The big screen memorabilia that pulled in six and seven-figure sums when put on the market

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Forget box office receipts. You can often determine how much of a cultural impact a Hollywood movie has made by how much its most famous prop has sold for. From pianos and proton packs to swords and space shuttles, here’s a look at 20 of the most expensive movie mementos ever sold.

20. Jurassic Park’s velociraptor cage — $100,000

If you ever wished that Jurassic Park could be a real day out, then this is probably the next best thing. In 2014 the seven-foot-wide velociraptor cage that can be seen at the start of the Steven Spielberg classic went on eBay. And pretty soon, bids reached the $100,000 mark.

It’s not public knowledge who got their hands on such a mammoth prop. But they sure got value for money. Alongside the cage, the company that organized the auction, Theme Park Connection, also threw in a life-size velociraptor. This was apparently the same dinosaur replica that graced the 1993 blockbuster’s star-studded premiere.

19. Ghostbusters’ proton pack — $160,000

Any child of the 1980s who saw spooky comedy Ghostbusters inevitably then pretended to be part of Bill Murray and friend’s gang. And in 2012 one longtime fan got the chance to play out their fantasies more convincingly than others. But they had to fork out a small fortune to do so: $160,000 to be exact.

So what did this aspiring Ghostbuster receive for his successful bid at the auction held by firm Profiles in History? Well, it was only one of the proton packs sported by the film’s co-writer Harold Ramis’ character Egon Spangler in both the 1984 box office hit and its follow-up five years later. We’re not sure whether it contained a positron collider, though.

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18. King Kong model — $200,000

The gorilla in Peter Jackson’s 2005 take on King Kong may have been fully CGI, but filmmakers back in the 1930s didn’t have the luxury of such tools. Instead, animator Willis O’Brien had to create a 22-inch model from scratch for the ground-breaking monster movie. And more than 70 years on, it was still intact. Well, sort of.

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Yes, in 2009 the rabbit fur that made up King Kong’s coat had inevitably suffered the effects of decay since 1933. And yet the metal frame that O’Brien had constructed was still in good condition. As a result, the model fetched a far from shabby $200,000 when it was put up for auction.

17. 2001: A Space Odyssey’s space shuttle — $340,000

Stanley Kubrick reportedly demanded that all of 2001: A Space Odyssey’s smaller spaceships to be demolished to prevent them showing up in inferior movies. Yet at least one of the sci-fi classic’s models somehow escaped such a fate. Yes, in 2015 Kubrick fans were left stunned when the Aries 1B Trans-Lunar Spherical Space Shuttle showed up in an English town.

That’s right: an art teacher who lived in Kubrick’s Hertfordshire hometown of St Albans had stored the model at his studio for more than 40 years. After being put up for auction, the presumed-to-be-destroyed prop went for an astronomical $344,000. And after being hidden away for so long, it’s now on public display at Los Angeles’ Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

16. The Lord of the Rings’ sword — $437,000

The swords displayed in Peter Jackson’s epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy continued to increase in value after the series ended. Firstly, the Sting sword favored by Frodo fetched $161,000 when put up for auction in 2013. And then the following year Gandalf’s staff went for just over double that amount.

But the costliest sword from the money-spinning adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classics belonged to Argaron. The weapon used by Viggo Mortensen’s character in trilogy closer The Return of the King also went to auction in 2014. And one Middle-earth enthusiast paid $437,000 for the privilege of getting their hands on the blade dubbed “Andúril.”

15. Star Wars’ lightsaber — $450,000

Owning this particular prop is the stuff of most sci-fi fans’ dreams. After all, which Star Wars obsessive hasn’t produced their own whooshing sound effect while pretending to do battle using a makeshift lightsaber? In the end, it was a man who actually worked on the George Lucas phenomenon that managed to get his hands on its iconic weapon.

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That’s right: Star Wars producer Gary Kurtz kept two lightsabers made for the franchise in his own private collection for years before putting them up for sale. The first went for $240,000 in 2008, while the second sold for nearly double that amount nine years later. Believe it or not, the buyer of the latter was none other than the museum chain Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

14. Terminator 2: Judgment Day’s T-800 Metal Model — $488,750

This particular prop was responsible for landing its designer an Academy Award. Special effects legend Stan Winston bagged the Best Visual Effects Oscar in 1992 for his work on Terminator 2: Judgment Day. And his pièce de résistance was undoubtedly the full-scale android which helped transform Arnold Schwarzenegger into the lean, mean killing machine.

Where the T-800 model in the original was made from plastic, Winston and his team decided to go metal for the sequel in order to make it both more authentic looking and durable. The impressive cyborg skeleton was put up for auction 16 years after its release. And it fetched almost half a million dollars!

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13. Back to the Future’s DeLorean car — $541,000

As you would expect, automobiles are often the most expensive movie props. And when it’s a vehicle that appeared in one of the best-loved franchises of the 1980s, then you’re talking even bigger bucks. In 2011 Doc Brown’s iconic DeLorean DMC-12 was snapped up by a Back to the Future obsessive for a cool $541,000. Sadly, it didn’t include any time-traveling capabilities.

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But those fans without a spare half a million dollars lying around didn’t need to completely miss out on owning a piece of film history. Just six years later DeLorean revealed it would be resuming production to build 300 replicas of their one and only model. And Marty McFly wannabes could take the wheel of one for a slightly more affordable $100,000.

12. The Wizard of Oz’s ruby red slippers — $666,000

The devilish price tag would suggest these ruby red slippers appeared in a satanic horror movie. Instead, they were worn in one of the most enduring family-friendly adventures of all time. Yes, at the turn of the century, one individual forked out $666,000 for the footwear belonging to Judy Garland’s Dorothy in 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz.

Of course, this isn’t the only pair in existence. Garland went through three others while filming the L. Frank Baum adaptation. Unfortunately, in 2005 the pair housed at The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota were stolen. A decade later the museum decided to put up a $1 million reward which eventually led to the FBI retrieving them after an undercover operation in Minneapolis.

11. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s flying car — $805,000

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s famous flying car might not have been able to take to the skies in real life. But that didn’t stop a very famous face from splashing just over $800,000 on the vehicle in 2011. Yes, none other than The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson spent a small fortune on one of six cars that were produced especially for the 1968 kids classic.

Although Jackson can’t use the car as an alternative to the airplane, he can still use it as, well, an actual car. That’s right: his particular model was later fitted with both a fully functioning engine and proper U.K. registration. The Oscar-winning filmmaker has taken advantage of its roadworthiness to raise money for various charities.

10. Le Mans’ racing suit — $984,000

Steve McQueen is widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s coolest leading men. So it’s little surprise to learn that one of his most iconic outfits, the racing suit he sported in 1971’s Le Mans, fetched almost a million dollars 40 years after its release. Incredibly, it was originally given away for free!

Yes, the film about Le Mans’ yearly 24-hour sports car race fared poorly at the box office. And so U.K. newspaper The Observer undoubtedly thought nothing of offering it as a prize to a 12-year-old competition winner. But as the film’s status grew over the years, the outfit inevitably became more valuable. A grown-up Thomas Davies bagged $155,000 when he sold the suit in 2011. But when put up for auction less than four months on in Beverly Hills, its value had shot up to $984,000!

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9. Saturday Night Fever’s white suit — $1.2 million

Several things were instrumental to Saturday Night Fever’s phenomenal success when it was released in 1977. A star-making performance from John Travolta. The Bee Gees’ hit-packed disco soundtrack including the bona fide classic “Stayin’ Alive.” The array of easy to replicate but iconic dance moves. But the most stylish was undoubtedly Tony’s white suit.

Yes, it’s hard to imagine Travolta strutting along to the title track in anything other than his dazzling three-piece suit. And one fan of the classic disco movie was particularly enamored with the character’s choice of clubwear. That’s right: in 2017 the attention-grabbing outfit was sold for a groovy $1.2 million.

8. The Sound of Music’s Do-Re-Mi outfits — $1.5 million

The outfits the Von Trapp gang wear while belting out “Do-Re-Mi” may have been made for a pittance in the film. In fact, Julie Andrews’ Maria creates them herself using nothing more than some discarded curtains. But having featured in one of the most famous scenes from 1965’s The Sound of Music, they ended up selling for $1.5 million nearly half a century later.

The remarkable thing is, Maria’s costume-making skills were actually a case of art imitating life. Yes, those famous outfits worn during the montage of the Von Trapps’ adventures in Salzburg really were fashioned from old curtains by Dorothy Jeakins. The costume designer even won an Academy Award for her resourceful approach.

7. The Wizard of Oz’s lion costume — $3 million

The $666,000 that Dorothy’s red slippers once sold for was a pittance compared to the figure forked out for another piece of The Wizard of Oz memorabilia. In 2014 James Comisar spent an almighty $3 million on the Cowardly Lion’s outfit. It had originally been worn, of course, by actor Bert Lahr in the much-loved classic.

The costume, which was actually created using fur from very real lions, hadn’t previously been given much love. It was only put up for auction after being discovered in an abandoned building owned by MGM Studios. But now it takes pride of place at Comisar’s Museum of TV in Phoenix, Arizona.

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6. Casablanca’s piano — $3.4 million

It’s responsible for one of Hollywood’s most misquoted lines, “Play it again, Sam.” So it stands to reason that the piano from 1942 wartime romance Casablanca would fetch a significant sum at auction. In fact, the instrument which Sam uses to play “As Time Goes By” sold to the tune of $3.4 million.

Despite the hefty price tag, it wasn’t exactly the grandest of instruments. Taking pride of place at Rick’s Café Américain owned by Humphrey Bogart’s Rick, the small piano only has 58 keys and is decorated with Moroccan-themed designs. You may remember that the piano also stored Victor Laszlo’s hidden transit papers which fetched almost $120,000 alone at another auction.

5. The Maltese Falcon’s titular prop — $4.1 million

John Huston’s directorial debut saw Humphrey Bogart play a private detective tasked with tracking down the statuette that gave the film noir its title. And one particular fan of the 1941 classic appeared to be just as keen to get his hands on the Maltese Falcon as Sydney Greenstreet’s heavy, Kasper Gutman. In fact, Steve Wynne, famous for his hotel and casino complex in Las Vegas, splashed out $4.1 million in 2013 for the prop.

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But was this statuette really the one that appeared in The Maltese Falcon? There have been rumors that the cast used a much lighter plaster substitute during the shoot instead of the 45 pound real thing. Well, its authenticity appears to have been proven by the bent tail feather that viewers can see in the finale when it’s carried by Bogart’s Sam Spade.

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4. James Bond’s Aston Martin — $4.4 million

The Aston Martin has become as synonymous with James Bond as a — shaken not stirred — vodka martini. Little wonder, then, that the DB5 that first appeared in Goldfinger went for nearly $4.5 million in 2010. Dubbed the Road Car, the vehicle was first driven for real in the 1964 classic before being kitted out with all kinds of 007-friendly gadgets.

But Goldfinger wasn’t the only time that the car bought by Harry Yeaggy, a collector from Ohio, made an appearance in the James Bond franchise. The Aston Martin also showed up in Thunderball a year later. It was first bought by a radio executive, Jerry Lee. in the late 1960s but he opted to store the vehicle in his garage away from prying eyes.

3. My Fair Lady’s Ascot dress — $4.5 million

In 2006 Audrey Hepburn’s iconic black dress from Breakfast at Tiffany’s was bought for just over $800,000. An impressive figure for sure but one that was dwarfed by the amount paid for another of the actress’ outfits. During a 2011 auction of Debbie Reynolds’ collection, Hepburn’s Ascot dress from My Fair Lady was sold for an incredible $4.5 million.

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So what was so special about this black and white Edwardian lace outfit? Well, it was the dress that Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle sported during her rendition of “Ascot Gavotte.” And it undoubtedly helped Cecil Beaton pick up the Oscar for Best Costume Design, one of eight gongs the 1964 classic won on the night.

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2. The Seven Year Itch’s white dress — $4.6 million

Debbie Reynolds enjoyed quite the payday when she put up her vast collection of Hollywood dresses up for sale in 2011. Marilyn Monroe’s ivory white dress that famously flies up in
The Seven Year Itch went for even more than Audrey Hepburn’s My Fair Lady outfit: $100,000 more to be precise.

Yes, responsible for one of the defining images of cinema history, the cocktail dress fetched a whopping $4.6 million at auction. Its price tag still remains the most expensive for a Hollywood costume ever. And yet there’s one other piece of Tinseltown memorabilia that fetched an even higher price.

1. Forbidden Planet’s Robby the Robot — $5.3 million

You might expect the most expensive movie prop of all time to have appeared in a billion dollar-grossing blockbuster. Titanic perhaps? Or maybe one of the Marvel movies? Nope, in 2017 one — clearly — wealthy collector dished out $5.3 million for a prop which hailed from the 1956 cult classic Forbidden Planet!

So what kind of bang did this rich fanatic get for their many, many bucks? Well, they walked away with the seven-foot-tall Robby the Robot, the unforgettable android voiced by Marvin Miller in the critically-acclaimed sci-fi. And they also got the much-loved character’s jeep vehicle thrown in for good measure.