The Best Movie Posters of 2021

December 23, 2021

Our favorite movie posters of 2021, including re-releases, non-theatrical posters, and advance posters for 2022 releases. Shoutout to Adrian Curry, his annual roundup for MUBI Notebook—which he's done every year since 2009—is the one I look forward to the most every year, check out his 2021 picks.

ANNETTE

ANNETTE

Amélie Vappereau

Fold-out poster for Leos Carax's Sparks musical, illustrated by Amélie Vappereau, included in the 'Cannes Edition' vinyl release of the soundtrack. The title page of the screenplay would've made a great poster.

PARALLEL MOTHERS

PARALLEL MOTHERS

Javier Jaén

Spanish theatrical poster for Almodóvar's latest, designed by Javier Jaén, briefly banned from Instagram. In situ with the man himself. Jaén has prints available on his website.

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Edel Rodriguez

Key art used for festival screenings (top) and theatrical one sheet (bottom) for Joel Coen's Shakespeare adaptation, designed by Edel Rodriguez. The black and white version is giving Basquiat vibes, I spotted one physical print at the NYFF opening night screening, hoping A24 does an art print or something 🤞

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Advance (top) and regular (bottom) one sheets. The blue advance one sheet is an image of a screenprinting plate, which is why it's a negative/reverse image. The pink one sheet is ostensibly the resulting print (however the actual poster is not screenprinted).

DUNE

DUNE

Akiko Stehrenberger

Limited edition (and long sold out) Mondo screenprint by Akiko Stehrenberger. Stehrenberger has a solo show on now at Show Gallery in L.A. Check out her other work, she does not miss.

TITANE

TITANE

Pascal Witaszek

French theatrical poster for Julia Ducournau's Palm d'Or winner by Pascal Witaszek. Witaszek also designed the poster for Ducournau's previous film Raw.

TITANE

TITANE

La Boca

Mondo screenprints by La Boca. La Boca created the staggeringly brilliant U.K. theatrical quad for Parasite

VORTEX

VORTEX

The first visual for Gaspar Noé's new film starring Dario Argento, one of my favorite films I saw this year, releasing in 2022. This poster design, sans billing block, was created for the film's premiere at Cannes. Noé has collaborated with graphic designer Laurent Lufroy throughout his career, and this is the first poster to eschew their iconic sans serif title treatments in favor of handwriting.

IRREVERSIBLE

IRREVERSIBLE

Laurent Lufroy

Fold-out poster included in the new Indicator Series blu-ray of Gaspar Noe's Irreversible. The blu-ray includes the 2020 'Straight Cut'—a new edit of the film in chronological order. The poster is two sided, Irreversible on the front and Irreversible reversed on the back.

LICORICE PIZZA LICORICE PIZZA

LICORICE PIZZA

Kat Reeder

Theatrical one sheet for P.T. Anderson's instant classic illustrated by Kat Reeder (top) and the logo for the eponymous 1970s L.A. record store chain (bottom).

RED ROCKET

RED ROCKET

Steven Chorney

Theatrical one sheet for Sean Baker's latest, in which, to quote John Waters "fuckin’, fightin’, and frontal nudity are back on the art-house screen where they belong". The artwork is by the iconic 80s poster artist Steven Chorney who created posters for Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and P.T. Anderson's Inherent Vice. I like Reeder's Licorice Pizza poster and Chorney's Red Rocket poster for their visual immediacy and effortlessness in evoking an era.

THE FRENCH DISPATCH THE FRENCH DISPATCH

THE FRENCH DISPATCH

Erica Dorn / Javi Aznarez

New Yorker style promo posters (top) designed by Erica Dorn and Javi Aznarez and 12 character posters (bottom) for the new Wes Anderson. Character posters in situ during NYFF. Aznarez has prints for sale on his website.

THE WOMAN WHO RAN

THE WOMAN WHO RAN

Brian Hung

Theatrical one sheet designed by Cinema Guild’s Brian Hung, one of seven Hong Sang-soo posters Hung has designed. Read Adrian Curry's interview with Brian Hung for MUBI Notebook.

ANNE AT 13,000 FT

ANNE AT 13,000 FT

Brian Hung

Another banger from Brian Hung for one of my favorite films of the year.

ANNE AT 13,000 FT

ANNE AT 13,000 FT

Caspar Newbolt

Love this alternate one sheet by Caspar Newbolt, prints for sale here.

MEMORIA

MEMORIA

Theatrical one sheet for Apichatpong Weerasethakul's new film with Tilda Swinton. NEON is releasing Memoria in theaters one city at a time (it will not become available on streaming platforms or physical media), sending it on a never-ending theatrical tour which starts on Sunday December 26 at IFC Center.

SPENCER

SPENCER

Empire Design

Theatrical advance one sheet by Empire Design

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN

BAD LUCK BANGING OR LOONY PORN

Theatrical one sheet for Magnolia Pictures release of Radu Jude's Romanian comedy. Roland Topor's Empire of Passion poster but minmalist.

STATE FUNERAL

STATE FUNERAL

Sgt. Pepper-esque one sheet for Sergei Loznitsa's incredible doc, streaming on MUBI.

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

Trypophobe-triggering teaser one sheet from A24, releasing 2022.

Project Space 13

Designed by @boltsfood
Streaming on MUBI

All The Streets Are Silent

Dan Forkin
Greenwich Entertainment

C'mon C'mon

Mike Mills
A24

Days

Grasshopper Film

Pig

NEON

Lamb

Cryptozoo

Dash Shaw
Magnolia Pictures

Escape from the Silver Globe

Maks Bereski
The Polish School of Posters is alive and well, Franciszek Starowieyski vibes

Last Night in Soho

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Elizabeth Yoo
Film Movement

Jackass Forever

BLT Communications

Land of Dreams

Chameleon Street

Re-Release One Sheet
Arbelos Films

The Conversation

Re-Release One Sheet by François Schuiten & Laurent Durieux
Rialto Pictures

Cure

Re-Release One Sheet
Janus Films