It is always refreshing to find a cool movie poster, especially if it is a new one that appears unexpectedly when you’re scrolling down on social media or walking around the city.
But it can be a bit disappointing if, afterward, you cannot figure out how to get hold of a decent file of it in good quality. You see it; you like it, you want it, right?
It is the most human thing in the world. Don’t worry; in this article, you’ll learn how to download movie posters in high definition, and your desktop wallpaper will never be pixelated again.
The Search
So how do you best download movie posters? The first obvious choice is going to Google Images > Settings > Advanced Search or Google Images > Tools > Size in order to only get results of a specific size and format.
A second option is looking for it on Pinterest.
And a third is to consult online poster collections such as IMPawards, MoviePosterDB , Mposter, CineMaterial or the SubReddit r/MoviePosterPorn. In some of these websites, you can directly find a Download button, and in others, you have to right-click on the images, open them in a new tab, right-click on them again and then download them.
Which one of these options is the best for you?
Well, that depends on what kind of poster you are after. Some websites have a limited offer on posters, and others are broader. Are you looking for the poster of the latest release? Or for a vintage classic? Do you have an alternative movie poster in mind? Let’s see where you can find what.
Movie Posters in Higher Quality
Sometimes the poster you’re looking for is available on a simple Google search, but it is not apparent at first sight. Google won’t necessarily offer you the images with the best definition as top results, so filtering the settings of your search can make your life easier, eliminating all the bad-quality files from the equation.
Images from Pinterest and DeviantArt often appear mixed with other Google search results, but why not go directly to the source?
These websites are nurtured by people that love art and design, and they generally have movie posters in large files with high definition. Furthermore, both Pinterest and DeviantArt are known for their love of Fan Art, so it is very likely to find beautiful alternative movie posters in any of them.
And then, of course, the art of Movie Posters is admired everywhere, and there’s no lack of websites devoted to it on the internet.
Websites that talk about them, analyze them, and even collect them (yeah, guilty of all charges!).
Some of these sites have extensive collections of posters of high quality, all of which can be downloaded for free. IMP Awards claims to have “all the latest movie posters as well as an extensive database of older posters dating back to 1912”.
Movie Poster DB announces itself as “one of the largest communities for movie poster enthusiasts on the web,” with over 800.000 posters.
M Poster Archive simply explains that it is trying to create a massive archive for movie posters.
At the same time, Cine Material goes a bit farther away and calls itself “a digital community that aims to create a complete digital archive of movie posters, covers, logos, key art, and more.”
As to its content, the SubReddit /MoviePosterPorn cannot help but to clarify: High-quality images of movie posters (not pornographic films).
Where to Find Vintage Posters
Vintage posters are generally more challenging to find in good quality than newer ones, so neither a Google search nor a scroll down Pinterest will likely be enough.
Then it is probably best to go to a specialized poster collection.
The University of Texas at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center is developing one of the best online resources out there in this regard.
The archive has a vast collection of about 10.000 movie posters on paper, and they’re working through digitizing them all to make them available online. Half of them are already waiting for you at the digital archive, ready to be downloaded in high resolution.
Just don’t go off printing your own versions before you read this. Is It Illegal To Print Movie Posters? (Don’t Get Caught Doing This)
Another exciting vintage picture resource is RetroGraphik, which offers high-quality vintage images to download, including movie posters. And Retro Movie Poster directly presents itself as “the ultimate source of stylish, vintage, high-resolution movie posters” because it “offers an ever-growing collection of meticulously handpicked, super stylish, original vintage movie posters spanning most decades and genres – ranging from cool classics to the quirky and obscure” that you, of course, can download for free too.
And, of course, our friends at Vintoz offer some amazing posters that are worthy of purchase.
If you are ready to start investing in posters, then you may find these posts helpful:
- Why Is Framing a Movie Poster So Expensive?
- How Much Does It Cost to Linen Back a Poster?
- 10 Most Desirable Movie Posters to Have in Your Collection
- How to Tell If a Star Wars Poster is Original (Tell-Tail Signs)
Looking for Alternative Movie Posters?
Not sure what alternative movie posters are? We have an excellent little article talking about the work of some artists like Tony Stella, Tracie Ching, or Paolo Rivera, but the world of movie poster tribute art is much bigger.
Some online movie poster collections specialize in this kind of poster art, so chances are you will find decent-sized files in either Alternative Movie Posters or Repostered. The former proudly announced to be “the world’s largest repository of alternative film art,” and the latter more modestly admits to being “a digital archive of movie posters made by fans or made for special re-releases or screenings.”
Poster Spy also reunites thousands of alternative movie posters, most of which can be downloaded in suitable quality files, and some of which can be bought directly to the artist if you feel like supporting them financially which is highly encouraged.
Can These Posters Be Printed?
While many of the files you can find online are of quality great enough to have as wallpaper or to collect digitally, not all of them can successfully be printed.
Suppose you’re planning on printing a movie poster. In that case, the standard movie poster size is around 27″ x 40″, which ideally would equal a digital file of 8,100-pixel width by the 12,000-pixel height at 300 pixels per inch with a vertical orientation, and the color code should be in CMYK instead of RGB.
Now, if you’re not familiar with graphic design and this all sounds highly alien to you, you can simply go with your Pendrive to the local printing shop and ask if the quality of your file will be good enough to print in a large format.
Remember that many posters are available to buy online, too; on websites like Movie Posters or Red Bubble, you can find some really cheap ones, and that way, the creative team behind them usually gets some revenue too.
What About Movie Posters and Copy Right Laws?
We have a whole article about it! Checkout: Do Movie Posters Have Copyright? But a short answer: yeah, they are the intellectual property of movie studios. And also, no: they are not likely to hunt you down for downloading them; they’re probably more concerned with plagiarism on the part of other major studios…which we talk heavily about in How To Get Copyright Permissions For Your Fan Art Movie Posters.
Promoting Your Poster Art to The Larger Community
Many of the sites mentioned in this article welcome the donation of new material! Reddit, DeviantArt, and Pinterest are probably the most accessible platforms to access, but online poster collections always have a “Contact us” or “Submit” button available.
What about movie posters that are NFTs? Can you download them too?
NFTs are very hot right now, and poster creators are getting into the game. This means the poster’s image can probably be seen, downloaded, and saved, but it cannot be owned unless the NFT itself is bought. If you are totally new to NFTs, you will want to catch up by reading these articles:
- 7 Things That Make NFT Art Valuable and Collectible
- How Musicians Make Money with NFTs | You Can Too!
- Top 5 Reasons to Buy NFT Art | A Collector’s Perspective
We have many articles about NFTs, too, that you can check out in the NFT section.
Make Your Own Posters
If you are interested in becoming a movie poster artist or just want to increase your Design and Photoshop skills, I highly suggest signing up for our newsletter. We are currently producing an online course specific to poster design.
Our readers will be the first to know when the course drops! Also, feel free to check out our YouTube channel, with plenty of free tutorials.