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The 5 Most Expensive Film Props Ever Sold (#1 Will Never Be Beaten)
People love to collect things and that is especially true when it comes to pop culture items. From action figures to trading cards to comic books and beyond, if you ask just about geek they’ll likely have some sort of cool thing they collect and are willing to spend decent money on in order to have a coveted item. And then there are those who collect even more specific pop culture items, like props from beloved or well-known movies. There’s just something about having an item that appeared on screen or part of production that appeals to some and while it’s not always an incredibly expensive type of collectible — you can find sales and auctions for small props or costumes for reasonable prices pretty regularly — there are some big items that go for huge sums and the more iconic the prop, the higher the price.
Here are the five most expensive film props ever sold. These aren’t your run of the mill props, like a chair from a specific scene or a painting on a wall. These are major components of iconic movies that have gone to auction and sold for staggering millions — and when it comes to the most expensive of film props ever sold, it’s set a record that may never be beaten.
5) Marilyn Monroe’s White “Subway” Dress from The Seven Year Itch
When people think of Marilyn Monroe, this iconic dress is almost always one of the first things they think of. Worn in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch, the white dress was created by costume designer William Travilla and was worn in what might just be one of the best-known scenes in movie history. In the scene, Monroe’s character (“The Girl”) walks out of a theater in New York and a subway train passes below them. She steps on the grate and says “Ooh, do you feel the breeze from the subway?” and the dress billows up to show off her legs.
Given the iconic nature of the dress and Monroe herself, the dress was a very in-demand piece of movie memorabilia when it went up for auction back in 2011. It was expected to sell for around $2 million but far exceeded that amount to sell for $4.6 million. It also wasn’t the Monroe dress to bring in a huge amount at that same auction; a red gown from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes sold for $1.47 million.
4) James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger
James Bond cars have a history of selling for some serious cash and for having a complex history so we need to make a bit of clarification here. The car that’s making this list is the one that was actually used for filming. You see, there were filming DB5s and publicity DB5s and one of the publicity versions of the car sold for $6.4 million in 2019. When it comes to the filming car (DB5/1486/R), that vehicle which was used for driving scenes in the film Goldfinger sold at auction in 2010 for $4.6 million
What’s really interesting about the James Bond cars, however, is less the sale price and more the story of one of the other DB5’s from the film, the DP/2161/1. That film was stolen from its purchaser back in 1997, prompting a decades long search for the vehicle which was later located in the Middle East.
3) Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet
Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet appeared in the 1956 film and later appeared in various other sci-fi films and television shows making him a truly iconic Hollywood robot, but he also has the distinction of being the highest selling technical film prop in history.
The original Robby the Robot suit has his own interesting history. It was put on display at the Movie World/Cars of the Stars Museum in California in 1971 but was frequently vandalized by visitors and required restoration. When the museum closed in 1980, the suit was sold to filmmaker and Forbidden Planet collector William Malone until it was sold most recently in November 2017 where it brought in $5.4 million.
2) “Rosebud” Sled from Citizen Kane
Citizen Kane is one of the most iconic movies in Hollywood history and the iconic pine-wood prop from the 1941 is easily one of the most expensive props to sell at auction. There were four sleds made for the film, with one being burned during filming, one given to a relative of the co-writer of the film, and one given away to a child who won a contest held by the film’s studio, RKO, in 1942. A third was rescued from the trash at RKO and sold to Steven Spielberg who later donated it to the Academy Museum.
And then there’s the one that director Joe Dante sold. Dante originally found the film on the Paramount lot while working on 1985’s Explorers. The lot was once the home of RKO Pictures and when the crew was cleaning out things, they found the sled and gave it to Dante. He sold it in 2025 where it brought in a staggering $14.75 million dollars. That’s a lot of money, but it’s not the highest price a movie prop has sold for — not even close.
1) Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz
At this point, Dorothy’s slippers from The Wizard of Oz have their own lore that is almost as epic and dramatic as the movie they came from since they were the subject of a theft only for the recovery of the stolen shoes to lead to the discovery that it was a mismatched set with the corresponding shoes being on display at the Smithsonian. It’s a wild, incredible saga that really could be its own crime thriller at this point.
However, in 2024, the recovered pair was sold at auction and maybe it was the iconic nature of The Wizard of Oz or maybe it was the notoriety of the shoes, but they ended up selling at auction for a jaw-dropping $28 million. The price makes the shoes the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction and for that price, we feel like it will be a very long time before any other movie prop sells for more.
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