We’d all get starstruck at the thought of owning a piece of memorabilia from our favourite movie. But paying millions for the privilege? That’s reserved for a few ultra-keen movie buffs or stars with cash to splash. Click or scroll through to find out the jaw-dropping sums people will pay for famous movie costumes and props, from that Marilyn Monroe white dress to the original Darth Vader mask. All dollar values in US dollars.

Considered by many as one of the best sci-fi films of all time, Ridley Scott's cult classic Blade Runner follows former police officer Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) as he pursues and terminates fugitive replicants who have stolen a space ship and returned to Earth to find their creator. Even 36 years on, the cult classic is still renowned for its futuristic sets and props. 

The blaster gun used by Ford’s character Deckard to eliminate the humanoid replicants is one of Hollywood's most sought-after pieces of movie memorabilia. The original prop was constructed from a combination of parts from a Styr Mannlicher .222 Model SL and a Charter Arms Bulldog revolver. It sold for $270,000 (£203k) at an auction event in 2012.

The 1997 film version of the 1912 sinking of the Titanic continues to bring viewers to tears to this day. Props emblematic of Jack and Rose’s tragic love story are eagerly sought out by fans seeking to own a piece of the story, and have gone for hundreds of thousands at auction.

The iconic red dress worn by Rose when she goes to throw herself overboard went up for auction in 2012. The so-called “jump dress” fetched an impressive $330,000 (£248k) because of its intricate detail and its iconic nature. A pair of faux diamond and emerald earrings donned by actress Kate Winslet for the same scene was also sold, with a keen fan snapping up the jewellery for $20,000 (£15k).

Props from George Lucas's franchise are always popular with collectors. The first in this round-up is a miniature filming version of the agile TIE Starfighter ship, the unforgettable symbol of the Imperial fleet used in Episode IV: A New Hope's fast-paced dogfights. Its sale for $402,500 (£302k) made it the most expensive Star Wars memorabilia until 2011, when a camera lens used by George Lucas during filming sold for $625,000 (£469k).

Another iconic Star Wars lot is the lightsaber used by Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker and Alec Guinness' Obi-Wan Kenobi in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). The lightsaber was made from the tube of an old Graflex camera handheld flash. During filming, a wooden pole was placed where the blade was meant to be. The pole was doused in a special projection paint so that the special effects team could add the glow (more recent films have substituted CGI). The makeshift prop still sold for $450,000 (£338k). More recently, in December 2018, there was controversy over another Luke Skywalker lightsaber, which was pulled from auction over questions about its authenticity.

James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day is considered one of the best sequels ever made. The computer-generated imagery, especially that of Robert Patrick's liquid-metal T-1000 enemy cyborg, laid the groundwork for much of the movie magic we’ve come to take for granted in modern blockbusters. However, it is one of the film's animatronic props that has generated the most cash at auction...

This full-scale T-800 endoskeleton, used in the opening scene of the film trampling over a wasteland littered with human skulls and debris, sold for $488,750 at a California auction in 2007, which is the equivalent of $611,000 (£460k) today. The model has the only real metal feet made for any of the films and red eyes that light up.

The first in the Indiana Jones series of films, Raiders of the Lost Ark grossed almost $390 million at the box office in the early 1980s, which is the equivalent of $1.1 billion (£826m) in today’s money. With fans worldwide, it’s unsurprising that props from the franchise can fetch a hefty sum, such as this authentic Jones whip, which went for £27,600 in 1999 – the equivalent of £48,000 ($64k) in today’s money.

Most impressive, however, is the famous fedora hat worn by leading actor Harrison Ford, which was sold through Prop Store in London for £394,000 ($524k) in 2018. The famous hat features Ford’s signature on its inner band, and its design was a collaborative effort from Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas.

Six DeLorean DMC-12 cars – and one fibreglass replica – were bought for the filming of the Back to the Future trilogy. The original 'A' DeLorean time machine car from the movies was carefully restored and is now on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in LA, while a second DeLorean is displayed at Universal Studios Orlando. 

In 2011, the third known DeLorean, having been through extensive refurbishment, came up for auction. It sold for $541,000, which is the equivalent of $623,000 (£468k) in today's money, with some of the proceeds going to the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. In 2017, DeLorean, now based in Texas after relocating from Northern Ireland, announced plans to manufacture 300 new models, costing around $100,000 (£75k) each. After a few hurdles in production and regulations, the DeLorean models were finally given approval in December last year, and the new DeLorean DMC-12 is expected to be ready by autumn 2021.

It's one of the most famous opening scenes in Hollywood history: Holly Golightly – played by Audrey Hepburn in her most iconic role – emerging from a bright yellow taxi onto a deserted 5th Avenue in New York. She nibbles a pastry while looking in Tiffany's shop window, wearing "the most famous little black dress of all time". The black dress, designed by French designer Hubert de Givenchy, was sold at an auction in London for $590,420 in 2006 by author Dominique Lapierre, which is the equivalent of $759,000 (£570k) in today's money.

Yet it’s not just famous props that have attracted huge sums at auction. In September 2017, it was reported that Tiffany & Co. had purchased the original script from the 1961 movie for an eye-watering $846,619 (£636k). The sale of Audrey Hepburn’s copy of the script was included in a sale organised by her sons, including more than 250 items from her life and career, which accrued a massive $6.2 million (£4.7m) in total.

The eponymous car driven and flown by Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke) in the musical adventure was designed by Ken Adams and was manufactured by Alan Mann Racing in 1967. A total of six Chitty Chitty Bang Bang cars were produced for filming, including an engine-less version for the trailers, a car for the flying scenes, a car for the transformations and a smaller version for driving scenes.

However, only one was a fully functioning road-ready car with genuine UK registration. This was sold for $805,000 (£604k) to Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson in 2011, coming under its $1 million (£791k) suggested sale value. He now uses it as a fundraising vehicle.

Another hugely successful film in the Star Wars saga, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back was the second to feature one of Hollywood’s most menacing villains, Darth Vader. Millions of dollars’ worth of memorabilia linked to the character has sold in the past 40 years, but costumes from the original films have deep-pocketed fans splashing the most cash.

Star Wars lovers swarmed to a Los Angeles auction in September last year when the Empire Strikes Back Darth Vader fibreglass mask went up for sale through Profiles in History. The mask had an estimated value of half a million dollars, but experts were stunned when the helmet sold for nearly twice that at $900,000 (£676k). An anonymous buyer is now in possession of the iconic piece. 

The 'Michael Delaney' Swiss Heuer wristwatch from fast-paced drama Le Mans sold for $799,500 (£600k) in 2012. The iconic 'Monaco' is still produced today and is one of Tag Heuer's most popular sport timepieces. Reports suggest that the auctioned watch was one of at least two Monaco watches worn by Steve McQueen during shooting of the film, but this lot was the more 'mint' version, preserved for photographic purposes, explaining why it is in such excellent condition.

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When you think of Steve McQueen, perhaps the most iconic images that pop into your mind are from The Great Escape (1963) or Bullitt (1968). However, the most expensive prop linked to the 'King of Cool' is the driving suit he wore as Michael Delaney in Le Mans. One of the three surviving suits used sold in 2011 for $984,000, which is the equivalent of $1.1 million (£826k) in today's money. Amazingly it had been owned by Timothy Davies from Wolverhampton, England for 40 years after he had won it in a newspaper competition.

The Sound of Music came out in 1965, and went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, surpassing Gone with the Wind. It held the title for five years. The outfits Maria – played by Julie Andrews – makes from old curtains for the seven Von Trapp children are recognised all over the world, as well as the Do-Re-Mi song they sing during a montage of day trips in Salzburg while wearing them. 

The costume designer, Dorothy Jeakins, received an Oscar nomination for her work on the now-classic film. Although the Do-Re-Mi outfits were indeed made from real curtain material, they sold for $1.3 million (£976k) in 2013. The hills were alive with the sound of money that day.

It’s believed that actress Judy Garland had 10 pinafore dresses for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and when one of two that were actually worn during filming went up for sale in 2015 it certainly caught bidders’ attention. The blue gingham dress fetched well over its estimate when it sold for $1.56 million (£1.17m), and it even came with sweat stain marks around the neck.

A serious money-maker from the Wizard of Oz were the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland, of which only five pairs are known to survive. The last pair to sell at auction in 2012 went for $2 million (£1.5m), bought by Leonardo DiCaprio and Steven Spielberg to donate to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Intriguingly, another pair, which had been stolen during a break-in to the Judy Garland Museum in 2005, was discovered by police in September 2018.

Another pricey piece from the film was the cowardly lion costume worn by Bert Lahr, which was created from real lion skin and fur and weighed in at almost 60lb, which made it incredibly hot to wear under the intense studio lights. After the film was done and dusted, the costume was collected by a member of the film crew, who believed it would make a great Halloween costume. But it sat in a bag in his house for years and time took its toll. After its rediscovery, the costume had to be restored by 21 artisans over a period of two years before it went to auction for $3,077,000 (£2.3m) in 2014 at Bonhams. 

One of the most famous instruments in the world, the piano that Ingrid Bergman stood next to when she delivered one of Hollywood’s unforgettable lines – “Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By" – is one of the most coveted movie props in the world. The short little upright from Rick’s Café Américain in the movie Casablanca was hardly a grand, but it certainly demanded a grand price at auction...

Sam’s Piano was sold for $3.4 million (£2.6m) during a 2014 auction in New York. The lot description revealed that this particular piano had never been sold at auction, but the other one used in the film, in the Paris flashback scene, was auctioned for $602,500 (£452k) in 2012. Both instruments have only 58 keys, 30 fewer than on conventional modern pianos, and the strings and sounding boards are shorter as well.

The Ascot dress and hat worn by Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964) was sold at auction in 2011 for a whopping $3.7 million, which is $4.3 million (£3.2m) in today's money. The Edwardian-style white and black lace dress with black bow detail was designed by the legendary Cecil Beaton, who served as both costume designer and art director on the film, roles that subsequently won him Academy Awards in both categories.

The costume was worn during the musical number Ascot Gavotte, which features Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Hepburn) out in high society for the first time. The dress (and hat) sold as part of a collection from actress Debbie Reynolds, who collected over 3,500 costumes from films throughout Hollywood history in the hope of one day creating a museum. Surprisingly, the Ascot outift isn't the most expensive movie costume, or even dress, ever sold…

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The Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the more elaborate cars conceived in the James Bond franchise. The submarine car was designed by Perry Oceanographic and was fully capable of operating underwater. However, actor Roger Moore was not the one who drove it in the sea – it was operated by an ex-Navy Seal. It sold for $997,000 (£749k) in 2013, with the buyer none other than billionaire Elon Musk. 

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The super-stylish Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery as James Bond sold at auction for $4.1 million in 2010, which is the equivalent of $4.9 million (£3.7m) if you factor in inflation. The car was one of two Aston Martins that EON Productions was given for use in the film Goldfinger. One was outfitted with add-ons like rotating number plates and guns that appeared through the tail lights, and dubbed the 'Effects Car', while the other 'Road car' was for regular driving. However, the latter was then outfitted with all the special spy gear, and went on to appear in Thunderball.

Starring Humphrey Bogart as detective Sam Spade, The Maltese Falcon is one of the true classics of the film noir genre. The lead statuette featured in the movie became one of the most expensive pieces of movie memorabilia ever when it sold for $4.1 million (£3.1m) to Las Vegas hotel and casino billionaire Steve Wynne at auction in 2013.

Some people have questioned whether the statuette is the real prop used in the film, as the actors apparently used plaster stand-ins as opposed to the 45lb lead model. However, the prop in question was confirmed as having appeared in the film thanks to its bent tail feather, which can be seen at the end when Spade carries it out of his apartment. The slight damage occurred during filming when actress Lee Patrick dropped it while handing it to Bogart.

Featuring stunning visual effects and electronic sounds that were groundbreaking for its day, Forbidden Planet has become a sci-fi cult classic. The film follows the exploits of the C-57D, an earth ship sent to Altair 4 to find out what happened to a colony mission sent there 20 years earlier. It was the first movie to be set entirely on another planet.

Robby, the seven-foot-tall robot from the 1950s adventure, sold at auction for $5.38 million (£4m) in New York in 2017. The lot also included the Jeep Robby drives on Altair IV, the auxiliary control panel and his original MGM packing crates. After Forbidden Planet, Robby racked up more than two dozen film and TV credits, including The Invisible Boy, The Thin Man and Lost In Space.

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The most expensive movie costume ever is Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white dress from The Seven Year Itch, which sold at auction in Los Angeles in 2011. Like Audrey Hepburn's My Fair Lady Ascot dress, it was part of Debbie Reynolds' amazing collection, which also included the headdress worn by Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra (1963) and a bowler hat once owned by Charlie Chaplin.

When costume designer William Travilla picked the dress for Monroe, he didn't have a clue that she would stand over a subway grate and make movie history. The dress is so small that it couldn’t fit onto a modern Size 2 mannequin when it was attempted to be displayed, and in 1955 it had to be sewn onto the actress, much like most of Monroe’s costumes. These days the silky white dress itself has been reported to have slowly tarnished with time, fading into a yellowish brown colour.

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