The Ultimate Guide To Formatting Movie Titles: Are Names Of Movies Italicized In 2024?

The simple, direct answer to whether names of movies are italicized is: Yes, in most academic and publishing contexts, they are. As of December 20, 2025, the leading style guides like the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) all mandate the use of *italics* for a movie title because a film is considered a complete, self-contained, and major work. However, the world of formatting is rarely simple, and one major style guide—the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook—stands as a significant exception, requiring an entirely different approach. Your choice of formatting—whether to use *italics* or “quotation marks”—depends entirely on the specific style guide you are following for your assignment, publication, or document. This guide breaks down the current, authoritative rules for each major style, ensuring you maintain impeccable topical authority and correctness in your writing, whether you’re citing a blockbuster like *Dune: Part Two* or a classic like *Casablanca*.

The Definitive Rules: MLA, APA, and Chicago Style (The Italicize Camp)

The vast majority of academic, literary, and general publishing styles adhere to a fundamental principle: the distinction between a "long work" (or "freestanding work") and a "short work" (or "part of a larger work").

Modern Language Association (MLA) Style

The MLA style, widely used in the humanities, is the most straightforward: always italicize the title of a movie. * The Rule: A film is a complete, self-contained work, similar to a novel, a full-length play, or a journal. * Formatting: Use *italics* for the full movie title. * Example: The cinematography in *Oppenheimer* was praised by critics. * Key Entity: This rule also applies to entire television series (e.g., *Game of Thrones*) and albums (e.g., *Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band*). * The Exception: A specific episode of a series, being a *part* of the larger work, would be enclosed in “quotation marks” (e.g., "The Battle of the Bastards" episode of *Game of Thrones*).

American Psychological Association (APA) Style

APA style, primarily used in the social sciences, also requires movie titles to be italicized. The main difference lies in capitalization and the context of a reference list entry. * The Rule: The title of a movie is italicized in the text. In the reference list, the title is italicized and presented in sentence case, meaning only the first word and the first word after a colon are capitalized. * Formatting (In-Text): Use *italics* and title case (capitalizing all principal words) when mentioning the movie within the body of your paper, for example, *The Social Network*. * Formatting (Reference List): The title is italicized and followed by the label “[Film]” in brackets, for example: *The social network* [Film]. * Key Entity: The APA style prioritizes clarity for citation, which is why the film label is included in the reference entry.

The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS)

CMOS, often used in history, art, and literature, is the foundation for the "long work" principle. Movie titles are italicized. * The Rule: CMOS explicitly states that titles of major or freestanding works, which include movies, books, journals, and paintings, should be set off with *italics*. * Formatting: Use *italics* for the movie title. * Example: Quentin Tarantino’s *Pulp Fiction* is a masterpiece of non-linear storytelling. * Key Entity: This rule is consistent across both the Notes-Bibliography system (Turabian style) and the Author-Date system.

The Major Exception: Associated Press (AP) Style (The Quotation Mark Camp)

The Associated Press (AP) Stylebook is the standard for journalism, newspapers, and general media publications. In this context, the rule is flipped: movie titles are placed in quotation marks and are NEVER italicized. * The Rule: AP style uses “quotation marks” for the titles of most creative works, including books, movies, songs, television shows, and video games. * Formatting: Enclose the movie title in quotation marks. * Example: The critic gave "Barbie" a glowing review. * Rationale: AP style maintains a consistent, minimalist approach to formatting, avoiding the use of *italics* for composition titles to ensure a clean, uniform look across newsprint and digital platforms. This is a crucial distinction for anyone writing for a news publication or digital media outlet. * Key Entity: Under AP style, the names of magazines and newspapers (e.g., *The New York Times*, *Time Magazine*) are not italicized or placed in quotation marks; they are simply capitalized.

Why the Confusion? The Historical Context of Underlining

The question of whether to *italicize* or use "quotation marks" is further complicated by a historical artifact: underlining. Before word processors and digital typesetting became universal, writers were often instructed to *underline* a title when typing or writing by hand. * The Historical Connection: Underlining was the manual equivalent of italics. If you were typing an essay on a typewriter, you couldn't easily create italics, so you underlined the title instead. * The Current Standard: Today, underlining is considered obsolete for titles. If you see an older document with a movie title that is underlined (e.g., The Godfather), it should be interpreted as a title that *should* be italicized in modern usage (*The Godfather*). The concept of underlining is now primarily reserved for hyperlinks on the internet, which is why style guides strongly discourage its use for emphasis or titles.

A Quick Reference List for Formatting Movie Titles

To solidify your topical authority and ensure you use the correct formatting every time, here is a quick reference table covering the most common scenarios and entities: | Type of Work | MLA, APA, Chicago (Academic/Literary) | AP Style (Journalism/News) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Movie Title | *Italicize* (e.g., *Parasite*) | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "Parasite") | | Book Title | *Italicize* (e.g., *Moby Dick*) | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "Moby Dick") | | Entire TV Series | *Italicize* (e.g., *Succession*) | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "Succession") | | Single Episode/Chapter | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "The Long Night") | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "The Long Night") | | Short Story/Poem | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "The Raven") | “Quotation Marks” (e.g., "The Raven") | | Magazine/Newspaper | *Italicize* (e.g., *The Atlantic*) | Capitalize, No Quotes/Italics (e.g., The Atlantic) |

Formatting Related Entities and Works

Understanding the core rule for movie titles opens the door to correctly formatting other related media. This is where Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords and topical authority come into play, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of composition titles. * Documentary Films: A documentary, such as *My Octopus Teacher*, is still a feature-length film and follows the exact same rules as a fictional movie. Italicize in MLA/APA/Chicago; use quotation marks in AP. * Franchise Names: The name of a movie franchise (e.g., the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Star Wars saga) is often treated as a proper noun and is generally *not* italicized or put in quotation marks. However, the *individual film* within the franchise (e.g., *Avengers: Endgame*) is formatted according to the style guide. * Video Games: Most style guides, including APA and Chicago, now treat video game titles (e.g., *Elden Ring*) as major works and italicize them. AP style, however, places them in quotation marks. * Short Films: The length of the work is the deciding factor. If a work is considered a short film, most academic styles would treat it like a short story and enclose it in “quotation marks,” but if it was released as a standalone feature, the *italicization* rule for movies typically applies. Always check your specific style guide's most recent edition for the final word. In conclusion, while the answer to "are names of movies italicized" is a resounding yes for academic writing (MLA, APA, Chicago), the modern writer must always ask: *Who is my audience?* If you are writing for a professor or a scholarly journal, use *italics*. If you are writing for a news website or a general audience publication, use “quotation marks.” The key to professional writing in 2025 is not knowing one rule, but knowing which rule to apply for which situation.

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