(Credits: Far Out / Philippe Collard)
Whilst there have been many forgettable movie posters over the years, when the promotional artwork is done well and ticks all the necessary boxes, they can be vital in helping the film pierce popular culture. Many notable examples have emerged over the years, whether it be classic Alfred Hitchco*ck pictures from Hollywood’s Golden Age or more contemporary cinematic achievements.
Given that the humble movie poster can be such a priceless artefact, there have been numerous examples of the originals being sold for eye-watering amounts of money. Understandably, the top ten for the most expensive posters ever sold exclusively houses titles from Hollywood’s Golden Age and before, a time when the form was a more experimental environment that filmmakers used to push against the era’s rigid social mores.
The tenth most expensive movie poster of all time is a one-sheet for 1931’sFrankenstein, the Boris Karloff classic. It was sold for a then-world record of $198,000 in 1993. One of early cinema’s highlights, it makes sense that this one should be so sought-after; it’s a piece of history.
Higher up the list, at sixth, is another one-sheet poster for the haunting masterpieceDraculafrom 1931. This title certified Bela Lugosi as an icon of the silver screen and would go on to play avital role in the formation of the goth subcultureyears later. It was sold by famed horror fan Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage in 2009 for $310,700 when he flogged his collection.
Two places ahead of that is the poster for another horror classic, the Boris Karloff highlightThe Black Cat. Made in 1934, it saw the Karloff star opposite none other than Bela Lugosi. A pre-code hit, the project was Universal Pictures’ greatest box office success of the year and the first of eight films to featureKarloff and Lugosi together. This poster is in ‘Style B’ and sold for $334,600 in 2009. The ‘Style D’ one-sheet also featured seventh on the top ten and was sold for $286,800 in 2007.
Heavily indicating Boris Karloff’s impact on popular culture, the poster sitting second on the list is for 1932’sThe Mummy. It is the most expensive US movie poster of all time and was traded for $435,500 in 1997. At the time, it was also the highest price anyone had ever paid for a film poster,a record that was broken eight years later.
According toGuinness World Records, the most expensive movie poster ever sold is the “international” version of Fritz Lang’s 1927 expressionist silent movieMetropolis, made during Germany’s Weimar Period. This original edition was sold by the Reel Poster Gallery in London to a collector in the US for $690,000 (£393,300) in November 2005. An art-deco piece, it was created by Heinz Schulz-Neudamm and is one of only four copies known to exist. The others are housed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Berlin’s Film Museum and in a private collection. The rumoured buyer was actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Strangely, this is not the only Schulz-NeudammMetropolisposter on the list. A three-sheet for the movie was sold for $357,750 in 2000.
