One of the activities that have recently become popular in the Midjourney community is writing prompts for fictional movie posters. Some users have been doing this for months but from what I see in the public Midjourney Discord server and on social media, people are doing it now more than ever before.
Writing Midjourney prompts for movie posters can be a great creative outlet. The best thing about it is that you can create a movie poster design in less than a minute.
Although you're essentially creating movie posters for films that don't exist, it shouldn't discourage you from writing prompts like this. In fact, I would say that these fictional movie posters can be great pieces of art that you can hang on walls in your home.
When you're creating movie posters in Midjourney, you should be as creative as possible. There are no limitations or rules that you should follow. Instead, focus on letting your creativity flow.
To get the best results, you should mention specific art styles or aesthetics in your prompts. I've already written an article about the 33 best art styles for Midjourney. However, I feel like my guide on Midjourney aesthetics can also help you make cool posters. I advise that you check both of these articles out before you start writing prompts for movie posters.
How to Write Midjourney Prompts for Movie Posters
What I'm about to say now may sound cringe, but the number one rule when you're writing Midjourney prompts for movie posters is to simply have fun. You're creating posters for films that don't exist - you should let your creativity flow.
There are no rules or limitations.
Wait, there actually might be a few rules. My first rule for writing prompts for movie posters is to choose the right aspect ratio. Movie posters almost always have a 2:3 aspect ratio, which is something that you should mention in your prompts.
Another rule is to carefully think about the plot of the movie you want to create a poster for. Alternatively, you can also think of a particular scene that you want depicted in the poster instead of the plot.
One more thing you should pay attention to is what type of keywords you're using in your prompts. Ideally, they should provide more details or clarity about the scene you're describing.
There are some limitations too, which you may not know if you're new to Midjourney. There are many banned words that you can't use in your prompts. You can find more information about this on the Community Guidelines page of the official Midjourney website.
All of the rules I mentioned in this section of the article are quite broad, which is great because it leaves a lot of room for artistic expression. Let's now check out some designs for movie posters you can make in Midjourney.
12 Midjourney Prompts for Movie Posters
This is where the real magic happens. You may or may not have read the content above this section of the article, but this is the part where you need to stop and thoroughly examine prompts and the generated outputs.
I have to mention that the current version of Midjourney doesn't have an option that lets you choose or edit text in the images. At the time of writing this article, Midjourney v5 is the current version.
Here are some of my Midjourney prompts for movie posters. To keep things interesting, each prompt will cover a different movie genre.
/imagine movie poster for an action-packed science fiction film about a long war between multiple galaxies in the future, the film features insane special effects and contains many examples of advanced technology --ar 2:3 --v 5
I absolutely love science fiction movies. If I had a billion dollars, I would probably spend 20% of the money making my own science fiction movie. That'll probably never happen, but I can at least make cool sci-fi movie posters with my Midjourney subscription.
/imagine movie poster for a romantic comedy that revolves around a young man living a luxurious life who meets a young woman in the countryside and decides to leave his riches behind to pursue a simpler life --ar 2:3 --v 5
One of the things I like to do when I'm writing Midjourney prompts for movie posters is to simply describe a plot in the prompt. I feel like this is one of the best ways to ensure the posters look great.
/imagine movie poster for a high fantasy film about a hidden magical realm where humans are battling with mythical creatures to conquer the planet, the humans must defeat the creatures to restore balance to the world --ar 2:3 --v 5
What you should keep in mind when you're writing prompts for movie posters is to mention the movie genre at the beginning of your prompt. This will set the mood for what the poster should look like. I really like the poster that was generated from this prompt. If I saw it at the cinema, I'd definitely buy a ticket to watch the movie.
/imagine movie poster for a mystery film that follows a smart middle aged woman who is a detective and embarks on a journey to solve the most mysterious case of her life --ar 2:3 --v 5
Sometimes, it's the details that really impress me when it comes to images like this one. Like the faint image of a boy running in the right half of the poster. Overall, the poster looks like a perfect fit for the plot I described in my prompt.
/imagine movies poster for a 3D animated film about a race of cute small aliens who come to Earth to build happy relationships with humans so that the entire universe can live in harmony, Pixar --ar 2:3 --v 5
I don't think there's a high probability that when an alien civilization comes to Earth they'll be friendly, but one can hope. In my opinion, this type of plot made sense only if the film is animated. I like that there's no text in this image, so you can easily write whatever you want in a font of your choosing.
/imagine movie poster for a drama film that follows a family who lost their home in a tornado and now have to stick together to survive --ar 2:3 --v 5
I feel like Midjourney did a really incredible job here. This is one of the simplest prompts I've written for this article. I wouldn't mind watching a movie like this. I love when a drama film makes me cry, I feel like it cleanses my soul.
/imagine movie poster for an action film that revolves around a young male detective who must take on an entire crime organization by himself, he is a fierce detective who will not stop until the job is done --ar 2:3 --v 5
This guy really looks fierce. I love action movies because they keep me focused on every frame and it helps relax my mind because I stop thinking about normal day-to-day stuff. There was a time when I wasn't too fond of action movies, but they're what I usually watch nowadays.
/imagine movie poster for an anime film that follows a high school student who discovers magic powers and is able to travel back in time, the student goes on many adventures trying to rectify terrible mistakes that happened in the past --ar 2:3 --niji 5
I had to use the Niji Model 5 in this prompt to get the best result. If you're not familiar with this model, you should read an article of mine that covers it in detail. In my article about the Midjourney Niji Model 5, I give multiple prompt examples to show how you can get the most out of it. It's definitely worth a read in case you like making anime-style images.
/imagine movie poster for an adventure film that centers on a group of explorers in the 19th century who delve deep into the Amazon Jungle on a quest to find a treasure that's been buried for centuries --ar 2:3 --v 5
It's funny how much a single word in your prompt can affect the generated output. When I first wrote this prompt, I described the explorers as young, and the results were strange, to say the least. I then removed that word and I got this awesome poster on my first try.
/imagine movie poster for a horror film in which artificial intelligence and robots take control over the planet, the artificial intelligence becomes more powerful than humans, dystopian --ar 2:3 --v 5
In case something like this were to happen, I hope that I'll be spared. I gave a lot of attention to artificial intelligence very early on and always treated each model with respect. All jokes aside, I am really impressed with the poster Midjourney generated for this prompt.
/imagine movie poster for a musical film that follows a young woman who inherits an ice cream shop and finds that it's her calling in life to make the best ice cream in the world --ar 2:3 --v 5
Thoughts about artificial intelligence taking over the globe had me creeped out, so I had to think about something wholesome. That's when I came up with this cute plot for a musical film. Maybe I need to give a large language model the task to write a script for this movie because I think there's potential here.
/imagine movie poster for a western film about two old cowboys who have been enemies for decades and it's finally time to see who lives and who doesn't because the town they live in isn't big enough for the both of them --ar 2:3 --v 5
I wish people would make Western films more often. I feel like there is definitely an audience for them. I personally like them because they have a unique aesthetic that captures both tranquility and tension.
I may be wrong, but I feel like in the past decade there have been only one or two good Western films a year. I would love it if movies like this made a comeback in a big way. I'm not sure if that will happen, but I do know one thing though - if text-to-video AI becomes good soon, I will be making a ton of Western films.
Final Thoughts
Creating movie posters in Midjourney is a lot of fun. Regardless of whether you want to make a poster for a live-action movie or an animated film, Midjourney will help you design an incredible poster.
I like writing prompts for movie posters in Midjourney because it helps me boost my prompting skills. Nevertheless, you can also profit from a practice like this if you really put the effort in to become good at it.
Movie posters are a work of art to a certain extent. Especially when they're posters for movies that don't exist. If you become truly good at writing prompts for movie posters, you may be able to sell them online. There are a lot of people who support digital artists and AI artists.
One of the most important things to pay attention to when you're writing prompts for movie posters is the aspect ratio you set. When it comes to posters, 2:3 is the ideal aspect ratio.
You should also be mindful of the keywords you use within your prompts. Try to use keywords that will supplement the scene you're describing. This is easier said than done, but it will become an intuitive process once you get used to prompting in Midjourney.
