Guide

How to read Roman numeral years in film and TV credits

By Mark · Updated 26 October 2026

At the end of many films and TV programmes, the copyright line gives the year in Roman numerals, often just for a second or two. With a three-step method you can read it before it scrolls away.

Why credits use Roman numerals

It's mostly tradition. Roman numerals have been used in film titles and credits since the early days of cinema, and broadcasters such as the BBC used them for decades. A popular explanation is that they made it harder to tell at a glance how old a film or repeat was. That's never been proven, but it's easy to believe once you've tried to read MCMLXXXVIII in two seconds.

The three-step method

Read the numeral in chunks, from left to right, instead of letter by letter.

1. The century. MCM means 1900. MM means 2000. Almost every film you'll see starts with one of these. (Older ones start MDCCC, 1800.)
2. The decade. Next come the tens: X, XX, XXX, XL, L, LX, LXX, LXXX or XC.
3. The year. Last are the ones: I to IX.

So MCM · LXXX · V is 1900 + 80 + 5 = 1985, and MM · X · II is 2000 + 10 + 2 = 2012.

The decades to memorise

Learn these starts and you can read most years almost instantly:

Two traps: MCMXL is the 1940s (XL is 40), but MCMLX is the 1960s (LX is 60). The order of X and L matters. And in the 1990s, read MCMXCIX as MCM + XC + IX: 1900 + 90 + 9 = 1999.

Practise

Try these, then check your answers. Each links to that year's page.

Spotted one you can't work out? Type it into the converter, which reads numerals as well as writing them.