash of appealing colour to each portrait.
9: Muse Poster
(2017, Starring Elliot Cowan and Franka Potente)
Muse rides a fine line; it’s almost too simple but the eerie expression on the characters’ face coupled with the moody lighting really works. This poster is simple, evocative and intriguing.
8: Spider Man: Homecoming Poster
(2017, Starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei)
The teaser posters ingeniously pose Spider-Man leisurely hanging around fictionalized New York locales. These posters perfectly captured the refreshed style and direction of the franchise without any major spoilers. The way they seamlessly blend comic art and live-action sensibilities is also impressive
7: Kong: Skull Island Poster
(2017, Starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and Brie Larson)
Kong: Skull Island brings not one, not two but a whole slew of posters that strike the perfect balance between nostalgic throw-back and contemporary branding, with suitably epic proportions. A win-win for one of the genre's 2017 best movies.
6: War For the Planet of the Apes Poster
(2017, Starring Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson and Steve Zahn)
Once franchise gets to a certain level of popularity it gives marketers and designers and opportunity to play with the conventions of the genre, and that’s what they did here with this touching, unnerving, teaser poster that moves beyond the action of war to focus on the complex relationships that it helps to create – and puts in peril.
5: Jigsaw Poster
(2017, Starring Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie and Hannah Emily Anderson)
Jigsaw deserves a shoutout for its marketing campaign – the central element of which was a series of bold, strange teaser posters. Taken out of the context of a movie theatre, they were sure to give many passers-by pause, and probably some goosebumps.
4: The Ice Cream Truck Poster
(2017, Deanna Russo, Emil Johnsen, John Redlinger)
It’s hard to make a poster stand out when drab colours and typography is simply the most appropriate for the story, but the concept here is strong enough that it carries the whole composition. Sweet justice for these graphic designers.
3: Baby Driver Poster
(2017, Starring Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal and Jon Hamm)
Like Kong, Baby Driver benefits from a unique range of posters that – despite their variety – harmoniously build a memorable brand for the movie.
2: The Void Poster
(2016, Starring Aaron Poole, Kenneth Welsh and Daniel Fathers)
Here’s a twisted, throwback sci-fi horror flick with artistic pizzazz to rival the strangest of things. In terms of the movie key art, it’s hard to pick a favourite. What I think it achieves even better than any other 2016/2017 flick is a cohesive brand with that creepy triangle it just burns into your retinas.
1: Easy Living Poster
(2017, Starring Elizabeth Marvel, Caroline Dhavernas, Daniel Eric Gold)
I haven’t seen this movie, but I’d still put up any of its brilliant theatrical posters in a heartbeat. The genius here is not just how captivating and memorable the concepts are, but how succinctly they communicate the movie’s central themes.
HONOURABLE MENTION: Thor Ragnarok
(2017, Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Cate Blanchett)
This is a photoshop-style, character-centric poster done right, with clean, cohesive graphic design and images that perfectly capture the personality of each character. The thing I really love about this poster, though, is the color scheme.
ranscript):