Science fiction has produced some of the most inventive, visually ambitious poster campaigns of any genre, tracking the genre’s own evolution from silent-era spectacle to airbrushed 1980s dread. Here are ten campaigns worth knowing.
10. Planet of the Apes (1968), US One Sheet One of the defining science fiction campaigns of the late 1960s, built around the film’s striking premise of a world turned upside down.
9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), US One Sheet, John Alvin A single, tender image of two fingers reaching toward each other, doing more to convey a film’s entire emotional register than almost any poster of its era.
8. The Thing (1982), US One Sheet, Drew Struzan Ominous, atmospheric, and deliberately withholding, Struzan’s design for John Carpenter’s film is one of the most effective uses of dread in genre poster history.
7. Blade Runner (1982), US One Sheet, John Alvin Neo-noir atmosphere rendered in painterly detail, capturing the film’s blend of futuristic setting and detective-story mood.
6. Alien (1979), US One Sheet An egg, cracked with light, and the tagline “In space no one can hear you scream.” The design, generally credited to Philip Gips, is a masterclass in restraint, revealing almost nothing of the film’s creature while promising everything about its tone.
5. Forbidden Planet (1956), US One Sheet Robby the Robot carrying an unconscious figure became one of the most recognisable and widely copied science fiction images ever produced, reworked by artists around the world for the film’s international releases.
4. Star Wars (1977), Style D, Drew Struzan and Charles White III The “circus poster” belongs on any list of the genre’s greatest achievements as much as it belongs on a Star Wars-specific one; see our full Star Wars poster countdown for the wider story.
3. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), US One Sheet One of the defining Cold War-era science fiction campaigns, its imagery of Gort still instantly recognisable to collectors and casual fans alike.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Robert McCall McCall’s astronomical painting, drawing on his parallel career producing artwork for NASA, gave the film’s campaign a scientific authority few purely commercial illustrators could have matched.
1. Metropolis (1927), International Release Poster Fritz Lang’s stark Art Deco masterpiece. The international campaign poster sold privately for $690,000 in 2005, still one of the highest prices ever paid for a movie poster, and its robot Maria remains one of the most influential images in science fiction.
Building a sci-fi collection
Science fiction spans nearly a century of design history, so knowing which era and specific campaign you’re looking at matters enormously. See our full guide to Stanley Kubrick posters for more on the 2001 campaign specifically, and our condition grading guide before buying.
