Most Valuable Movie Posters: Record-Breaking Auction Prices

Before the age of aggregated review scores, a striking movie poster could be enough to draw crowds into theaters for an unforgettable few hours. Vintage film advertising frequently produced stunning graphic art, and because most theater owners discarded posters after a run, surviving originals became highly sought-after collectibles.

Among collectors, Universal Studios’ classic horror posters rank among the most desirable and valuable pieces. Their vivid depictions of monsters, mummies and vampires are scarce and often fetch eye-popping sums at auction.

Below is a curated selection of some of the most expensive and historically significant movie posters, covering multiple genres and nearly 80 years of cinema history.

Terms of the Trade

If you’re new to the hobby, it helps to learn a few standard terms.

One sheet: The industry-standard studio poster size, typically 27 x 41 inches. Larger formats are called “three sheets,” “four sheets” and so on. Up through the mid-1980s most one sheets were folded and mailed to theaters; modern posters are usually rolled and shipped in tubes.

Advance / Teaser: Posters distributed before a film’s release to promote upcoming attractions, similar to a trailer.

28. Airplane

Year: 1980

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $500

Bottom line: This memorable comedic poster, showing an airplane tied in a knot, captures the film’s irreverent tone. Mint copies are inexpensive compared with rarities on this list and can be found for around $500 through reputable dealers.

26. Revenge of the Jedi (Tie)

Year: 1982

Poster style: U.S. advance teaser one sheet

Value: $2,000

Bottom line: Before the title became Return of the Jedi, some 9,000 posters were printed with the title Revenge of the Jedi and distributed. When George Lucas changed the title, the studio recalled most copies. The fan-club mail-order posters that remain are collectible and can reach a few thousand dollars in pristine condition, though the market is rife with reproductions.

26. Pulp Fiction (Tie)

Year: 1994

Poster style: U.S. advance one sheet

Value: $2,000

Bottom line: An early teaser featuring Uma Thurman holding a cigarette was withdrawn after the tobacco brand shown prompted legal pressure. The recalled advance one sheets that escaped destruction are rare and collectible, typically selling in the low thousands depending on condition.

25. From Russia with Love

Year: 1963

Poster style: U.K. “world premiere” quad

Value: $14,000

Bottom line: Many Bond fans favor this early 007 entry. The rare U.K. quad printed for special premieres is sought after by collectors and has fetched four-figure sums at auction.

24. Jaws

Year: 1975

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $14,400

Bottom line: Roger Kastel’s iconic image perfectly captured the film’s primal fear and remains a collector favorite. Mint examples often command thousands of dollars, and rare top-condition copies have reached well into five figures.

23. Lawrence of Arabia

Year: 1962

Poster style: Roadshow six sheet

Value: $16,100

Bottom line: This Academy Award-winning epic remains a staple of film history. Large-format theatrical posters used for roadshow engagements are rare and desirable among serious collectors.

22. Thunderball

Year: 1965

Poster style: Quad crown poster

Value: $16,730

Bottom line: A colorful 1960s collage-style poster for the fourth Bond film, prized for its period artwork and rarity.

21. You Only Live Twice

Year: 1967

Poster style: 24 sheet

Value: $16,800

Bottom line: This enormous poster—roughly 19 by 8 feet—captures multiple cinematic moments in a giant triptych. Its sheer size and rarity make it highly collectible, though it requires significant display space.

20. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Year: 2004

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

Value: $18,000

Bottom line: Warner Bros. produced a small run of lenticular “Wanted”-style posters for Sirius Black that used a 3-D motion effect. When the studio decided the design was too costly to mass-produce, the prototype sheets became rare collector items.

19. The New Adventures of Batman and Robin

Year: 1949

Poster style: Six sheet

Value: $18,600

Bottom line: This large-format serial poster evokes nostalgia for weekly chapter-play serials and remains popular with comic and serial collectors for its vibrant imagery and rarity.

18. A Clockwork Orange

Year: 1972

Poster style: U.S. alternate one sheet

Value: $19,000

Bottom line: After Stanley Kubrick trimmed controversial content to broaden the film’s U.S. rating, promotional art was updated to reflect the paperback cover of Anthony Burgess’ novel. Limited printings of that alternate poster are scarce and collectible.

17. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Year: 1968

Poster style: U.S. alternate one sheet

Value: $20,913

Bottom line: Stanley Kubrick’s visually revolutionary science-fiction epic has equally iconic promotional art. Original alternate one sheets for the film are prized by collectors of film history and design.

16. The Empire Strikes Back

Year: 1980

Poster style: One sheet

Value: $26,400

Bottom line: The sequel’s dramatic poster featuring the film’s principal characters and the looming presence of Darth Vader is a beloved piece of 1980s pop culture and commands strong prices among Star Wars collectors.

15. Star Wars

Year: 1977

Poster style: Half sheet

Value: $45,410

Bottom line: Early concept artwork and original prints for the film that launched the saga are highly desirable. This black-and-white illustration half sheet is among the franchise’s most valuable poster variants.

14. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Year: 1966

Poster style: Italian 24 sheet

Value: $77,675

Bottom line: This massive billboard-style poster produced for the Rome premiere is a dramatic example of promotional scale and a standout among spaghetti-western memorabilia, commanding high prices when it appears on the market.

13. Freaks

Year: 1932

Poster style: U.S. insert

Value: $107,550

Bottom line: Tod Browning’s controversial cult classic was a box-office failure at release, and very little promotional material survived. A poster discovered in an antiques shop decades later sold for a six-figure sum once the film’s reputation had been reestablished.

12. Dracula (1938 reissue)

Year: 1938

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $312,000

Bottom line: Universal’s reissue added a green tint in some prints and produced an eerie design that captures the film’s horror atmosphere. While valuable, it is outpriced by the original 1931 issue.

10. The Black Cat (Tie)

Year: 1934

Poster style: U.S. “Style B” one sheet

Value: $334,600

Bottom line: Starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff together, this Universal horror poster is believed to exist in only one known copy in pristine condition, which sold for a very high sum at auction.

10. The Bride of Frankenstein (Tie)

Year: 1935

Poster style: U.S. “Style D” one sheet

Value: $334,600

Bottom line: The film’s memorable imagery and extremely limited surviving copies helped push its auction price into the mid-six-figure range.

9. Metropolis

Year: 1927

Poster style: Three sheet

Value: $357,750

Bottom line: Heinz Schulz-Neudamm’s Art Deco poster is inseparable from Fritz Lang’s dystopian silent masterpiece. Its bold geometric design and historical significance make it a high-ticket collectible.

8. Frankenstein

Year: 1931

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $358,500

Bottom line: The 1931 Frankenstein poster helped cement the visual language of the monster and the scientist. Original posters from the film are exceptionally rare and highly valuable.

7. Casablanca

Year: 1942

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $384,000

Bottom line: One of the most famous films in history, Casablanca’s early U.S. release posters are rare and command high prices. Different regional releases produced a variety of designs, some worth far more than others.

6. King Kong

Year: 1933

Poster style: U.S. three sheet

Value: $388,375

Bottom line: The original King Kong poster is a treasured piece of cinematic history. Its dramatic composition depicting Kong atop the Empire State Building is instantly recognizable and highly collectible.

5. The Mummy

Year: 1932

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $435,000

Bottom line: Of only three known copies, one copy sold in 1997 for $435,000. The vivid artwork and the scarcity of surviving sheets make this Boris Karloff horror poster exceptionally valuable; notable collectors, including musician Kirk Hammett, own examples.

3. Casablanca (Tie)

Year: 1946

Poster style: Italian “4 Fogli” (four sheet)

Value: $478,000

Bottom line: A unique postwar Italian four-sheet used to promote Casablanca’s first release in Italy, this large-format piece is one of only a handful of exceptionally valuable posters for the film.

3. London After Midnight (Tie)

Year: 1927

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $478,000

Bottom line: Tod Browning’s lost silent film survives only in promotional ephemera. With the film itself destroyed in a studio vault fire, the extremely rare surviving poster is a trophy item in private collections.

2. Dracula (1931)

Year: 1931

Poster style: U.S. one sheet

Value: $525,800

Bottom line: Only three known copies of the original 1931 one sheet survive. Bela Lugosi’s iconic portrayal of Dracula and the poster’s extreme rarity helped one copy reach over half a million dollars at auction, making it one of the most valuable movie posters ever sold.

1. Metropolis

Year: 1927

Poster style: Three sheet (international version)

Value: $690,000

Bottom line: The international three-sheet for Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, notable for its clean Art Deco composition and rare wordless design, stands as the most expensive movie poster on record. With only a handful of known survivors held by museums and private collectors, one copy changed hands in a private sale for $690,000, cementing its place at the top of cinematic poster valuations.