Most Valuable Movie Posters of All Time

These valuable movie posters are worth several million dollars combined.

Most Valuable Movie Posters of All Time

In the pre-Rotten Tomatoes dark ages, it was oftentimes an eye-catching movie poster that'd reel you into the theater for a few hours of cinematic stimuli. Ads for beloved classic films were often gorgeous works of graphic art. And since theater operators trashed much of this promotional paper after the final credits rolled, it became incredibly valuable.

Among high-end collectors, vintage Universal Studios' horror movie posters top the list of blue-chip investments. Popping with colorful visages of monsters, mummies and vampires, many of these super-scarce posters command shockingly high prices at major auction houses.

We're unrolling some of the most expensive movie posters, spanning several film genres and nearly 80 years of movie history.

Terms of the Trade

Before diving into this lucrative hobby, familiarize yourself with a few must-know terms.

One sheet: Refers to the standard dimensions of an official studio-issued movie poster, usually measuring 27 by 41 inches. As posters increase in size, they're dubbed "three sheets," "four sheets" and so forth. Prior to the mid-1980s, most one sheets were folded and mailed to theaters in envelopes. Nowadays they're rolled and shipped inside poster tubes.

"Advance" and/or "Teaser": Much like an on-screen trailer, these are "coming attraction" posters displayed in theaters in advance of a movie's premiere.

28. ‘Airplane’

Year: 1980

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $500

Bottom line: Is there a more perfect visual metaphor for 21st-century airline travel than this side-splitting spoof's poster picturing an airplane tied in a knot?

"Surely, you can't be serious?"

"I am serious, and don't call me Shirley."

As long as you haven't picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue, mint copies can be had for about $500 on eBay as well as from reputable, knowledgeable online dealer CineMasterpieces.

*Note: Ranking is based on Top Dollar's "Priceless Prints" report as well as our own editorial research.

26. ‘Revenge of the Jedi’ (Tie)

Year: 1982

Poster style: U.S. advance teaser one sheet

Value: $2,000

Bottom line: Though not the priciest "Star Wars" poster in the galaxy, this Episode VI one sheet is the most infamous and widely bootlegged. Before the 1983 release of "Return of the Jedi," the movie was briefly re-titled "Revenge of the Jedi." The studio printed nearly 9,000 posters with that title and began shipping them to theaters.

In late '82, George Lucas decided the word "Revenge" was unbefitting of a peaceful Jedi knight, so he reverted to the original "Return." The previously shipped posters were recalled, while the 6,800 copies still on hand were sold via mail order to Star Wars Fan Club members for $9.50 each.

Today, the fan club posters (tag-lined with the movie's May 25, 1983, release date) can fetch up to $2,000 in pristine condition. The rarer version shipped to cinemas, lacking the release date, can net $3,000 and up. But buyer beware. The market is flooded with fakes.

26. ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Tie)

Year: 1994

Poster style: U.S. advance one sheet

Value: $2,000

Bottom line: In the months leading up to the film's opening, theaters displayed this teaser poster featuring an alluring Uma Thurman smoking a cigarette. The image is nearly identical to the final-release poster, however subtle differences include the Lucky Strike-brand pack of smokes on the bed.

This caught the eye of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which threatened to sue Miramax for featuring its product without permission. To stub-out impending copyright litigation, the studio recalled the posters. Naturally, some copies were never returned and nowadays this rarity sells for $1,000 to $2,000, depending on condition. Beware bootlegs on eBay.

25. ‘From Russia with Love’

Year: 1963

Poster style: U.K. "world premiere" quad

Value: $14,000

Bottom line: Many old-school 007 aficionados regard this movie, not "Goldfinger," as the cream of the James Bond crop. No surprise, the reel's extremely rare U.K. "quad" (measuring 30 inches by 40 inches) is highly coveted by 007 poster collectors, one of whom splurged $14,000 on a copy auctioned in 2012.

Trivia alert: Wondering why Sean Connery isn't holding Bond's signature Walther PPK gun in the poster image? The prop master for the photoshoot, on which the artwork is based, forgot to bring the gun to the studio. So the photographer gave Connery his personal Walther LP-53 air pistol for the pose.

As impressive as this price is, there are other Bond posters that have commanded even higher prices.

24. ‘Jaws’

Year: 1975

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $14,400

Bottom line: Perhaps scarier than the movie itself, this unforgettable poster for Steven Spielberg's great-white blockbuster lured theatergoers by the millions in the summer of '75. Though simple, the artwork masterfully conveys the shark-bite vulnerability of going for an ocean swim. Mint-condition "Jaws" specimens routinely hook $3,000 and up, but one in top condition happened to sell for $14,400, according to Top Dollar.

23. 'Lawrence of Arabia'

Year: 1962

Poster style: Roadshow six sheet

Value: $16,100

Bottom line: Earning seven Oscars in 1963, including Best Picture, "Lawrence of Arabia" is widely regarded as one of the best films of all time. The original film is 222-minutes long, but that didn't keep people from flocking to theaters to see it.

Now considered a true classic, serious film buffs have paid over $16,000 for this theatrical release poster.

22. 'Thunderball'

Year: 1965

Poster style: Quad crown poster style A

Value: $16,730

Bottom line: This poster depicts the fourth installment of the Bond franchise, starring Sean Connery, the original Bond. And while "Thunderball" isn't necessarily the best-known Bond film, this four-part poster still managed to be valued at $16,730.

By modern standards, the poster could be deemed tawdry. Each image depicts Bond fighting faceless villains or womanizing with a gun in his hand. The captions are an attempt at a play-on-words, making "L007k" an actual thing and ending with the punchline," James Bond does it everywhere!"

But even if the poster isn't as clever as it thinks it is, the graphics and colors recall the bygone era of the 1960s, making it a collector's piece.

21. 'You Only Live Twice'

Year: 1967

Poster style: 24 sheet

Value: $16,800

Bottom line: Measuring about 19 feet by eight feet, this James Bond movie poster is absolutely gigantic. It's divided into three vignettes that perfectly summarize Bond movies: Bond running away from an explosion, Bond surrounded by a group of scantily clad women and Bond piloting a helicopter in a battle over a volcano. It's the most valuable movie poster of the franchise.

Bond fans, or just fans of old movies, trip over themselves for a chance to own an original of this poster. Of course, they'd need the wall space to fit it.

20. ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie poster

Year: 2004

Poster style: U.S. lenticular one sheet (prototype)

Value: $18,000

Bottom line: It's not every day a contemporary movie poster sells at auction for $18,000, but this ain't your every-day Harry Potter poster. For the franchise's second installment, Warner Bros. created a handful of "Wanted"-style posters for Harry's godfather Sirius Black (Gary Oldman).

The one sheets were made in 3-D lenticular style, which simulates motion. In this case, depending on which angle you're viewing the poster, the image of Oldman fades and eventually disappears. After the studio realized putting the poster into full production would be too costly, the project was scrapped, and, presto, a collectible was born.

19. 'The New Adventures of Batman and Robin'

Year: 1949

Poster style: Six sheet

Value: $18,600

Bottom line: This large six-sheet poster captures the excitement of an early 20th-century tradition: the serial. These short movies would consist of multiple parts (in this case, 15) and would be shown weekly until completed.

Promoting the adventures of Batman and Robin, this colorful poster generates a sense of nostalgia amongst those who remember the serial. It also appeals to comic book fans and collectors. Its mass appeal, as well as its rarity, is one of the reasons it can demand more than $18,000.

18. ‘A Clockwork Orange’

Year: 1972

Poster style: U.S. alternate one sheet

Value: $19,000

Bottom line: A staple of college dorm-room decor and hipster-nerd t-shirts, everyone's familiar with the film's original, iconic poster featuring ultra-violent "Droog" Alex (Malcolm McDowell) brandishing a glinting knife.

In 1972, a year after "Clockwork's" U.S. release, director Stanley Kubrick trimmed 30 seconds-worth of "explicit sexual material" from his movie to get its original X-rating softened to "R". Promoting the film to a now-wider audience, Kubrick commissioned a new poster featuring the paperback-cover artwork from Anthony Burgess' original novel. A limited printing, this rarest of Clockwork posters has commanded as much as $19,000.

17. '2001: A Space Odyssey'

Year: 1968

Poster style: U.S. alternate one sheet

Value: $20,913

Bottom line: This Stanley Kubrick masterpiece is one of the best — if not the best — sci-fi movies of all time. "2001: A Space Odyssey" was groundbreaking in its effects, a feat particularly impressive given that it was released a year before humanity landed on the moon. The entirety of the film accurately follows the laws of physics as we know them. In that regard, it is a unique movie of the genre.

Given its cultural importance, it's no wonder that original posters for the movie would be highly valued. If you're the lucky owner of a copy, you could have $20,000 worth of art hanging on your wall.

16. 'The Empire Strikes Back'

Year: 1980

Poster style: One sheet

Value: $26,400

Bottom line: Another "Star Wars" poster to make the list, this one is from "The Empire Strikes Back," the second movie of the saga, though it is now referred to as Episode V. The striking poster features the main characters with an ominous Darth Vader making up most of the background. It's about as '80s as it gets, which is why we (and apparently thousands of others) think it deserves top dollar.

15. 'Star Wars'

Year: 1977

Poster style: Half sheet

Value: $45,410

Bottom line: As the poster for the film that started it all, it makes sense that this black and white illustration is the franchise's most expensive one. Not only is it the poster for the original 1977 movie — or Episode IV, as we know it now — but its color scheme is also very unique.

14. ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly movie poster

Year: 1966

Poster style: Italian 24 sheet

Value: $77,675

Bottom line: Measuring roughly 9-feet-tall by 19-feet-wide, this immense billboard-style poster was printed for the Rome, Italy premiere of Clint Eastwood's quintessential "spaghetti western." Apparently undeterred by the likelihood that custom framing this one-of-a-kind colossus will cost more than the poster itself, a collector ponied-up $77,675 at a 2016 sale by Heritage Auctions.

13. ‘Freaks’

Year: 1932

Poster style: U.S. insert

Value: $107,550

Bottom line: See this infamous cult classic just once and it's guaranteed you'll be chanting "One of us, one of us, one of us" for days on end. A bizarre, fascinating, often disturbing horror flick starring real-life circus sideshow "freaks" (think conjoined twins, dwarves and bearded ladies), it bombed upon release and precious few promotional materials survived.

In 1978, a Southern California woman named Anne Stafford was browsing an antiques store for her husband's birthday gift, took a shine to a "Freaks" poster and bought it for $10. Some 30 years later, after "Freaks" became a midnight-movie legend, Stafford auctioned the poster and collected a cool $107,550.

12. 'Dracula'

Year: 1938

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $312,000

Bottom line: Seven years after the release of "Dracula," the film was reissued thanks to its immense success. Some changes were made for the reissue, including the addition of green tint to some of the prints.

A green-tinted poster was released to accompany the film. The result is an eerie illustration that perfectly captures the horror of this masterpiece. Even so, it is not as valuable as the poster for the original 1931 release (more on that later).

10. ‘The Black Cat’ (Tie)

Year: 1934

Poster style: U.S. "Style B" one sheet

Value: $334,600

Bottom line: Both Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff make encore appearances on the list, this time together on the same poster for Universal Studios' adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe tale. Believed to be the only known copy, not to mention in "immaculate condition," the poster scared-up $334,600 at auction in 2009.

10. ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (Tie)

Year: 1935

Poster style: U.S. "Style D" one sheet

Value: $334,600

Bottom line: Not only did the film strike fear into the hearts of 1930s' movie goers, the 2007 auction for this ultra-rare poster terrified collectors as the bidding climbed ever higher to an ultimate sale price of $334,600.

Scary expensive? Sure. But on the priceless tip, the striking artwork prominently features the monster's bride, sporting her iconic lightning-bolt hairdo. Très chic.

9. ‘Metropolis’

Year: 1927

Poster style: Three sheet

Value: $357,750

Bottom line: Heinz Schulz-Neudamm designed this iconic poster. The sharp, geometric style of the Art Deco poster perfectly captures the feeling of this dystopian silent film. As the original version, the German poster is the most widely recognized for the movie. However, it is not in actuality the most expensive poster version for "Metropolis."

8. 'Frankenstein'

Year: 1931

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $358,500

Bottom line: The 1931 "Frankenstein" is the film that created the now-universal images of Frankenstein as a mad scientist in a lab coat and the monster as a green, somber face with two bolts protruding from his neck.

Worth several hundred-thousand dollars, this poster — as all posters from the original film — is very difficult to find.

7. 'Casablanca'

Year: 1942

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $384,000

Bottom line: "Casablanca" is one of the most famous movies of all time, so it makes sense that one of its original posters would be so valuable.

The movie is set during World War II, which is unusual given that it was filmed during the midst of the war. For this reason, it was released in different years, depending on the country. This particular poster was one of the illustrations used for the U.S. release. Valued at $384,000, it's certainly expensive but is still not the most expensive "Casablanca" poster.

6. 'King Kong'

Year: 1933

Poster style: U.S. three sheet

Value: $388,375

Bottom line: Though "King Kong" has been remade numerous times, no remake can match the success and artistry of the 1933 original classic. The same may be said for its poster, which is now considered a vintage treasure for collectors.

The large, three-sheet poster depicts the iconic scene where King Kong climbs up the Empire Building while carrying the beautiful Ann Darrow in his hand. It also shows the iconic fight between the "Eight Wonder of the World" and a dinosaur.

5. ‘The Mummy’

Year: 1932

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $435,000

Bottom line: While cheesy posters promoting those bunk "Mummy" flicks starring Brendan Fraser are better suited for fish wrap, this one sheet touting the Boris Karloff classic is a vivid, true work of art. Of the three known extant copies, one is owned by Metallica guitarist and horror movie fanatic Kirk Hammett. (This won't be the last valuable movie poster on the guitarist's collection.) Another sold in 1997 for $435,000, placing it fifth on the list of priciest movie posters.

3. ‘Casablanca’ (Tie)

Year: 1946

Poster style: Italian "4 Fogli" (four sheet)

Value: $478,000

Bottom line: This enormous poster, measuring roughly 4-1/2 feet by 6-1/2 feet, is the only known surviving example its kind. This beauty was used to hype the 1942 Humphrey Bogart classic's first release in post-World War II Italy.

Many "Casablanca" collectors consider the realist-style artwork the finest ever produced for the film's numerous advertising pieces. And while this one-of-a-kind poster exhibits minor flaws and a few thumbtack pinholes (typically taboo with high-end collectors), it still managed to fetch an incredible $478,000 at auction in 2017. Here's looking at you, third-most expensive movie poster ever sold.

3. 'London After Midnight' (Tie)

Year: 1927

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $478,000

Bottom line: Directed by Tod Browning — who also directed "Dracula" — "London After Midnight" is a lost silent-era film. The last copy of the horror movie was tragically lost in the MGM vault fire of 1965.

Most of the posters for the movie have also been lost to time, with only one known surviving copy. This is why this poster for a movie most people today have never heard of is valued at $478,000. The lucky owner of this extremely rare poster is again Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, who bought it in an auction in 2014.

2. ‘Dracula’

Year: 1931

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $525,800

Bottom line: There are only three known copies of this poster, featuring a menacing Bela Lugosi as everyone's favorite Transylvanian count. Actor Nicholas Cage, apparently as thirsty for cash as Dracula is for blood, auctioned his copy in 2012 for $310,000. Not to be outdone, in 2017, Dallas-based Heritage Auctions offered another copy that realized $525,800 — making "Dracula" the second most valuable movie poster in the world.

1. 'Metropolis'

Year: 1927

Poster style: Three sheet

Value: $690,000

Bottom line: What do Leonardo DiCaprio, the Austrian National Library Museum and New York's Museum of Modern Art have in common? All three possess a copy of this mega-rare poster for German filmmaker Fritz Lang's silent sci-fi masterpiece.

Though very similar to the German poster of "Metropolis," the international version does not have any words except the title of the film. This makes it cleaner and sharper, somehow enhancing the dystopian feeling of the design. The international version is also much rarer than the German one.

The fourth known surviving copy of this Art Deco-style beauty sold in a 2005 private exchange for $690,000 — crowning it the most expensive movie poster in history. In 2012, the owner was forced to surrender his prized poster in a bankruptcy auction lot that also included vintage sheets for "King Kong" and "The Invisible Man." Yet many collectors speculate a majority of the winning $1.2-million bid is owed to "Metropolis."