The Best Movie Posters of 2016
Staring at images of thousands of posters (thanks to the wonderful resource that is IMPAwards.com), I realized there is no one thing that makes a good poster. Some perfectly sum up the movie in one image, some are aesthetically beautiful and force you to look at them, and others simply sell the movie well with a fun image or a good tag line. Here's a few of my favorites from the many I looked through.
Bad Santa 2
This one-sheet for the ill-received sequel to the cult favorite Bad Santa does something that very few posters have ever done. Made me laugh. From this one image of a passed out drunken Billy Bob Thornton dressed as Santa, you know that you're in for more of the same from the first movie, good or bad.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
These character posters for the latest entry in the DC Universe sell the showdown between two of the comic book world's biggest stars perfectly. The weathered and torn meta poster aspect is a great effect.
The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation doesn't hold anything back with this bloody, depressing poster that puts on full display the unthinkable brutality of slavery and the fact that it is interwoven with our country's history.
De Palma
Director Brian De Palma stares in the distance while through the blinds we see just a few highlights from his legendary career. Any fan will immediately need to see this.
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange has a lot of crazy effects, and none of its posters sum that up like this absolutely crazy glow in the dark variant.
Everybody Wants Some!!
The poster for Richard Linklater's throwback comedy is just plain fun. You instantly that know you are in for some more classic Dazed and Confused-style screwing around.
The Handmaiden
This poster for Park Chan-wook's latest is simply stunning. The colors and texture are perfect, and the images are beautiful. The way that the title hides among the trees is a nice touch.
Jackie
The simple cursive over a sea of red is classy and elegant. Natalie Portman's stare goes right through you.
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World
Werner Herzog's documentary's thesis statement is that we are losing ourselves in technology, and this poster exactly portrays that idea.
The Love Witch
I had never heard of The Love Witch before I saw the poster for it, and based solely off of this beautiful image it's jumped to the top of my watch list.
Nocturnal Animals
I don't know why this poster is so alluring, but it is. Amy Adams stare combined with Jake Gyllenhaal's intimidating presence is unnerving.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Andy Samberg poses in all white in front of an insane amount of glittery gold. It's hilarious and sums up the excess that is on full display in the Lonely Island's first movie since Hot Rod.
The Purge: Election Year
There was no escaping the U.S. presidential race in 2016, so catering to that with a parody of the "I voted" sticker was a stroke of genius for the always politically conscious Purge series.
Tonight She Comes
A naked woman stands ominously in the foreground of a blood red river that leads to a cabin where four people are sitting around a campfire. Even without the fun tagline you know you are about to see a bunch of people die brutally.
Too Late
This perfectly framed image of John Hawkes walking by a Los Angeles strip club smoking a cigarette is absolutely alluring and puts you right in the mood to see some classic pulpy noir.
