‘Titanic’ Floating Wood Panel That Kept Rose Alive, Couldn’t Fit Two People, Sells For $718K At Auction

The 1997 hit film “Titanic” remains one of the highest-grossing films of all time and a pop culture phenomenon. Artifacts from the film sold at auction and could turn into collector items or investments as alternative assets.

What Happened: Several movie props from the blockbuster film “Titanic” were recently included in the Treasures From Planet Hollywood auction from Heritage Auction.

One of the highlights was the “Rose DeWitt Bukater Hero Floating Wood Panel.” The piece is the flotation prop used by actress Kate Winslet and actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the film. The piece sold for $718,750 as the top item in the auction.

“Based on the most famous complete piece of debris salvaged from the 1912 tragedy, this intricately carved prop bears a striking resemblance to the Louis XV-style panel housed in the Maritime Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia,” Heritage said in a listing.

The auction referred to the piece as the “original hero flotation prop” and said it is often mistaken for a door. Instead, this piece is part of a door frame and kept Winslet’s character alive in the movie.

The movie artifact is 8 feet long by 41 inches wide. The door panel includes a plaque that read, “Leonardo DiCaprio/Kate Winslet/ ‘Titanic/ Twentieth Century Fox / Paramount Pictures, 1997 / Floating panel that he uses to save her life in the sinking sequence of the film, in their roles as ‘Jack Dawson’ and ‘Rose DeWitt Bukater.'”

Over the years, many have argued that both Winslet’s Rose and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack character could have fit on the door frame. Movie director James Cameron tested the theory last year as the film celebrated its 25^th anniversary, telling fans both could have fit on the door frame, but it likely wouldn’t have stayed afloat.

Time will tell if the anonymous winner of the auction ends up trying to recreate the one-person versus two-person debate.

The movie artifact and several other Titanic pieces were consigned directly by Twentieth Century Fox, which is a unit of Walt Disney Co. DIS.

Other Titanic artifacts in the auction included a dress worn by Winslet, several outfits worn by DiCaprio in the film and the ship’s helm wheel, which sold for $200,000.

“Titanic” grossed $674.3 million domestically and $2.26 billion worldwide, ranking ninth and fourth all-time, respectively. The film was re-released in theaters several times, including a 2023 re-release for the 25^th anniversary.

Related Link: Netflix Causes Fan Outrage Over Timing Of ‘Titanic’ Film Being Added

Why It’s Important: The auction included around 1,600 items centered on many of the most well-known movies of all time.

Heritage’s auction brought in $15.68 million with the “Titanic” items representing $1.93 million of the total.

The total surpassed the company’s previous record for movie artifacts of $13.6 million from an October 2023 auction.

“The extraordinary success of this auction proves what I’ve known all along: The interest in and appetite for modern-movie props and costumes — all of which were once displayed in Planet Hollywood worldwide or part of their legendary archives — is profound, deep and insatiable,” Heritage Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said.

Outside of the “Titanic” artifacts, other key items that drew six figures were the whip from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” selling for $525,000; Bill Murray’s red-rose bowling ball from “Kingpin,” selling for $350,000; Shaquille O’Neal’s Los Angeles Lakers jersey from Kobe Bryant’s rookie debut, selling for $262,500 and the ax from “The Shining,” selling for $125,000.

A total of 16 items eclipsed six figures during the entertainment auction.

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Photos: “Titanic” courtesy Disney UK; Rose DeWitt Bukater Hero Floating Wood Panel, courtesy Heritage Auctions