One-Sheet. Quad. Grande. Locandina. Daybill. Double Crown. If you are new to original posters, the terminology can sound like a language invented specifically to confuse you.
In reality, most names simply describe standard formats created for a particular country, industry or display space. Learning them is useful because format can help identify an original, explain why a poster is folded, tell you how difficult it will be to frame and reveal why the same film sometimes has dramatically different artwork around the world.
Dimensions can vary slightly because of trimming, production tolerances and period practices, so measurements should be treated as typical rather than an authentication test on their own.
United States Movie Poster Formats
US One-Sheet
~27 × 41 in (older issues), ~27 × 40 in (later theatrical)
The format most people picture when they think of an American movie poster. Older examples were commonly distributed folded; later examples are often found rolled. Exists in advance, teaser and regular release styles.
Half-Sheet
~22 × 28 in
A horizontal card-stock format used for cinema display. Artwork can differ substantially from the One-Sheet.
Insert
~14 × 36 in
A tall, narrow US format, usually printed on heavier stock. Particularly associated with earlier cinema advertising.
Lobby Card
~11 × 14 in
Usually issued as sets, often combining a title card with scene cards — a distinct cinema-lobby format, not a miniature One-Sheet.
Window Card
~14 × 22 in
A card-stock format with space that could be used for local cinema information.
Three-Sheet
~41 × 81 in
A large theatrical format. Earlier examples can be multi-panel and make spectacular display pieces.
Six-Sheet
~81 × 81 in
An enormous cinema advertising format, usually encountered far less often than One-Sheets.
British Poster Formats
British Quad
~30 × 40 in
The classic UK cinema format and one of our favourites. Its horizontal shape often required completely different artwork from the US campaign.
Double Crown
~20 × 30 in
A versatile British format used across film, travel, advertising and other poster categories.
British One-Sheet
~27 × 40 in
A vertical format encountered alongside the Quad, although generally less synonymous with British cinema advertising.
Front of House Cards
Often ~8 × 10 in, with variation
Cinema display cards featuring scenes or promotional imagery, commonly produced in sets.
French Poster Formats
French Petite / Affichette
Often ~60 × 80 cm, with period variation
A smaller French format that is much easier to accommodate domestically than the huge Grande.
French Grande
Typically ~120 × 160 cm
The classic large French cinema poster. Grandes can be visually spectacular and were often folded for distribution.
Large Multi-Panel Formats
Dimensions vary substantially
Made for large-scale exterior or cinema display and collected as much for their physical impact as their artwork.
Italian Poster Formats
Locandina
~33 × 70 cm / 13 × 27 in, with variation
A tall, narrow Italian cinema format. Compact by Italian standards and often beautifully illustrated.
2-Foglio
~100 × 140 cm / 39 × 55 in
A major Italian theatrical format with generous space for illustrated artwork.
4-Foglio
~140 × 200 cm / 55 × 78 in
One of the great large-format cinema posters. Extraordinary framed pieces, but they require serious wall space.
Fotobusta / Photobusta
Dimensions vary, often ~50 × 70 cm
Italian lobby-style posters, frequently combining photographic imagery and graphic design.
Australian, Japanese and Other Formats
Australia is particularly known for the Daybill, a narrow vertical cinema format whose dimensions changed over time. Japanese posters are commonly encountered in B2 and B1 formats, while Germany, Belgium, Poland and many other countries developed their own standard sizes and conventions.
This is exactly why we avoid treating dimensions as a universal pass-or-fail authenticity test. The correct question is whether the dimensions make sense for the country, date, printer and specific issue being assessed.
Why the Same Film Can Have Different Artwork
International distributors did not always reuse the American campaign. Local artists, printers and distributors could reinterpret a film for their own audience. That is why collecting by country can be so rewarding: one title may exist as a vertical American One-Sheet, horizontal British Quad, enormous French Grande and richly illustrated Italian poster, each with a completely different visual personality.
Folded, Rolled or Flat?
Format and period often explain how a poster was originally supplied. Many older theatrical posters were folded as standard. A fold is therefore not evidence that somebody mistreated the poster after purchase; it may be exactly how the distributor sent it to the cinema.
Other posters were issued rolled or stored flat, and some folded posters have subsequently been linen backed so the folds sit flat. Always judge the individual issue rather than applying one rule to every poster.
Measuring a Poster Correctly
- Measure the paper itself, not the visible image area.
- Record width and height and note whether the orientation is portrait or landscape.
- Allow for small production and trimming variations in period material.
- If a measurement is substantially different from a known format, investigate further rather than assuming it is automatically wrong.
- For framing, use the actual individual poster measurement rather than relying only on the standard format name.
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Explore original posters by format, country and era in the Printed Originals collection.