This Rare Movie Poster Auction Is Expected To Gross Over $2 Million

A poster for the Oscar-winning Western movie Cimarron is expected to sell for as much as $100,000 when it goes up for auction in May.

Only four copies of the promotional one-sheet are believed to exist. It’s one of over 1,000 lots that feature in the Propstore auction this is expected to gross over $2 million in total. The US-based event will occur online over two days, Wednesday, May 17, 2023, and Thursday, May 18, 2023.

Collectors and fans of director Fritz Lang’s M have two opportunities to purchase something special as a pair of highly sought-after unrestored pre-war German posters to promote the 1931 classic go under the hammer. One has an estimate of $40,000 to $80,000, and the other has a guide price of $30,000 to $60,000.

Other items expected to attract a lot of attention are artwork from the release of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The US-style six-sheet will likely find a new home for between $10,000 and $20,000. It’s not the only premium Star Wars poster included in the auction as a printer’s proof of a one-sheet for 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope has a guide price of $6,000 to $12,000.

Posters for other classic movies such as The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, the 1953 release of War of the Worlds, Cat People, Seven Samurai, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1956 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Black Narcissus are also going under the hammer for prices ranging between $3,000 to $40,000.

For those people with a deep passion but less deep pockets, a range of rarities come with more affordable price tags. A mint poster for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, signed by the film’s director, Quentin Tarantino, is expected to sell for between $1,000 and $2,000, while a one-sheet for the 1985 Bond movie, A View to a Kill could find a new home for between $200 and $400. Elsewhere, one horror fan with tighter purse strings is set to secure a folded one-sheet for director Wes Craven’s classic slasher A Nightmare on Elm Street. It has a guide price of $150 to $300, an amount buyers won’t lose sleep over.

Aside from the quality and range of rare and unique lots featured in the sale, the live auction is also notable as the first that Propstore has held with renowned industry expert and collector Grey Smith at the helm. Described as having an “encyclopedic knowledge of film and posters” by Propstore’s COO, Brandon Alinger, Smith joined the firm as its US Director of Posters in 2022.

Earlybirds wanting to try and stake their claim can now place bids on the items they have their eye on ahead of the actual auctions via the Propstore website.