The ongoing design plague of floating heads may be coming to an end after actress Zendaya shared the poster for her upcoming movie 'Challengers'. With a delightfully retro 80s feel and stylish illustrative design, it's a much-needed refresh from the recent formulaic genre of movie poster artwork.
With upcoming graphic design trends heading down a more maximalist route, this classy poster is certainly a promising start for 2024. From the positive audience reception, it seems that we could be set for a resurgence of beautiful design with retro flair and plenty of personality.
Taking to Instagram, Zendaya shared the poster with fans who responded with excitement, praising the 'cartoon' style artwork as a standout among recent design trends. The poster was also shared to X, where many bold praises were shared, including one comment calling it "the best movie poster of the year". Another user was elated by the artwork, proclaiming that "they’re bringing back cheesy 80s posters".
Many fans noted the poster's comparison to the 1983 movie 'Risky Business' – with a similar illustrative art style and of course, the iconic sunglasses, it's hard not to draw comparisons. However, Challengers maintains a contemporary sleekness while paying homage to the 80s, thanks to the bold shading and jewel tones that give it a refined dynamism.
they’re bringing back cheesy 80s posters… we’re so back https://t.co/bK2TmYpUky pic.twitter.com/tE1FULrBZ8January 1, 2024
The new poster for Luca Guadagnino’s CHALLENGERS (starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist) is like Mondo/ Gallery 1988 meets THE CRUSH and LOLITA. pic.twitter.com/2AsIikDWRYJanuary 2, 2024
Stop the competition. We already have the best movie poster of the year #Challengers pic.twitter.com/wUvSbkWO8oJanuary 1, 2024
As design trends shift, it seems that movie posters are slowly becoming beautiful again and the Challengers poster expertly demonstrates how past designs can inspire contemporary posters. For more inspiring (and not so inspiring) design, take a look at our collection of the best and worst movie posters of 2023.
