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H

ow tin can y'all describe your entire movie in only a few words? All that hard work, time, and coin comes downwards to a simple phrase: the movie tagline. We combed through countless taglines, and picked the best moving-picture show taglines of all fourth dimension so yous can better craft your own. Allow'south go!

The IMportance of a Tag

one. What is a moving picture tagline?

The best tagline is a delicate fine art unto itself. A residuum of informative, compelling, and silly. The very all-time ones cut dangerously close to the very worst.

So what'southward the secret?

How tin you learn the art of the tagline? Let'south offset ascertain it. Then nosotros'll start in the past.

TAGLINE DEFINITION

What is a tagline?

Apicture show tagline is a short text which serves to clarify an idea for, or is designed with a form of, dramatic effect. Many tagline slogans are reiterated phrases associated with the picture.

Full general considerations for movie taglines:

• Information technology tin can speak direct to the plot of the picture show
• Information technology can speak to the experience you might have watching the film
• It will often use puns or turns of phrase

Some examples of movie taglines could be unrelated to the plot of the picture. They can also be super plot-specific.

Some work considering of the puns. Others work because they don't work at all. But they are curtailed and memorable.

Let'due south accept a walk downward memory lane.

Classic Movie Taglines

2. A look at the classics

Ahh, the classics. Some of them feel a fiddling dated, but the core of what would define the greatest taglines were established in the early days.

Double Indemnity

"From the moment they met it was murder."

One of the great noir tagline examples

Billy Wilder'due south Double Indemnity is a work of noir genius. Every line of dialogue is as abrupt as the tagline itself. If y'all haven't seen it, you're in for a treat.

Larn more than dialogue tips for your own writing and also for your inevitable tagline. It might spark the creativity that you need.

Father of the Bride

"The Bride gets the THRILLS, the male parent gets the BILLS."

This one feels a bit dated, merely the rhyme works, and the comedy of the situation is pretty clear.

The Lady Eve

"When you bargain a fast shuffle, dearest is in the cards."

Another Barbara Stanwyck starrer, The Lady Ev e is nigh a con where real feelings get involved. There is a pivotal card game as well, then the famous tagline says it all in snappy fashion.

12 Angry Men

"Life is in their hands -- Expiry is on their minds."

More Henry Fonda! Sidney Lumet'due south terse jury room drama gets a movie tagline that brings the stakes to the fore. This is necessary because it's a film well-nigh a conversation in ane room.

The Magnificent 7

"They were 7... and they fought like 700."

A play upon the number in the championship that also gets us excited for an epic showdown. The best movie taglines do this with such ease.

Easy Rider

"A human went looking for America, and he couldn't find it anywhere."

Easy Passenger was a true game changer. The tagline, and movie capture a cultural moment where everything shifted. It speaks to a specific movement. Powerful.

The Audio of Music

"The Happiest Sound in All the World."

Perhaps the most famous musical of all time, with a movie tagline that emphasizes genre and a desired emotional result.

Some modern musicals like "La La Land" stand without a tagline but captured audiences in a very different way. Learn more virtually how to write a musical, and analyze the hitting.

Taxi Driver

"On every street in every city in this country, there is a nobody who dreams of being a somebody."

Intrigued? Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader's report of existential loneliness is a picture show buff favorite. Robert De Niro had already broken out, only every bit Travis Bickle, he became a truthful screen icon.

Bonnie and Clyde

"They're immature, they're in love, and they kill people."

The "sudden left turn approach" teases our involvement. Juxtapose the young couple with murder, and you've got people hooked.

High Noon

"The story of a man who was likewise proud to run."

One of the most memorable pic tags

Pure, straightforward and admirable. A lot similar information technology's star, Gary Cooper. If you aren't inspired by the old-fashioned heroism hinted at in this movie tagline, y'all will be when yous see the motion picture.

Treasure of the Sierra Madre

"The nearer they get to the treasure the farther they get from the law."

Another motion-picture show tagline that implies an uncertain danger inside the story, almost asking the audition a question.

COMEDIC Picture TAGLINES

iii. These get 'em laughing

Comedy is a great genre mainly if you're looking for the best taglines. All-time taglines often take a little humour even if the subject matter isn't a comedy in nature... If information technology is?

Well, then they take free reign to be silly.  Here are our picks for the best:

Dumb and Dumber

"For Harry and Lloyd, every twenty-four hours is a no-brainer."

Accurate.

Ghostbusters

"Who yous gonna call?"

This is ane of those all-time taglines that became synonymous with the movie itself, and part of the cultural dictionary.

Catch Me if You Can

"The true story of a existent fake."

A fun play on words which is an excellent movie tagline tactic, and reflects this particular movie's plot.

Grosse Pointe Bare

"Even a hitman deserves a second shot."

The title is a pun; the tagline is a pun. If yous don't like puns, you lot probably don't similar movie taglines…

Naked Gun 33 & ⅓

"From the brother of the director of Ghost."

The Naked Gun movies are spoofs. The taglines are spoofs of taglines. Here, they take on the movie tagline tactic of mentioning tenuous connections to recent large hits.

Naked Gun

"If you only see ane moving-picture show this year... you need to get out more often."

Another funny parody of a typical movie tagline tactic.

Part Space

"Work sucks."

It'due south funny because it's true.

Weekend at Bernie's

"He may be expressionless but he'southward the life of the party."

Weekend at Bernie's belongs on whatever list. Information technology would be here even if the tagline was awful. Fortunately, information technology's pretty good.

A personal favorite

Tommy Male child

"If at first you lot don't succeed, lower your standards."

The love Farley and Spade comedy has a great tagline. This tactic is to put a spin on a well-known turn of phrase. It'south effective and done in taglines quite a bit.

Chicken Run

"Escape or die frying."

Puns. Mutual sayings. Brusque and to the point. This one has it all.

The Truman Show

"On the air and unaware."

This tagline tells you the story of the movie with a nice picayune rhyme. This sort of movie tagline is office of why people sometimes misfile a tagline with the more informative cousin: the logline.

If you desire to know more this, check out our postal service on how to formulate loglines.

StudioBinder also provides an entirely free masterclass for television receiver writing. Video essays like "How to Write a Treatment" can be very helpful in the stages prior to crafting your tagline.

Mars Attacks!

"Nice Planet. We'll take information technology"

Unproblematic, still effective.

O' Brother Where Art Thousand

"They take a plan merely not a clue"

This i is a lot similar the Dumb and Dumber tagline, but not quite as stiff because information technology doesn't tell us that much about the picture show.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

"One human being'south struggle to have information technology easy."

An effective tactic in many of the best taglines is to combine opposites. A struggle to take it like shooting fish in a barrel is a contradiction. It makes us wonder a scrap. It catches u.s.a. off guard. Go on this in heed when you think about taglines, or getting people'southward attention. It works.

Irony in tags

My Cousin Vinny

"A comedy of trial and mistake."

Every comedy that has a courtroom involved is forever jealous of My Cousin Vinny for nabbing this one.

The First Wives Guild

"Don't get mad. Get everything."

There tin be no more perfect tagline for a flick about divorce.

Hot Shots! Role Deux

"Simply Deux it."

Hotshots went with the French give-and-take for two in their sequel. Combine that with Nike'south famous slogan, and you accept a solid comedy tagline.

Horror Movie Taglines

4. Make them scream

The best horror taglines tease out the fear factor in an audience. Merely they sometimes play with comedic elements like any other tagline might.

Gremlins two

"Here they grow again."

Another pun. This one feels pretty close to one-act.

The Matter

"Homo is the warmest place to hide."

This tagline is both disgusting and a little funny. You want to know more, and y'all don't…

Any Happened to Baby Jane

"Sister, sis oh and then off-white why is there blood all over your hair?"

The sis on sister crimes of this cult classic are all on full creepy display in the tagline.

Jaws

"Yous'll never become in the water again."

For many moviegoers, this tagline came truthful.

Nightmare on Elm Street

"If Nancy doesn't wake upwards screaming, she won't wake upwards at all..."

This poster is paired perfectly with its tagline

This tagline exemplified the horror movie craze of the 1980's. The tagline and the movie affiche captures exactly what makes Nightmare on Elm street scary.

Disney Movie Taglines

5. A whole new world

Disney has its ain unique and compelling kind of branding. They've built an actual media empire, and the movies and their taglines take been a office of it.

Pinocchio

"For anyone who ever wished upon a star."

This motion picture belongs in the horror department. Scariest film ever. In their marketing genius, Disney gave it a tagline that makes it seem whimsical and full of magic.

Snow White

"Still the fairest of them all."

Disney'southward classic

Snow White was Disney'due south showtime blithe characteristic. This movie tagline for the rerelease played on the nostalgia for the groundbreaking picture and its lush visuals.

The tagline says it all

Cinderella

"Midnight never strikes when yous're in love."

This is clever, only I really experience like it's not true in the plot. Doesn't midnight strike when she's in love with the prince? Still works.

Fantasia

"Hear the pictures. See the music."

Fantasia was an expensive bomb for Walt Disney. Mayhap because the tagline was a trivial disruptive. At that place is some of his signature genius in it. Remember what we said nearly opposites inside a movie tagline?

Monsters Inc.

"Nosotros scare because nosotros care."

More modern day for Disney/Pixar. This movie tagline is incorporated into the plot, and it'southward another effective use of contrast within the tagline.

SUPERHERO Picture TAGLINES

six. Power up with superheroes

There are a lot of superhero movies and not a lot of great superhero movie taglines. Probably considering almost of the movies themselves are pretty boring.

But here are a select few that are pretty skillful, and have become part of the cultural dictionary.

Spiderman

"With great power comes not bad responsibility."

We're on similar our 5th reboot of Spidey since Tobey Maguire get-go donned the tights in 2002. Cypher from any of them has come shut to having the lasting touch this ane creative tagline has had.

Superman

"You'll believe a man tin fly."

This movie tagline is simple and beautiful.

In 1978, unlike today, audiences weren't exactly flocking to run across movies most men in bright colors fighting crime. It was quite the contrary.

However, this movie suggested there was a footling magic there that was worth the toll of admission.

Of class, if you re-watch it at present, yous will most definitely NOT believe the man is flight. The furnishings didn't age and then well.

The Night Knight

"Why So Serious?"

This movie tagline doesn't belong on the list. It tells us near aught about the movie, and it'southward probably not what got anyone in the theater. Just it has stayed with u.s. all. The flick is arguably the all-time of the genre, and the tagline, as a upshot, is with u.s.a. forever.

If you want a deeper dive on The Dark Knight, cheque out our post that dissects the screenplay construction using the story circle technique.

Dramatic Movie Taglines

vii. Brand them feel something

Drama taglines try, to use the parlance of our times, to requite you lot the feels. All the feels, if possible. If you're trying to come upward with a drama tagline think nearly a desired emotional state, and shoot for that.

And so for this section call up near how each movie tagline conjures a specific emotion or ii.

Erin Brockovich

"She brought a pocket-sized town to its anxiety and a corporation to its knees."

Inspired? That'southward the goal of this picture show tagline.

Platoon

"The beginning casualty of war is innocence."

At present this line is merely terribly sad. You lot experience this emotion before y'all've even seen the film.

Saving Private Ryan

"The mission is a man."

Adamant. Hopeful. Inspired, again?

Dramatic yet inspiring tagline

Quiz Show

"50 million people watching but no one saw a thing."

Curious.

Edward Scissorhands

"His story will touch yous even though he can't."

Touched...yet matched with this movie poster, slightly horrifying. A fair assessment of this film's paradox.

This flick tagline defies genre, just like the flick

Crybaby

"Good girls want him bad. Bad girls want him worse."

Jealous? Intrigued?

The Social Network

"You lot don't get to 500 one thousand thousand friends without making a few enemies."

Schadenfreude. That's not exactly a simple emotion, only when information technology comes to all things Marking Zuckerberg, information technology's what we atomic number 82 with.

Zodiac

"In that location is more than one fashion to lose your life to a serial killer."

A combination of fascinated and worried.

Lost in Translation

"Everyone wants to exist plant."

Ennui. Angst.

This tagline sums upward Beak Murray'due south graphic symbol

School Ties

"But because you were accustomed doesn't mean you belong."

Alone.

Memento

"Some memories are best forgotten."

Curious and reflective.

This poster is about unnecessary with this tagline

Boogie Nights

"Everyone has i special thing."

Dare I say... excited?

Ordinary People

"Everything is in its proper place except the past."

Concerned.

Shut Encounters

"We are not solitary."

Filled with wonder.

Some taglines pique interest correct away

ACTION Flick TAGLINES

eight. Get the adrenaline flowing

The activity moving-picture show is no stranger to puns or i-liners. In fact, we should rank those one-time in another post...

Every bit a event, the action moving-picture show taglines tend to be pretty solid. There is a natural fit. Combining a picayune sense of humor with a little edge... that'due south an action motion picture'southward wheelhouse.

Learn how to write and shoot activeness hither, only for now..

Here are some of the best activity movie movie taglines:

I am Fable

"The last man on World is non alone."

Once again detect the use of a contradiction here. It poses the question the movie volition answer. If he'due south not alone... who else is there?

The Matrix

"Reality is a thing of the past."

The Matrix's tagline is genius in its simplicity. Six words that cover the whole concept, but leave you with questions that need answering.

True Lies

"When he said I do he never said what he did."

The title of this movie is its ain tagline.

Y'all take to imagine in that location were a ton of solid options turned downwardly before they settled on this one.

Contradiction, unanswered questions... cheque and double check.

Tagling in the championship

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

"For three men the civil war wasn't hell. It was practice."

Sergio Leone is a principal of anticipating violence in cinema. The violence itself isn't the point; it's the waiting. This tagline does in two sentences what his movies exercise in every scene. Tee you up for something brutal.

T2: Judgement Twenty-four hour period

"Aforementioned Brand. Same Model. New Mission."

This tagline says enough volition be the same that you will like this, but enough volition exist different that you have to run across it. It's a winning formula when information technology comes to sequels.

Dirty Harry

"You don't assign him to murder cases. Y'all just plow him loose."

You can bet on the activity and violence in this story, and information technology's guilt-complimentary considering it'll be about targeting bad guys. Sign us up!

So Bad They're Terrible

10 worst taglines

We're getting down to it now. The fun part. The rankings.

The difference between the best and the worst when it comes to flick taglines is slim. In some ways, this is its ain all-time movie taglines listing.

But in some ways, these movie taglines are only and so awful. So beautifully terrible. Hither there are in contrary order:

The Mutilator

10. "By sword, by pick, by ax, bye bye."

This is almost a good tagline. Maybe it is a proficient tagline. The mutilator truly toes that thin tagline line.

Scary Moving-picture show iii

ix. "Neat Trilogies Come up in 3's."

This is an effort at the type of humor Naked Gun movies employed in their movie taglines. But it doesn't quite work. It'due south just flat out bad. At that place is a fine line. Maybe the movie being atrocious hurts it likewise.

Beach Party

8. "The Perfect Summer when the urge meets the surge."

An attempt at wordplay that but feels kinda gross.

Jaws the Revenge

seven. "This time it's personal."

This became a stock bad tagline. It's almost a tagline meme. Plus, does a shark actually take things personally?

I take this tagline personally.

The Elevator Flick

vi. "Have the stairs take the stairs for god'south sake take the stairs."

I think this movie wants us to have the stairs.

Glen or Glenda

v. "I change my sexual activity!"

Ok! No need to yell!

The truth is no worst listing is complete without Ed Wood making a cameo.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf

4. "The near astonishing move picture of our time."

A mutual atrocious tagline tactic is only to claim general awesomeness of the movie in question. Unless the movie is Scary Moving-picture show 6 and it'due south an obvious joke, this sort of tagline is always a bad call.

Ice, Water ice Baby

3. "When a daughter as a eye of ice there is only 1 way to cook it... just add together ice."

This tagline is too cold, as well cold

This tagline doesn't make any sense. Sort of like Vanilla Water ice's career.

Charlie St. Cloud

2. "Life is for living."

And water is wet, and the sky is blue and did someone really gets paid to write this?

Day of the Dolphin

one. "Unwittingly he trained a dolphin to impale the President of the United States."

Some of the taglines are worse than the movies and vice versa.

This is a real motion picture. It stars George C. Scott and was directed by Mike Nichols. So many questions so few answers.

Leave Em Wanting More

Top 10 best movie taglines

We finally fabricated information technology. The definitive ranking of the ten best movie taglines of all time. If you lot read this far, you take survived countless puns and 10 pretty awful movie taglines. Y'all deserve the goods.

These tags accomplish much of what we have laid out and then far equally the keys to neat pic taglines. But they do something more. They are greater than the sum of their parts. So hither we go:

Jaws ii

10. "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the h2o."

This tagline plays well upon the original, which was also a winner. But it adds a new wrinkle.

Apollo 13

9. "Houston, we have a problem."

The best picture show tagline of all fourth dimension?

This tagline is but a line from the movie, just it teased what we all knew well-nigh the true story. Some other i that'due south with u.s. forever.

Rocky

viii. "His whole life was a million to one shot"

Rocky is the ultimate underdog story. The tagline embodies that. The whole franchise embodies that. With every new picture show, comes another montage defended to this tagline.

The Fly

7. "Exist afraid. Be very afraid."

The tagline scares you into seeing the movie

Another tagline that transcends being just a tagline. Information technology might even exist more famous than the movie.

Robocop

6. "Part man. Part Machine. All Cop."

Robocop is an splendid moving-picture show, and the tagline tee'southward it up pretty well.

The forty-Yr-Old Virgin

5. "The longer y'all wait, the harder it gets."

The tagline double entendre at its peak... no pun intended.

Psycho

4. "Bank check-in. Relax. Take a shower."

When you're teeing upwardly one of the most famous scenes in moving picture history, you lot can't go wrong.

Alien

iii. "In Space, no-one can hear you scream."

This is arguably number one. It was very close…

A terrifying tagline that gives you the creeps

Star Wars

ii. "A long fourth dimension ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

The tagline that launched a m starships. And toys. And spinoffs. And rides... and it's still going.

Cocktail

1. "When he pours, he reigns"

They should also be cool, because they are, afterward all, marketing slogans. Cocktail's tagline does it all.

Still reigning xxx years later with this tagline.

Movie taglines should be fun. They should be simple.

They should have just the right amount of cheesy wordplay and tell u.s. enough well-nigh the movie.

In the terminate, movie taglines are designed to get audiences to want to see your movie. Plant the seed of an idea, a drama, a conflict… and it will grow into a story in their imagination. Now hopefully, you already have a fully developed story. If yous don't, grab some more than tools below.

You tin can use StudioBinder'due south Screenwriting Software to write new scripts, import erstwhile scripts, and even interact for rewrite feedback.

Screenwriting is here

If y'all want to see your words on a moving picture poster one twenty-four hour period, end wasting time and write down the words!

UP Adjacent

Plot tools for dramatic writing

Before you go to the tagline you first take to get through the plot.  The structure of your plot is equally of import as the script itself. Make certain you lot know how to construction your plat so that all the elements of your drama come through.

Up Next: Tools for dramatic writing →

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