10 Most Expensive Movie Props Ever Sold at Auction
Movie props are supposed to be fake — cardboard swords, painted rubber, glue-gun gems. So it’s a little bizarre that some of them end up worth more than actual houses. Collectors, superfans, and the occasional billionaire have turned Hollywood’s leftover junk drawer into one of the strangest corners of the auction world.
We dug through verified auction house records to rank ten movie props by their confirmed or widely reported hammer prices. Costumes are included when they functioned as key on-screen objects rather than plain wardrobe, because apparently the line between “prop” and “outfit” gets blurry once millions of dollars are on the table.
#10. The One Ring from The Lord of the Rings
A gold band used in Peter Jackson’s trilogy doesn’t sound like it should compete with sports cars and diamond necklaces, but fantasy fandom runs deep. One of the rings crafted for the films sold at a Propstore auction in the early 2020s for a figure reported around $211,000.
What makes it strange is the simplicity of the object itself — a plain gold-toned ring with no visible effects work, no moving parts, nothing flashy. Its entire value comes from the mythology built around it on screen.
Interesting fact: multiple rings of varying sizes were made for different actors and close-up shots, since Frodo’s hand needed to look convincingly small next to Gandalf’s.
#9. The Rosebud Sled from Citizen Kane
Orson Welles’ 1941 classic hinges entirely on a childhood sled, and only a handful of the sleds used during filming are known to have survived. One of them sold at a Christie’s auction in the mid-1990s for roughly $233,500, a startling sum for a piece of painted wood.
The sled’s fame comes purely from its symbolic weight in the film rather than any craftsmanship, which is part of what makes its price so odd to outsiders.
Interesting fact: several sleds were built for the production because they kept getting damaged or burned during the shoot’s climactic scene.
#8. Audrey Hepburn's Dress from Breakfast at Tiffany's
The black Givenchy dress Hepburn wore as Holly Golightly is arguably the most photographed costume in film history, and that cultural weight showed at Christie’s in 2006 when it sold for around $800,000.
Technically a costume rather than a hand-held prop, it makes this list because it functions almost like a character in its own right, instantly recognizable even completely out of context.
Interesting fact: proceeds from the sale reportedly went to a charity supporting children in India, tying the auction to a cause beyond pure collecting.
#7. The Lotus Esprit Submarine Car from The Spy Who Loved Me
James Bond’s white Lotus Esprit famously transformed into a submarine on screen, and one of the vehicles built for that 1977 stunt sequence sold at an RM Auctions sale in 2013 for around $997,000.
It’s a strange piece because it barely resembles a functional car once you look closely — much of its interior was gutted to make the underwater transformation effect work on film.
Interesting fact: the winning bidder was widely reported to be entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has spoken about wanting to actually make the submarine car functional someday.
#6. The Cowardly Lion Costume from The Wizard of Oz
Bert Lahr’s shaggy, full-body lion suit from the 1939 classic turned up decades later after sitting largely forgotten, and its rediscovery caused a stir among collectors. It sold at Bonhams in 2014 for about $3.077 million.
The costume weighed heavily on Lahr during filming, reportedly made from real lion pelts and requiring heavy padding that made the actor sweat through takes under hot studio lights.
Interesting fact: the costume had been misidentified in storage for years before experts confirmed it was an authentic screen-used piece.
#5. The Maltese Falcon Statuette
Only a small number of lead statuettes were made for the 1941 noir classic, and one of the surviving originals sold at Bonhams in 2013 for around $4.085 million. It’s a heavy, unglamorous-looking bird that somehow became the most valuable object in the entire film.
The statuette’s mystique comes from decades of uncertainty over which prop was truly “the” hero object used in close-up shots versus background duplicates.
Interesting fact: the statuette reportedly weighs close to fifty pounds, since it was cast from solid lead rather than a lighter prop material.
#4. Marilyn Monroe's Dress from The Seven Year Itch
The white halter dress Monroe wore over a subway grate in the 1955 film became one of cinema’s most iconic images, and it sold in 2011 at a Profiles in History auction for about $4.6 million as part of the Debbie Reynolds costume collection.
Reynolds had spent decades personally preserving Hollywood wardrobe pieces that studios were ready to throw away, and this dress became the centerpiece of her eventual sale.
Interesting fact: the famous grate scene required multiple takes, and several duplicate dresses were reportedly made in case of damage.
#3. The Original 1966 Batmobile
Built by car customizer George Barris for the Batman television and film franchise, the original Batmobile sold at a Barrett-Jackson auction in 2013 for about $4.62 million, stunning even seasoned car collectors.
Unlike most props on this list, the Batmobile was a fully functional custom vehicle, built from a 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car and outfitted with rocket-style fins and gadget panels.
Interesting fact: Barris reportedly built the entire conversion in about three weeks to meet the production’s tight deadline.
#2. James Bond's Aston Martin DB5
The silver Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball, complete with gadget-inspired detailing, sold at RM Sotheby’s in 2019 for around $6.4 million, making it one of the most valuable film vehicles ever auctioned.
Several DB5s were built for filming and promotional appearances, but this particular car was documented as one of the original screen-used vehicles rather than a later replica.
Interesting fact: Aston Martin’s association with Bond became so valuable to the brand that the company has continued supplying cars for the franchise for decades since.
#1. Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz
No prop on this list comes close to the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in the 1939 classic. One surviving pair, stolen from a Minnesota museum in 2005 and recovered by the FBI over a decade later, sold at Heritage Auctions in 2024 for a reported $32.5 million, making it the most expensive piece of film memorabilia ever sold.
Multiple pairs of the sequined shoes were made for filming, and their scarcity combined with the theft-and-recovery drama only added to their legend.
Interesting fact: the theft baffled investigators for over a decade until a Minnesota man was finally charged in 2023, finally closing one of the strangest true-crime stories in Hollywood memorabilia history.
Somewhere between nostalgia and pure collector obsession, these props stopped being movie set dressing and became genuine treasure. Whether it’s a fake diamond, a rubber-soled shoe, or a gutted sports car, the price tags prove that fans will pay real fortunes to own a piece of make-believe.
