Romance Movie Posters All Look The Same (Too)

An observational study

Since my last post, I’ve been thinking about more ways that predictability and redundancy aids in the quest for profit, particularly in pop culture. 

One of the most delightfully hilarious examples is poster design. Of course, I’m not the first to interrogate this; but most observations on this topic center action films, and I am a rom-com and horror kinda gal. 

So I’ve examined some common poster design tropes from my favorite niches and sub-niches instead:

Indie (Or Indie Branded) Romances 

Typical movie poster giveaways: Bokeh, haze, or grain. A seemingly candid image of the leads in a “slice of life” backdrop. Thin typeface. 

What You Can Probably Expect: Improv style acting. A realistically grounded meet-cute. An ambivalent ending because the writer/director wants to remind you that They Are An Artist and Life Isn’t Always Wrapped In A Happy Ending Bow.

Indie (Or Indie Branded) Romcoms 

*distinct from indie romance

Typical movie poster giveaways: Bold block typeface, bold primary colors, some sort of grid design or divider featuring the ensemble cast. 

What You Can Probably Expect: A low plot “coming-of-age”story. Tableau and head-on camera shots. A cerebral dark haired male lead and a quirky female lead with avoidant attachment issues. Characters with high amounts of disposable income despite their jobs or life circumstances. Simon & Garfunkel songs. Oh, and Emma Roberts at some point. 

Friends To Lovers/Enemies To Lovers/Slow Burn Rom-Coms

Typical Movie Poster Giveaways: Lead actors posed back-to-back, side by side, or with a visual separation between the two. Smug/cheeky expressions and unnatural prop holding also found here.

What You Can Probably Expect: Competitive banter, palpable sexual tension, psychological warfare, and a deal or bet that accidentally leads to falling in love. One or more people who still work in publishing.

“Classic” Romances Of The Nicholas Sparks Variety:

Typical Movie Poster Giveaways: Golden hour photography and double exposure. Lake or rustic lake house in the background. Lead actors in a passionate near-kiss, spooning position, or intense staring contest.

What You Can Probably Expect: Indiscriminate rural or beach towns. American patriotism and war glorification. Judeo-Christian undertones. Stoic male leads with blue collar proclivities. Soulmate mythology. 

Young Adult Romance or YA Novel Turned Film

Typical Movie Poster Giveaways: Grandiose yet vague titles that relate to metaphysics, the cosmos, or imply an “eternity” of sorts. Darker muted tones of grey, teal, blues or greens. Lead actors posed intimately, but not as passionately or sexually suggestive as adult films. Images that give feelings of summer, care-free living, adventure, or dreaminess. A graphic/drawn quality to the photos. Stylized/graffiti font or illustrations. Someone with oxygen tubing.

What You Can Probably Expect: Themes of forbidden, all-consuming, extremely high-stakes romance with external factors trying to tear it apart. Life-threatening illnesses, overbearing authority figures, class/racial differences, boyfriends who are vampires or have supernatural shapeshifting abilities that make it really inconvenient to date them—and other Romeo-Juliet dynamics.

Hallmark Movies Or Made For TV Movies

Typical Movie Poster Giveaways: Lead actors in an awkwardly stiff, front-to-camera prom pose. Conspicuously photoshopped backgrounds of gardens, green meadows, or Christmas paraphernalia. Titles written in unfortunate cursive fonts. Red and green as the primary color scheme. Women holding bouquets for inexplicable reasons.

What You Can Probably Expect: Big City Girls returning to quaint hometowns, noble love interests, adorably clumsy meet-cutes, former child stars, cozy holiday settings, and no sex whatsoever. 

……Perhaps a look at horror movie posters next?