A Piece of Hollywood! These Are the Most Expensive Movie Props Ever Sold
House of the Dragon is one of the most anticipated upcoming TV shows along with the likes of Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. However, there has been speculation as to whether this prequel will match up to its predecessor, Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones was a notoriously expensive TV show that broke records, costing HBO around £100 million per season. It’s perhaps no surprise that props from the set have gone on to be sold for extortionate amounts, whilst official merchandise, such as a themed Faberge ‘dragon egg’, sold for an impressive $2.2 million.
There’s a long line of historic Hollywood blockbusters that have made a killing in merchandise and prop sales. PlayOJO decided to gather information on the most expensive props ever sold. From Batman’s Batmobile to Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Seven-Year Itch dress, read on to find out which movie prop takes the cake.
Check out the findings below:
10 Most Expensive Movie Props and Merchandise Ever Sold
| # | Movie Prop | Year | Film / Series Name | Sold in | Value |
| 1 | Robby the Robot | 1956 | Forbidden Planet | 2017 | $5,375,000 |
| 2 | Aston Martin DB5 | 1964 | Goldfinger (007) | 2010 | $4,600,000 |
| 3 | Marilyn Monroe’s white dress | 1955 | The Seven Year Itch | 2011 | $4,600,000 |
| 4 | Lincoln Futura Batmobile | 1966 | Batman* | 2013 | $4,200,000 |
| 5 | The Maltese Falcon | 1941 | The Maltese Falcon | 2013 | $4,100,000 |
| 6 | Audrey Hepburn’s ‘Ascot’ dress | 1964 | My Fair Lady | 2011 | $3,700,000 |
| 7 | Sam’s piano | 1942 | Casablanca | 2014 | $3,400,000 |
| 8 | Lion costume | 1939 | The Wizard of Oz | 2014 | $3,070,000 |
| 9 | R2D2 model | 1977 | Star Wars IV | 2017 | $2,760,000 |
| 10 | Themed Fabergé egg | 2011 | Game of Thrones* | 2021 | $2,200,000 |
*note – Batman and Game of Thrones are series and not films
The Rise of Sci-fi in Hollywood
In 2017, Forbidden Planet’s Robby the Robot was sold as the most expensive movie prop for the price of a whopping $5 million. Considering that we’re now in the era of digitalisation and robots have progressed from science fiction to reality it’s not all that surprising that this iconic prop topped the list.
Although it was sold in the same year, the Star Wars IV’s R2D2 model didn’t make it as high on the list. However, the beloved franchise’s movie prop is still very much sought after, selling for over $2 million.
Famous Automobiles from the Big Screen
The movie Goldfinger (007) had one of the most expensive movie props on the list and managed to grab second place. Part of the legendary James Bond series, the Aston Martin DB5 is one of the most famous movie cars of all time. Despite it being sold for less than $100,000 in the early 2000s, it is now worth $4.6 million.
Also ranked in the top five, Lincoln Futura Batmobile was sold for a hefty price of $4.2 million in 2013.
Most Iconic Movie Dresses
In third place was Marilyn Monroe’s iconic ‘subway dress’, which is considered to be one of the most valuable items in history. It was sold at a huge price of $4.6 million.
Audrey Hepburn’s dress also made it on the list. The magnificent ‘Ascot’ dress featured in My Fair Lady was sold in 2011 for $3.7 million.
Clearly, the older the prop, the higher the value for collectors. As the table above shows, 90% of the most expensive movie props ever sold were created in the 1900s.
