The poster is distributed and displayed at movie theatres around the world. Elements of the poster may also appear in newspaper and magazine advertisements for the film. If you interested in collecting, buying, and want to know more about movie poster before purchasing. There is no quick approach to learning the fascinating world of movie poster collecting. In fact, the word "movie poster" is used to describe a wide variety of types and styles of advertising paper products that movie studios use to promote their films. All of these paper items fall into the category of "movie art" which includes movie posters, card items, press and promotional items.

There is a great deal of history behind movie posters and movie poster collecting. By the end of the first decade of the 1900’s, movies had become a great source of public entertainment. In this time period, the movie poster would become a standard size known as the one sheet measuring 27" x 41".

There are several types of movie posters. Because of their rarity, the avid movie poster collector has concentrated on movie poster or theater art. These are the posters that are delivered and displayed by the movie theaters and then intended to be thrown away. Another type of movie poster is the commercial poster, which is mass-produced for direct sale to the public. Video posters are distributed to video rental stores for advertising material. Cable and TV posters are use as promotional material for TV stations for their programming. Like theater art, video posters and cable and TV posters are not produced for the public. Although not as valuable as theater art, these types of posters are still popular among collectors. Special promotion posters promote a movie along with a product. Finally, there are anniversary issues, limited editions, and special releases that are released in limited quantities and are gaining favor with the theatre art collector. Other types of movie posters include advance posters that promote a movie well ahead of the movie's release. The award poster, which indicates that a movie has won an Academy award. The combo poster, advertising two movies instead of just one. The popular double-sided poster that has art on both sides, with the artwork reversed on one side of the poster. There are featurette posters highlighting short films or cartoons, review posters for when a movie gets a good review, serial posters for movie serials, and special distribution posters.

With the popularity of movie poster company printing service has the necessity to create various sizes of movie posters. The first and most widely used poster is the one sheet, which is usually 27" x 41". The subway, also known as the two sheets, is larger but not exactly two times the size of the one sheet. The 3 sheet is three times the size of the one sheet measuring at 41" x 81". The 6 sheet is six times the size of the one sheet measuring of 81" x 81". There is also a 12 sheet approximately twelve times the size of a one sheet, and the colossal sized 24 sheet measuring 246" x by 108". Other sizes include the mini sheet, which is usually much smaller than the one sheet and comes in a variety of sizes, and the stock sheet issued for cartoons or other shorts.

As with all collectibles, condition is a great factor when placing a value on posters. A movie poster’s value is determined by demand, rarity, and condition. Poster collectors use the same grade system used by comic book collectors: mint (perfect), near mint, very good, good, fair, and poor.