One Titanic fan will surely “never let go” of this iconic prop from the film.
According to People, Heritage Auctions recently concluded its Treasures From Planet Hollywood auction and announced on Monday that it amassed a total of $15.68 million in total.
Among the notable movie props that were sold in the auction included Harrison Ford’s bullwhip from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and the axe wielded by Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
However, the real show stopper of the sale was the piece of balsa wood, a.k.a the “floating door,” from one of the final scenes of Titanic that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet’s characters, Jack and Rose respectively, hold onto towards the end of the hit 1997 film.
The prop door sold for a whopping $718,750 at the auction and became the event’s highest-selling item, People reports.
Other props from the James Cameron film all sold for hefty prices. A prototype of the “floating door” and the wheel of the boat went for $125,000 and $200,000, respectively. A dress worn by Winslet in the film’s final act sold for $118,750 and a telegraph prop went for $81,250.
According to Variety, Cameron confirmed in 2022 that there was a possibility that Jack could have survived alongside Rose on the floating door based on scientific studies he conducted for a National Geographic special to settle the debate once and for all.
With the help of stunt doubles, the first test disproved the theory that there was enough room on the raft for both of them to survive, as it would have tipped and submerged them in dangerously freezing water.
Their survival chances somewhat increased during a second test where the doubles were positioned to keep their vital organs out of the water. However, Jack and Rose might have been too exhausted to maintain those positions until they could’ve been rescued.
A third and final test showed that Jack could have survived if Rose had given him his life vest.
