Infamous ‘Titanic’ Door Sells for $718K, Should Fit 3 People at This Point

Titanic fans have been debating whether Jack could have fit on the door for more than 25 years ago — and now one lucky person can test their theory at home.

The prop door just sold at auction for a whopping $718,750, per a Monday, March 25, press release from Heritage Auctions. The door was part of Texas company’s “Treasures From Planet Hollywood” auction, which also included a whip from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Bill Murray’s bowling ball from Kingpin.

“Original hero flotation prop made of balsa wood crafted with ornate floral accents and scrolling curves — design motifs prevalent in rococo architecture,” reads the description for the item. “Based on the most famous complete piece of debris salvaged from the 1912 tragedy, this intricately carved prop bears a striking resemblance to the Louis XV-style panel housed in the Maritime Museum in Halifax, Nova Scotia.”

Heritage Auctions also points out that the prop is not a door but rather “part of the door frame just above the first-class lounge entrance.”

In the understatement of the century, the description notes that the door “caused much debate from fans, many of whom have argued that the floating wood panel could have supported both Jack and Rose — making his fateful decision to stay in the frigid water an empty gesture.”

As Titanic fans recall, the “floating wood panel” appears near the end of the 1997 film as Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) are attempting to survive the shipwreck in frozen North Atlantic waters. Jack eventually lets go of Rose’s hand and floats away into the briny deep, but many fans have long believed that Rose should have just scooted over and made some room on her door.

Last year, director James Cameron attempted to settle the years-long debate by recreating the scene for the film’s 25th anniversary celebration. After a series of experiments, Cameron, 69, determined that Jack might have been able to climb on the door and survive — if he had a life jacket.

“He’s stabilized,” Cameron explained, noting that Jack still might not have claimed a spot because he loved Rose too much. “He got into a place where if we projected that out, he just might’ve made it until the lifeboat got there. Jack might’ve lived, but there’s a lot of variables. I think his thought process was, ‘I’m not going to do one thing that jeopardized her,’ and that’s 100 percent in character.”

Winslet, meanwhile, doesn’t think there was room for both Jack and Rose. “I have to be honest: I actually don’t believe that we would have survived if we had both gotten on that door. I think he would have fit, but it would have tipped and it would not have been a sustainable idea,” the Oscar winner, 48, said in a December 2023 interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “So, you heard it here for the first time. Yes, he could have fit on that door, but it would not have stayed afloat. It wouldn’t.”