Thin films of Ba-hexaferrite of the magnetoplumbite structure have been prepared on sapphire substrates of orientation (1120BAR), (1102BAR), and (0001BAR). Torque magnetometry indicates easy axes parallel, tilted off parallel, and perpendicular to the substrate for the A-, R-, and C-plane substrates. X-ray diffraction shows that this is due to epitaxy between the Ba-ferrite and sapphire. For each substrate orientation, the c axes of the Ba-hexaferrite and sapphire are parallel and the directions of close packing in the close-packed oxygen planes perpendicular to the c axes are parallel. Torque measurements are consistent with the combined effects of crystal and shape anisotropy. These results suggest that Ba-hexaferrite thin films with an easy axis at any angle with respect to the substrate can be prepared by appropriate choice of the sapphire substrate orientation, which may be of interest for microwave and other applications.