A variety of recognizable movie props went to auction last week, but the biggest seller was the wood-paneled door from the blockbuster movie “Titanic” that kept Rose afloat after the ship sank. The prop sold for $718,750, according to auction house Heritage Auctions.
In introducing the item, the auctioneer referred to the point in the movie that the door was used as “The biggest scene, really, the climactic scene, if you will. There are several big scenes but this is it, this is the goodbye.” The bidding began at $60,000 and ended 5 minutes later at $575,000, plus fees.
The door is 8 feet long, 41 inches wide and made from balsa wood. There’s a plaque on the back that says “Leonardo DiCaprio / Kate Winslet / ‘Titanic’ / Twentieth Century Fox / Paramount Pictures, 1997 / Floating panel that he uses to save her life in the sinking sequence of the film, in their roles as ‘Jack Dawson’ and “Rose DeWitt Bukater.’ Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox.”
Additional “Titanic” props also sold, including the ship’s helm wheel ($200,000), the brass engine order telegraph ($81,520) and one of Rose’s chiffon dresses ($118,750).
Overall, the “Treasures from Planet Hollywood” auction, which spanned five days, raked in more than $15.6 million from more than 5,500 bidders across the globe, who engaged in frequent bidding wars, said the auction house. “There has been a generational shift to where these massive franchises and blockbusters of the 1980s and 1990s—the “Home Alones,” the “Indiana Jones” films, the “Die Hards” and, of course, “Titanic”—are now collectors’ favorites,” said Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena. “Collectors are finally rewarding these artifacts as what they are: cultural artifacts akin to the fine art of old.”
