The piece of wood that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet cling to in the final scene of James Cameron’s 1997 movie ‘Titanic’ has been sold at auction for more than Rs 5 crore ($718,750). Heritage Auctions revealed that their recent Treasures From Planet Hollywood auction amassed a total of Rs 1,56,80,000 ($15.68 million), as reported by people.com.
Movie props that were sold at the auction included Harrison Ford’s bullwhip from 1984’s ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’, the axe Jack Nicholson wielded in 1980’s ‘The Shining’ and, the piece of balsa wood.
While the prop item is referred to as the “floating door” by fans of the movie, the item is actually “part of the door frame just above the (ship’s) first-class lounge entrance,” as per the auction.
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The iconic prop sold for Rs 5 crore $718,750 at the auction and turned out to be the event’s highest-selling item, among 16 total props that sold for more than Rs 83,36,960 ($100,000).
Other than the wooden door, various props from Cameron’s film were also up for auction. A prototype of the door fetched Rs 1,04,21,200 ($125,000), while the boat wheel used in the movie was sold for Rs 1,66,74,030 ($200,000).
The dress Winslet wore in the film’s final scene as her character Rose and DiCaprio’s character Jack descend into the water, sold for Rs 99,00,205 ($118,750), while a telegraph prop used in the film sold for Rs 67,73,824 ($81,250) per a release.
Information included within Heritage Auctions’ website reads that the slab of wood is “based on the most famous complete piece of debris salvaged from” the real-life April 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic.
The wooden prop used in the film has long been the subject of fan debate over whether DiCaprio and Winslet’s characters could have both stayed afloat on top of the slab of wood.
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