Color psychology might seem like something marketing specialists make up to sound fancy in meetings. But it’s real! Different hues can evoke emotions, inspire reactions, soothe your mood, or increase your energy. So it only makes sense that a movie color palette is such an important part of the creative process.
Similarly, it’s also important to have an array of colors in the candy you bring to watch said film.
If you’ve stumbled upon @colorseffect on Instagram or @CinemaPalettes on Twitter, you may have already noticed that their feeds is a movie and design lover’s dream.
You’ll also see that film directors have color calling cards of their own. Wes Anderson often uses bright and cheery colors to counterbalance dark subjects. Quentin Tarantino uses a lot of bold, primary colors, especially yellow. Ironically, not so much red, as in the color of all the blood he splatters on screen.
To celebrate these visually stunning cinematic masterpieces, here are 20 color palettes from our favorite films. BRB while we go rethink all the colors in our house.
20 Color Palettes from Iconic Movies
1. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
We’re not sure what seems more implausible – getting our hair to match Ramona’s magenta shade, or someone battling seven of our exes in order to date us.
2. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
If there’s one thing Tim Burton does right, it’s visually satisfying our eyes. If there’s one thing he does wrong, it’s ever letting go of Helena Bonham Carter.
3. Interstellar (2014)
The movie that made us understand quantum physics. And decide that Matt Damon really needs to stop going into outer space.
4. Moonlight (2016)
When the movie poster already looks like a visual masterpiece, you know you’re in for a treat. Did someone say blueberry ice cream?
5. Se7en (1995)
What’s in the box?! We can’t say for sure. But it kinda looks like M&Ms?
6. Last Night in Soho (2021)
This psychological horror movie contrasts dark, moody colors with bright, neon hues. It’s like Edgar Wright said, “Give me a bachelorette party in Vegas, but make it spooky.” Ok yeah, we’d watch that sequel.
7. Fight Club (1999)
We’re not supposed to talk about Fight Club, but we can talk about this mustardy muted color palette. Ah shoot…that was rule number 12!
8. Midsommar (2019)
Cults are bad, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be aesthetically pleasing. What do you mean this looks like our latest Goop subscription box?
9. Dune (2021)
Is this what Burning Man looks like?
10. Romeo + Juliet (1996)
We never realized how much Leo cries in this movie. It’s a tough life being a teenage heartthrob. Yes, of course we know from experience…
11. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
If you already knows all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody, you can now add that you know the color palettes of the film to your resume, too. AT&T is so lucky to have you!
12. Joker (2019)
The colors of this film accompany a dreary world and the realities of mental health. They also say goodbye to the Joker’s green and purple signature look, which is probably allowing Barney a huge sigh of relief.
13. The Matrix (1999)
This may be surprising, but there’s more to The Matrix than just plain black suits. There’s dark black, and off-black, and faded black, and semi-black. And, apparently, red!
14. The Shining (1980)
Nothing has scared us quite the like those twins. But that carpet pattern is a close second.
15. American Psycho (2000)
We were going to say that not all people with a neutral color palette in their home is a sociopath. But we can’t seem to find a splash of bright color in our living room. That’s fine, right? We’re sure it’s fine.
16. Corpse Bride (2005)
Our emo hearts hadn’t been this happy since Nightmare Before Christmas.
17. Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood (2019)
Sunshine yellow, hippies, and Charles Manson…this must be Hollywood in the late ’60s! Or a really confusing birthday party.
18. Don’t Look Up (2021)
Sure, the world may be ending. But at least it looks nice! Assuming you like shades of blue. Sorry for all those die-hard orange fans. To be fair, though, there’s only like two of you out there.
19. The Witch (2015)
The Lighthouse, also directed by Robert Eggers, may be a black and white masterpiece. But The Witch combines warm and cool tones to create a horrifying folktale that Hocus Pocus absolutely did not prepare us for.
20. Get Out (2017)
These are our reactions to the moment we realized Jordan Peele had been hiding his cinematic genius from us for all these years. But we’ll probably stay away from making these the color palettes of our bedroom.
Ashley is a Nashville unicorn (born, raised, and based), queer, vegan, and dedicated to leaving a positive impact through her life, work, and her website, Wild Hearted.
When she's not writing, she's traveling, reading a book, trying not to kill her houseplants, worshiping her dog, or having an existential crisis. Follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Twitter, and LinkedIn
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