Size does matter, A Guide: Movie Poster Series, Part 1

Guide to Movie Poster Sizes
Among the most popular movie poster sizes, one finds the one-sheet and the half-sheet, yet posters come in a variety of standard sizes from the so called 'lobby' cards and stills, to gigantic 24-sheet billboard size posters.

In this movie poster guide, you'll find all there is to know about the different sizes to help you put up some Movie Posters in your Home Theater - including dimensions, type of paper stock, poster use, etc.

Hang up a movie memory on your wall
...but which size?

Movie posters have always been printed on a variety of standard sizes since the early stages of the movie industry. However, some of these standards did change along the years; a typical case is the one-sheet. To complicate matters, poster sizes do vary from one country to another. French, Italian, British, Indian and Japanese movie posters - just to mention a few - all have their own variety of movie poster sizes that differ from American movie posters.

In this article, let us concentrate on the most popular ones, U.S. Movie Poster sizes.

Look for more after the turn...


Major U.S. Movie Poster Sizes

The most common among Poster Sizes: The One-Sheet Movie Poster

One-Sheet (27" x 40"):
One-sheets are the most popular among movie poster sizes and represent the standard movie poster size used in U.S. movie theaters.

Up to 1983, one-sheets measured approximately 27x41 inches in size. However, re-prints of pre-1983 originals will normally measure anything between 39.5 inches up to 40.5 inches in height, by 27 inches in width.

After 1983, we started to see a shift in the one-sheet movie poster size with the height being reduced to 40 inches rather than the original 41 inches used previously. However, almost all original one-sheets printed after 1989 are 40 inches, with poster sizes measuring 39.5 inches and 41 inches being the exception. Reprints of post 1989 posters would normally come in the same size of the original poster size, making it difficult especially for the untrained eye, to identify an original from a reprint.

'DS' One-Sheet:
DS one-sheet posters come in the same poster size as the one-sheet except that these are double-sided posters and are normally designated as 'DS' 1 Sheet posters.

DS 1 Sheet posters have printing on both the front and the back of the paper stock, with the printing on the backside being in precise alignment with that on the front and a mirror image of the printing on the front side. The inking on both sides of the paper stock will render the poster more suitable for use in backlit poster lightboxes - producing richer illumination as against the more washed-out results obtained with single-sided posters. The growing use of backlit poster light boxes especially after 1985, led to a larger number of modern posters being printed on both sides.

A few words about DS One-Sheet posters: Up to a few years ago, double-sidedness was considered as a guarantee that the poster is an original. This no longer holds true. In recent years, a handful of reproductions have been printed double-sided, often on better quality paper than originals. This has led to a lot of fraud and misrepresentation in the movie posters collector world.

Distribution of One-sheet Posters: These have mostly been distributed rolled in recent years, but folded one-sheets were commonly seen throughout the 1980s.

Posters printed before 1985 are almost always found with two horizontal folds and one vertical fold, except Disney posters which often do not have the final vertical fold.

Other Movie Poster Sizes (smallest to largest)

Still 8 x 10 inches:
Black and white photos, usually with a glossy finish, used for lobby display and press promotion.

Lobby Card (LC):
14 x 11 inches, printed on light card stock. Originally made in sets of eight per movie for display in theater lobbies. Most sets have one title card featuring title and production credits plus related artwork. The other seven cards are colored photographic scenes.

Lobby cards are no longer used in the US, but are still sometimes produced for the overseas market. Finding complete lobby card sets is not easy, as most desirable title sets have been broken up. Often, sets will have what are termed 'dead' cards - cards that do not feature main actors or scenes.

There are also the so called Jumbo Lobby Cards (JLC) which were made before 1940 and are usually found only as single cards. JLC come in 14 inch x 17 inch size.

Window Card (WC):
14 x 22 inches, are printed on card stock and come flat. These smaller posters were usually used for off-site advertising e.g. in windows of local stores in exchange of movie passes. Top four inches were left blank by the printer for the local exhibitor to fill in. For this reason, WC posters are sometimes found with the top 4 inches trimmed off.

There is also - though not so common among poster sizes - a Jumbo Window Card (JWC), measuring 22 x 28 inches. A Mini Window Card (MWC) is also available, measuring 11 x 14 inches; these are also printed on cardboard.

Insert:
14 x 36 inches, usually printed on card stock and come rolled though many pre-1960 were distributed folded. Later ones were printed on thinner stock.

1/2 sheet:
This is probably the second most popular among movie poster sizes. It measures 28 x 22 inches, is printed on card stock, and come rolled. Image is usually different from that used on 1-sheet; instead, it is often the same as the first, or title card, in the lobby card set.

Lenticular:
These come in approximately the same poster size as the one-sheet (approx. 27 x 41 inches); lenticular posters are printed between composite sheets of plastic and lit from behind to create a 3D/holographic effect.

30 x 40 Heavy Stock Posters:
30 x 40 inches, printed on heavier card stock. Image invariably same as 1-sheet but may be silk screened instead of lithographed. These posters come rolled and do not exist for many film titles.

40 x 60 inches:
Printed on heavier card stock, otherwise similar to the smaller 30 x 40 heavy stock posters though the image may differ, and again may have been silk screened. Designed for use outside the theater, on an easel, exposed to the elements. This is sometimes, incorrectly, referred to as a 2 sheet.

Banner:
These movie posters measure approximately 81 x 24 inches. Older ones were printed on bookbinder's cloth or light card stock. Modern ones are vinyl or light card stock or paper, while banner poster sizes are highly variable.

3-Sheet Movie posters:
41 x 81 inches, printed on paper stock on two and rarely, three separate sheets using lower stock paper. Often pasted onto wall outside of theater. From the 1970s on, three-sheets were sometimes printed in one piece and issued as 'international' versions.

6-Sheet Movie Posters:
81 x 81 inches, printed on paper stock, usually in four sections, and come folded; for use in larger U.S. theater lobbies and movie palaces, or on the outside of the building. This poster size is not so popular, and therefore rare to find.

and finally...

Billboard or 24-sheet Movie Posters: Approximately 106 x 234 inches, but may come in various poster sizes, usually in 12 sections, for use on roadside billboards.

Related Posts in this series:
Relive the Magic: Movie Poster Series, Introduction
A Short Drabble: Movie Poster Series, Interlude 1
Size does matter, A Guide: Movie Poster Series, Part 1
Poster Presentation using Light Boxes: Movie Poster Series, Part 2