50 Most Controversial Movie Posters Of All Time

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By published

The one-sheets that caused outrage

The Adventures Of Tintin (2011)

The Other Guys (2010)

The Poster: Inept cops Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell tackle crime, wielding standard issue police firearms…

The Controversy: …Except in San Francisco, where a municipal law against pro-gun advertising meant that the actors were instead shown holding pepper spray or raising their bare fists.

Teenage Mother (1967)

The Poster: This exploitation pic pitched its wares with the immortal tagline, "the film that dares to explain what most parents can't!" while promising actual childbirth footage.

The Controversy: Not exactly unexpected, but the sheer existence of the film outraged and offended. The more medically aware might also have baulked at seeing a doctor holding a newborn by his feet.

Goldeneye (1995)

The Poster: James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) is back and licensed to kill. You can tell because he's pointing his gun straight at you.

The Controversy: The US censors, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ordered that the image be changed to 007 firing upwards rather than outwards. In a sign that some things never change, the campaign for Quantum of Solace drew flack for showing a gun-totin' Bond.

Bereavement (2010)

The Poster: This low-budget slasher movie captured the film's subject - a homicidal child - with a "does what it says on the tin" shot of a knife-wielding tyke.

The Controversy: Banned outright by the MPAA for the link between the kid and the knife.

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (2010)

The Poster: Nic Cage goes loco at a hospital, waving his gun in a nurse's face.

The Controversy: The MPAA has a rule about that sort of things. Guns are fine, but you can't imply they might be used to shoot anybody.

Ogamdo (2009)

The Poster: This Korean romantic drama captured the public's attention with its booty-ful poster image.

The Controversy: Apparently, the poster saw the first buttocks ever displayed in a Korean movie advertisement. Ironically, the owner of said buttocks doesn't appear in the film but was a model.

The Roommate (2011)

The Poster: This Single White Female clone makes a big deal of its campus setting with a prominent photo of a university building.

The Controversy: Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas was surprised to see its administration building appear in a movie poster and threatened a lawsuit. It later transpired the shot was legally licensed from iStockPhoto and Photoshopped into the poster.

Teeth (2007)

The Poster: This one is tame in comparison to the banned UK version, in which an apparently innocuous X-ray image bears closer inspection. It showed that the film's heroine, Dawn O'Keefe (Jess Weixler) has teeth in her vagina.

The Controversy: Momentum Pictures leaked the 'banned' UK poster ahead of the film's release, although it's unclear whether they ever submitted it to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA).

Lesbian Vampire Killers (2009)

The Poster: Are the lesbians the vampires or the killers? The UK theatrical ads hinted towards the former, but mainly sold the fact that there were lesbians.

The Controversy: CBS Outdoor got in a huff about the title and banned the poster from all UK transport.