Dressing up as your favourite movie character is one of the time-honoured ways to show your appreciation for a movie while getting a chance to don an awesome costume. If you want to look great at your next costume party look no further than your favourite movies!
Whether you’re looking for a bit of a Bonnie & Clyde-esque ‘couple movie costume’ or you’re just going stag, here are some of the best movie character costume ideas that we’ve gathered.
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10. The Breakfast Club
The Breakfast Club may be the quintessential 80s movie. The five youngsters that populated the library of Shermer High School have cemented themselves as cinematic pop culture icons.
The Breakfast Club crew is one of the best group costumes of all time; the characters are incredibly iconic, and their looks are incredibly easy to achieve:
- Fingerless gloves, a plaid shirt, and a denim jacket for John Bender
- Black sweatshirt and grey skirt for Allison Reynolds
- Varsity jacket and jeans for Andrew Clark
- A pink blouse, belt, and brown skirt for Claire Standish
- And a green sweater and khakis for Brian Johnson
9. Harry Potter
One of the highest-grossing movie series of all time, Harry Potter remains a pop culture phenomenon that created and defined the careers of its main cast.
You won’t run out of inspiration if you’re going for a Harry Potter-inspired look, as you have hundreds of characters and costumes to choose from, the easiest of which is a generic Hogwarts student.
You’ll need black robes, a white shirt, a tie with your house colours, and the most important part of the costume, your wand. Luckily, you can find all of these items very easily, and you can even pick up official Harry Potter merch if you want the costume to look really on-point!
8. Holly Golightly (Breakfast At Tiffany’s)
Audrey Hepburn’s role in this movie cemented her as one of the most iconic female movie characters of all time. If you want to achieve the look, you’ll need the following items to form the base of the outfit:
- A shoulderless black dress
- Long satin gloves
- And black high heels
While those items should be relatively easy to find, the rest of the ensemble can be a little troublesome. You’ll need the same kind of jewellery that Audrey Hepburn sported in the film, which may not be an easy task, as very few people have a triple pearl necklace like the one in the movie.
Fortunately, a lot of replicas for this particular costume exists, and you can find the necklace, tiara, and cigarette holder online if you can’t find them at your local costume store.
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7. The Terminator
The Terminator is arguably the most iconic movie character from the 80s, and if you’re looking for an easy movie character costume, it doesn’t get easier than this. Here’s what you’ll need:
- A black leather biker jacket
- Black shades
- Black pants
- Black biker boots
- A badass attitude
Arnold is shirtless in the movie, but if you’re not that confident with your bare chest, a black shirt will do. Winchester Model 1887 shotgun and Harley Davidson bike are optional.
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6. The Justice League
With the release of the new DC Universe film, Justice League, there’s now a newfound interest in DC superheroes. With Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman being the main trio for the movie, new interest has arisen in looking like one of the big three of DC.
While it may be incredibly hard to make a costume from Justice League from scratch, lucky for you, costume stores around the world have sold costumes of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman for decades. In fact, these are among the most popular superhero costumes of all time.
Of course, the other heroes from Justice League also make for great costumes! The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman look great and are easily found both in physical costume stores and online.
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5. Jason Voorhees
Since Friday the 13th premiered in 1980, Jason Voorhees’ instantly recognisable hockey mask has haunted Halloween parties around the world. As one of the first slasher films, Friday The 13th defined the genre, and its hero/villain Jason has defined the slasher flick killer look.
Looking like Jason isn’t that hard. Hockey masks are very widely available, and you can get either an official Jason mask or use your own hockey mask and just paint on red lines. With the most important part of the outfit done, the rest is very easy. A thick jacket and boots are staples of the look. For your pants and shirt, wear dark colours and you’ll be good to go!
4.Harley Quinn (Suicide Squad)
Since Suicide Squad came out, women the world around have been cosplaying Harley Quinn left and right! Margot Robbie’s take on the character was both revolutionary and incredibly fresh, sparking a new interest in the Joker’s favourite henchwoman.
Since the Harley Quinn costume has become so popular, sets of the costume are easily available, even complete with the dyed blue and pink wig and baseball bat. If you’re going to dress up as Harley Quinn, don’t forget the makeup! A huge part of actually crushing this look is the correct application of makeup and fake tattoos to really nail that Harley Quinn feel.
3. Disney Princesses
Princesses aren’t just for little girls! Even if you’re a full-grown woman, dressing up as a Disney princess can still be insanely fun. Not every princess wears a ball gown after all. Depending on which princess you want to be, the costumes can be very varied.
The roster of Disney princesses has grown over the years, and what’s great about that is that a lot of different ethnicities are now represented by a Disney princess. So it doesn’t matter whether you look like Snow White, Cinderella, Mulan, Tiana, or Jasmine – no matter where you're from there’s a Disney princess to match your look.
2. The Avengers
The Marvel movie series Avengers has been smashing box office records since the first Avengers film released in 2012, creating millions of new Marvel fans. The Marvel heroes in the Avengers series are numerous and varied, but the “big four” are Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor.
So, whether you want to look like Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Thor, or even villains from the series such as Loki or even Thanos, there are a ton of costumes out there at a ton of different price points. You can get bodysuits of your favourite hero’s costume on the cheap, or go full Iron Man with an articulated suit that actually removes the mask automatically, just like in the movies!
1. Star Wars
Star Wars is undoubtedly the most popular sci-fi franchise of all time (sorry trekkies!) and with the resurgence of new Star Wars movies, everyone and their uncle Owen is itching to get into a Star Wars-themed getup.
The beauty of Star Wars is that there are so many characters and so many alien species that you’re sure to find something in the franchise that fits your personality and style!
Whether you’re sniping womp rats as Luke Skywalker in his white Tatooine getup or menacingly breathing down someone’s neck with a full-on Darth Vader costume, there are more than a hundred outfits from Star Wars that you can try.
For an easy, simple Jedi look, get a billowy white shirt, some loose pants, and find a scorched looking brown robe. Don’t forget your lightsaber!
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