Understanding Visual Narrative Features of Movie Posters and Their Impact on Box Office Performance
(A2026-132976)

AUTHORS

Ruilin Xiao, University of Groningen; Evert de Haan, University of Groningen; Jaap Wieringa, University of Groningen

ABSTRACT

Narrative advertising is recognized as an effective form of marketing communication. Existing research has examined text- and audio-based narratives and consumers’ self-reported psychological responses, while neglecting the persuasive power of visual narratives and their impact on market performance. Drawing on narrative transportation theory, this study investigates whether and how visual narrative features of movie posters are associated with box office performance. Results show color diversity, compositional harmony, and visual realism are systematically and positively associated with box office performance, whereas violence, human presence, character number, and character saliency are weak or inconsistent predictors. This study extends narrative transportation theory to visual advertising with objective market performance and develops a framework of effective visual narrative features; it also provides actionable insights for designing movie posters and advertising images.