In pics: The top 20 absolutely stunning movie posters of 2015

The year is drawing to a close and we look back at some of the most stunning movie posters of 2015. From Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! to The Revenant and Sicario, this year gave us some real stand-outs.

They say one mustn’t judge a book by its cover. We’re sure this sentiment must also extend to movies and their posters. That being said, is there any better way to build up excitement for a movie? We think not. And so, we’ve compiled (curated?) some of the best movie posters of the year for your viewing pleasure.

Recently, we’ve noticed a pleasant return to more artistic, personal movie posters like the timeless Drew Struzan posters from the ‘70s and ‘80s. There is something uniquely old-fashioned about the movie poster. Perhaps because this is the one form of film advertising that hasn’t changed since the first time someone decided to promote a movie. Even the wildest fantasies, the flashiest effects-driven tentpoles and the glossiest superhero team-up films are all brought down to earth by one thing: The humble poster.

For the purposes of this compilation we’ve set a few rules: The posters must be official, not fan art and they must be for films scheduled for release in 2015, either theatrically or in festivals. That’s pretty much it actually.

20. Angry Indian Goddesses

Director - Pan Nalin. Cast - Sandhya Mridul, Sarah-Jane Dias, Amrit Maghera.

19. Crimson Peak

Director - Guillermo Del Toro. Cast - Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston, Jessica Chastain.

18. Ant-Man

Director - Peyton Reed. Cast - Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas.

17. Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!

Director - Dibakar Banerjee. Cast - Sushant Singh Rajput, Anand Tiwari, Neeraj Kabi.

16. Knight of Cups

Director - Terrence Malick. Cast - Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett.

15. The Martian

Director - Ridley Scott. Cast - Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels.

14. Macbeth

Director - Justin Kurzel. Cast - Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard.

13. Hunterrr

Director - Harshvardhan Kulkarni. Cast - Gulshan Devaiah, Radhika Apte, Sai Tamhankar.

12. The Witch

Director - Robert Eggers. Cast - Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson.

11. Tangerine

Director - Sean Baker. Cast - Mya Taylor, Kitana Kiki Rodriguez.

10. Lost River

Director - Ryan Gosling. Cast - Christina Hendricks, Iain De Caestecker, Saoirse Ronan.

9. Court

Director - Chaitanya Tamhane. Cast - Vira Satidhar, Vivek Gomber.

8. Hitman: Agent 47

Director - Aleksander Bach. Cast - Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto.

7. Minions

Directors - Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin. Cast - Sandra Bullock, Jon Hamm.

6. Queen of Earth

Director - Alex Ross Perry. Cast - Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston

5. By the Sea

Director - Angelina Jolie Pitt. Cast - Angelina Jolie Pitt, Brad Pitt.

4. The Hateful Eight

Director - Quentin Tarantino. Cast - Samuel L Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh.

3. The Peanuts Movie

Director - Steve Martino. Cast - Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets

2. The Revenant

Director - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Cast - Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy.

1.Sicario

Director - Denis Villenueve. Cast - Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro.

Now, it is not mandatory that a good poster must always belong to a good film. But if one attracts your attention and compels you to check the movie out then there’s nothing better than that.

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And here are some that didn’t make the cut but deserve mention.