The best movie posters of 2018

Having already assessed the biggest movie poster fails of the year, it’s now time to look at the more shimmering examples of one-sheet design.

Here are 10 of the best posters of the year, which just so happen to mirror the quality of their respective films.

First Man

Probably the best poster of the year (although art is subjective and such outlandish remarks should never be made), this one for First Man, Damien Chazelle’s biographic drama about Neil Armstrong’s journey to the moon, features Ryan Gosling’s head in a beautifully round space helmet that doubles up as the lunar surface.

Absolute wizardry from the designer, there.

Mandy

It’s almost impossible to ignore this poster for Mandy – a gore-filled revenge story starring a naturally crazed Nicolas Cage – primarily because of the way the deep purples and reds splurge together, like a t-shirt tie-dyed with blood and exploded biros.

There’s also quite an epic, Star Wars-y feel about it, what with the positioning of the pencil-drawn characters, all of which are plopped in a lovely isosceles triangle.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

For a film as visually distinctive and stunning as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it seems only natural that it should have an equally eye-catching poster – like this one.

The dizzying perspective shift aside, you can see how the title’s lettering is slightly out of focus, echoing the Marvel movie’s deliberate style of animation. Just don’t stare at it too long or you’ll fall off your chair.

You Were Never Really Here

Joaquin Phoenix is a very photographable man, but he’s further aided here by a rain-covered window, refracting the vibrant red and amber lights behind him. The line-spacing for the title is also aesthetically pleasing, albeit it sort of looking like an eye-test chart.

Incredibles 2

This teaser poster for Incredibles 2 said so much while actually showing very little at all. The superhero mask-shaped tan lines are an inspired touch, introducing us back to the world of the the super-powered Parrs without revealing anything at all about the sequel’s story which – when the poster was released – was still very much under wraps.

Mary Poppins Returns

It’s hard to recapture the magic of the past, and the first poster for Mary Poppins Returns, while not being completely terrible, didn’t quite achieve it. But this sketched-style design is another story altogether, evoking every feeling you quite possibly had the first time you saw Julie Andrews dance with cartoon penguins.

BlackKklansman

If ever a poster told you everything you need to know about a film, whilst simultaneously making you gasp and wonder how it hasn’t been taken down yet, it’s this one for Spike Lee’s BlackKklansman, an incredible true story about the African-American who infiltrated and exposed the Ku Klux Klan.

The Favourite

If you’re not familiar with the work of Yorgos Lanthimos and haven’t seen his first two English-language films The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, this poster for The Favourite will probably set you up well for his bizarre style of filmmaking.

Cleverly illustrating how Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz’s characters vie for the attention of Queen Anne, this design has them both literally sitting on Olivia Colman’s face.

Ghost Stories

Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s portmanteau horror movie had an embarrassment of riches when it came to distinctive posters. We could have chosen any of the film’s brilliantly occult, neon-tinged, character posters to represent the film, but we settled on this stunning one-sheet featuring Martin Freeman with huge devil horns for eyes for its sheer unsettling brilliance.

The Old Man and the Gun

There’s something oddly satisfying about the simplicity of this poster for The Old Man and the Gun, a crime drama based upon the true story of Forrest Tucker, his escape from prison at the age of 70, and the subsequent string of heists he then carried out.

Then again, is this really a simple design? Perhaps the reason we can’t see Forrest’s face is because, just like the way he eluded the authorities, he’s now eluding our gaze. Or maybe it’s just the font and his brown hat that are so pleasing.

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