The “door” that saved Kate Winset’s Rose — and doomed Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack — just sold at auction.
The fateful chunk of balsa wood from 1997’s Titanic fetched a whopping $718,750 during Heritage Auctions’ Treasures from Planet Hollywood event and was the piece of memorabilia that brought in the highest amount — beating iconic props like Indiana Jones’ bullwhip from Temple of Doom and Jack Nicholson’s ax from The Shining. While commonly referred to as a door, the auction notes the ornate structure was “in reality part of the door frame just above the [ship’s] first-class lounge entrance.”
In addition, Winslet’s chiffon dress that she wore during the film’s final act sold for $125,000.
Fans have famously debated whether both Jack and Rose could have fit on the panel, which would have in theory saved Jack from freezing to death in the final moments of the Oscar-winning film. Last year around the film’s 25th anniversary, director James Cameron tested whether both could have fit with a team of scientists and stunt people. The conclusion: “Jack might’ve lived, but there’s a lot of variables … [and] I think his thought process was, I’m not going to do one thing that jeopardizes her. And that’s 100 percent in character.”
Other props that sold at the auction:
— Harrison Ford’s whip from Temple of Doom set a record as the highest-valued prop from the franchise ($525,000). Also, a set of three Sankara stones from the film ($100,000) sold, as well as the Holy Grail “cup of a carpenter” from The Last Crusade ($87,500).
— Bill Murray’s red-rose bowling ball from Kingpin ($350,000).
— Nicholson’s ax from The Shining ($125,000).
— Tobey Maguire’s black symbiote suit from Spider-Man 3 ($125,000).
— The sneaky shaving cream can Wayne Knight uses to smuggle dinosaur embryos in Jurassic Park ($250,000).