The legendary sled from Orson Welles’s 1941 masterpiece, Citizen Kane, has been sold at auction for an astounding $14.75 million (£11 million). This makes it the second-highest sale of movie memorabilia ever, trailing only behind the record auction of a pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz, which went for $32.5 million (£24.2 million) last December.
The buyer remains anonymous, but the seller is renowned director Joe Dante, who received the sled in 1984 while working on Explorers at Paramount, the former site of RKO Pictures. “One of the crew members, aware of my passion for classic films, approached me and said, ‘They’re getting rid of some props. You might be interested in this,’” Dante recalled. “I was surprised—it was a fantastic find, especially since I love the movie. I immediately agreed to take it.”
The sled, made from pine hardwood, retains its original paint but shows signs of wear, including missing rails, possibly lost during World War II scrap drives. In a statement released by Heritage Auctions, Dante expressed his emotions: “It’s been an honor to safeguard this piece of cinematic history for so long. Seeing Rosebud find a new home—and make history in the process—is surreal and incredibly rewarding. It highlights the lasting impact of storytelling.”
Dante has included the sled in multiple projects, such as Explorers, The Burbs, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, and an episode of Eerie, Indiana from the early ’90s.
While it’s unclear how many sleds were made for Citizen Kane, the auction house mentions that only a “few” exist. One sled previously sold to Steven Spielberg in 1982 for $60,500 (£45,150), and another was auctioned for $233,000 (£174,000) in 1996.
Other notable items from the auction include a miniature X-wing from The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana Jones’s bullwhip originally gifted to HRH Prince Charles by Harrison Ford, and Austin Powers’s iconic green velvet suit. Additionally, a nude photograph of Marilyn Monroe, armor from Ben-Hur, and a Ralph Lauren blazer once owned by Audrey Hepburn are also up for grabs.
“This event marks one of the most significant moments in entertainment auction history,” said Joe Maddalena, executive vice president of Heritage Auctions. “These are not merely props; they are mythical artifacts that recount Hollywood’s most memorable stories, each associated with a memory, a performance, and a legend.”
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