25+ Original Logline Examples [From Famous Movies & Films]
Ever wondered about logline examples from movies? All feature films and short films need a great logline! Sooner or later, every writer is asked, “What’s your screenplay/novel/story about?”
A big mistake I made as a new writer was not knowing how to properly answer this question. Like so many others, I tried to give a talk instead of being precise and to the point. But I learned my lesson the hard way so that you don’t have to.
As an established screenwriter, I’ve learned well what to do and what not to do.
Writers often use loglines to pitch their ideas to potential producers and investors, so they must be as strong and compelling as possible.
The worst thing to do is to ramble on with a stuttering, meandering synopsis, especially if you’re in the middle of a pitch or meeting with someone who can help make your film come to life!
Instead, have a single sentence (or two at the most!) at the ready, one that captures all the essential core elements of your script.
A logline is a concise (one or two-sentence) short synopsis of your script or movie, as noted in this article from Masterclass.
The ONLY Logline Formula for a Movie You’ll Ever Need!
Good movie loglines contain the important story elements of your screenplay – the protagonist(s), inciting incident, objective, and antagonistic force – and form them into a clear and concise teaser that “hooks” the reader into wanting to read the script or watch the movie!
When you read the following loglines, think of each movie in terms of the following:
- Protagonist(s) – The story’s main character(s).
- Inciting Incident – The event that sets the protagonist(s) on their journey. This is the first turning point, where the main character’s ordinary world upends.
- Objective – The main goal of the protagonist(s).
- Antagonistic force – The character, force, or obstacle preventing the protagonist(s) from reaching the objective.
Each of the following logline examples uses my logline formula to create an attention-grabbing logline that draws in the reader:
When INCITING INCIDENT,
a PROTAGONIST must OBJECTIVE
despite an ANTAGONISTIC FORCE.
A few tips for writing the best logline include:
- Keep your logline short and to the point
- Brainstorm your best movie ideas before you write the logline!
- Think about the key ingredients of the story elements of your book or movie before writing the logline
- Focus on the main conflict in your story (the central problem that moves the plot forward)
- Don’t use character names in your logline
- Don’t give away the entire script or the whole movie!
- Avoid naming similar books or movies in the logline
Here are 25 famous logline examples from successful films you may recognize. These movies are from 25 different popular genres of movies, so you can use them to help inspire you to write a logline for your screenplay!
25 Famous Logline Examples
Here are the logline examples, organized by genre.
Sci-Fi Genre: Back to the Future
After a teenager is accidentally transported 30 years into the past, he must find a way to both return to his own time and reunite his parents before he and his future cease to exist.
Western: Django Unchained
After being rescued by a German bounty hunter in pre-Civil War Mississippi, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a sadistic plantation owner.
Action: Kingsman: The Secret Service
When an unhinged billionaire plots to cull the human race, an underprivileged trainee in a secret intelligence agency must prove himself in order to save the world.
Crime-Thriller: The Fugitive
Falsely accused of killing his wife, a doctor desperately searches for the real killer, with a relentless federal agent hot on his trail.
Espionage-Thriller: North By Northwest
When an innocent advertising executive is framed for murder, he must evade the authorities long enough to uncover a foreign spy ring.
Fantasy: The Wizard of Oz
After a twister takes a lonely Kansas farm girl to a magical land, she sets out on a dangerous journey to find a wizard with the power to send her home.
Holiday Movie: Elf
When a Christmas elf discovers he’s actually human, he travels to New York City to find his biological family.
Crime: Reservoir Dogs
After a simple jewelry heist goes wrong and the authorities close in, the surviving criminals suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Thriller: Silence of the Lambs
In order to catch a maniac who skins his victims, a determined FBI cadet must seek help from an incarcerated and manipulative serial killer.
Romance: Titanic
When two star-crossed lovers meet on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, they must find a way to survive when the doomed ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Cartoon: Toy Story
When a new spaceman action figure supplants him as the favorite toy, an aging cowboy doll must overcome his jealousy for the sake of the other toys in the house.
Comedy: The Hangover
When three groomsmen lose their about-to-be-wed buddy following a drunken bachelor party in Vegas, they must retrace their steps in order to find him.
Horror: The Exorcist
When a teenage girl is possessed by a demonic entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
War Movie: Apocalypse Now
A disenchanted US soldier in Vietnam is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has established himself as a god among a local tribe.
Historical Epic: Gladiator
When a corrupt emperor murders his family and sends him into slavery, a former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance by becoming a gladiator.
Animated Adventure: The Lion King
After he wrongly takes the blame for his father’s death, a lion cub grows up in exile and must return with his unlikely friends to reclaim the throne from his evil uncle.
Space Opera: Star Wars
Following the discovery of two unusual droids, an adventurous farmboy joins a mysterious hermit to rescue a space princess from the evil Empire before they can unleash their ultimate weapon.
Epic War Film: Saving Private Ryan
Following the D-Day landings in Normandy, a group of battle-weary soldiers is tasked with a deadly mission to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Fantasy Drama Film: The Green Mile
When a large and gentle black man is sent to Death Row for a brutal murder in 1930s Louisiana, the guards discover his miraculous healing gifts and begin to suspect his innocence.
Psychological Crime Thriller: SE7EN
Following a string of murders based on the seven deadly sins, a veteran and a rookie detective must stop the manipulative serial killer before he finishes his list.
Dark Comedy-Action Film: Fight Club
An insomniac office worker’s life turns upside down when he starts an underground fight club with a rebellious soap-maker.
Black Comedy-Drama: American Beauty
In the midst of a midlife crisis, a depressed suburban father tries to reinvent himself as he develops an unhealthy obsession with his teenage daughter’s attractive friend.
Indie Comedy: Napoleon Dynamite
Tired of his bizarre family life, a listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small-town high school.
Cult Crime Drama: Reservoir Dogs
After a jewelry heist goes wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Mystery Crime Thriller: The Usual Suspects
When a suspect is arrested following a horrific gun battle on a boat, he recounts how he met five of the criminals involved at a seemingly random police lineup.
Final Thoughts
Movie loglines are essential for promoting your screenplay or movie to the film industry.
More than that, they are a valuable tool in distilling your core premise into a single sentence so that you can have a ready answer the next time someone asks,
“What’s your story about?“.
You can follow the logline formula that I used to create these loglines to create your own for your next screenplay or film! Remember to use a good screenwriting software program to write your screenplay.
For more help with creating your own logline, you can check out these screenwriting resources:
How to Write a Story with Three-Act Structure [with Examples!]
Awesome article thanks for sharing
You are welcome! Glad it was helpful.
Yes! Very very good… Thanks for sharing..
Glad you found this helpful!