Credit Where Credit Is Due

The most common question we receive at Posterwire:

What is the font used for the credits at the bottom of a movie poster?

The short answer:

There is no one particular font used for movie poster credits.

The long answer:

The credits at the bottom of a movie poster are known as a billing block or credit block. The credit block consists of the names and titles of many of the “above the line” talent, key crew members, and others involved in the production of a film.

The billing also includes logos for motion picture studios and other film related properties, including the MPAA rating — these logos are known as bugs.

The order of names appearing in the movie’s billing are tightly regulated (as many aspects of film production are) via contracts by the various actors, agents, producers, director, etc. For example, some directors invoke the infamous “a film by” above title credit in their film’s billing.

Once you factor in all these names and titles, space becomes a premium in the billing block. That’s where a condensed typeface comes into play. Most good ultra condensed typefaces (usually sans serif) will work in a billing block.

A few popular movie poster credit fonts include:

Download Movie Poster Billing Block Template

Tagged billing, credits, fonts, popular