Updated: May 23, 2023

Compared to horrors or action movies, sci-fi movie posters aren't always as subtle and nuanced as you'd expect. For every considered, artistic piece of the '60s or '70s, there's the exact opposite in the same era to cancel it out. In fact, more than any other genre, it's suffered from some of the ropiest cliches out there. By the same token, some of the greatest and most iconic movie posters ever made have been for sci-fi movies. 'Star Wars', from 1977, obviously reigns supreme as the quintessential blockbuster movie poster and it's easy to see why.

It's got a killer moon, space fighters flying to attack it, an evil helmeted villain behind it all, big writing telling you all you need to know it's there for all to see and take in. Compare that to something like 'Altered States', and you see that a poster can reflect just as much as a trailer can in a movie - maybe even more so.