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Top Ten Film Posters of 2023

2023 was a strong year for films, but this list will focus on the best posters of the year. These ten posters represented the best promotional images that either feature unique art or cool imagery that sells the movie effectively. Without further ado, here we go.

10. May December

Both main posters for this flawed Todd Haynes movie are excellent, so the film gets to be on this list. The prime poster is the better-known one and how it positions its two leading ladies is quite effective, but the red-tinged poster is the more interesting and artistic of the two. Both are quite striking.

9. Cocaine Bear

The most underrated poster of the year is one for Cocaine Bear, which was also quite an underappreciated gem of a film. The red lettering of the second word in its title is superb and the imagery of this bear who is extremely high is quite iconic. The bear’s position and the white effect around him are both very cool.

8. Napoleon

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a guilty pleasure movie for me and I have watched it twice by now. The poster for it is excellent. Yes, it’s very simple, but it works as the image of this famous general rushing into battle is just enough to sell this epic movie. It’s a shame that the film was a box office bomb, but the poster probably had nothing to do with it.

7. All of Us Strangers

This heartbreaking Andrew Haigh drama is one of my favorite films of the year. Its main poster is only fine and rather familiar, but for this list I am choosing its second poster, the one that features a building with two men by the window. The poster encapsulates perfectly what this film is all about and it reminds me pleasingly of the poster for ‘Rear Window’.

6. Knock at the Cabin

As is the case with the movie above, Knock at the Cabin also has a rather straightforward main poster, but the other ones are fantastic. The one with the house is phenomenal, but my favorite one has to be the one with the house miniaturized and the hand containing shadowy figures reaching toward it, deftly capturing the home invasion thrills of this flick.

5. Godzilla Minus One

It is only fitting that one of the year’s most acclaimed blockbusters got a terrific poster to boot. Godzilla Minus One’s poster is surely among the most memorable ones on this list. The shape of the bubble where the monster is situated represents the letter G, the color palette is excellent and the title lettering is striking. It’s such a cool poster.

4. Poor Things

Yorgos Lanthimos is not my cup of tea, but the poster for his newest film perfectly captures the artistic and weird sensibilities of this offbeat filmmaker. The one with Emma Stone’s close-up is very memorable, especially her crazy make-up. But I just might like the main poster even more – her dress spreading into stairs for other characters to walk onto made for such a unique image.

3. Godland

Godland is an Icelandic period drama that was shot in such a unique boxy aspect ratio and the posters for it perfectly encapsulate its authentic cinematography and subject matter. The one on the ice with the moving camera is superb and the other poster with the protagonist walking and looking behind his shoulder was also phenomenal. Its grainy look was excellent.

2. The Zone of Interest

Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest is easily the greatest film of 2023 in my opinion. This World War II drama has a lot to say about complicity and it’s a genuine work of art. That artistic quality of it is very well showcased through its posters. The red flower one is wonderfully symbolic, but my favorite is the one of the house yard itself, eerily surrounded by utter blackness. It’s a fittingly dark, creepy poster for this masterpiece of a film.

1. Anatomy of a Fall

And the best poster of 2023 has to be the one for Justine Triet’s seminal courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. This poster has it all – it invites you in with its intriguing mystery while never revealing too much. It’s simple, but highly effective. The dead man, the family standing in shock beside the body, the vastness of snow and the very cool stacked lettering all made for an instantly iconic poster for one of the best movies of the year.

Honorable Mentions:

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – This is a very underrated entry in this long-running series and its poster is wonderfully old-fashioned and featuring a gorgeous color palette.

El Conde – This Chilean film is pleasantly offbeat and quite artsy, so the posters emphasize both effortlessly. The one with the pink glasses is wonderfully campy while the bat one is super cool.

Passages – A very interesting, memorable poster shows a man torn between two loves, thus selling the plot of this drama so well.

Beyond Utopia – An underseen and important documentary about North Korea got a terrific poster to boot – the people running away from their country on the red star is striking imagery.

Saltburn – Saltburn is an opulent, deranged film and its posters showcase those qualities well. The best one is the image of Jacob Elordi smoking by the mirror. It’s so sensual.