A floating door frame that saved the heroine and doomed the hero of the movie Titanic has sold at auction for $718,750 or £567,561.
The prop was the top valued item in a sale of props owned by the Planet Hollywood chain.
The item, closely based on real furniture from the doomed liner, was the central item in the final parting of Rose (played by Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio).
How many people could this piece of furniture support? Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
Rose stays on the prop, made of reinforced balsa wood, while Jack slips into the sea.
Could he have climbed on too?
Fans of the film were so loud in their insistence that he could that director James Cameron ran experiments that he said proved that only one person could be supported by the board.
Perhaps the new, unnamed owners, of the furniture will add to the discussion, which continues to animate fans of the movie.
Titanic, released in 1997, cost over $200 million to film and made around $2.25 billion at the box office.
Its enormous success was another boost for the Titanic collectibles scene.
The 1912 sinking of RMS Titanic killed as many as 1,635 people. Relics from the disaster and the lives of those involved are highly valued for collectors. The search for its wreck ended in 1985. In 2023 the submersible Titan imploded on its way down to tour the scene, killing five people.
The most valuable item from the ship sold at auction was a violin that realised £1.1 million. A plan used in the enquiry into the disaster made £220,000.
Titanic the movie is now part of this scene. This prop was by far the most valuable item sold in the auction, easily surpassing the £277,000 paid for a bowling ball from Kingpin, and a Spider Man suit that made under £100,000.
