Guitar from Kurt Cobain’s Last Tour Fetches over $1.5 Mn

The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)
The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)
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Guitar from Kurt Cobain’s Last Tour Fetches over $1.5 Mn

The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)
The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday. (AFP)

The guitar that the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during his last tour sold for more than $1.5 million, an auction house announced Friday.

The American grunge icon played the sky-blue, left-handed Fender Mustang during the band's In Utero tour, Julien's Auctions said in a statement.

"Nirvana played their final show on March 1, 1994 in Munich, Germany and all available concert footage confirms that Cobain played this guitar that night," the auction house said.

Cobain died by suicide in April 1994, aged 27 and at the height of his fame.

Julien's listed the final sale price as $1,587,500.

The Mustang guitar was still intact, unlike many that Cobain destroyed on stage.

In May, a smashed-up black Fender Stratocaster of his fetched $595,000 at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York.

On Thursday, Julien's also sold a guitar belonging to Eric Clapton for $1.27 million.

Nicknamed "The Fool", the Gibson SG is associated with the English musician's time with the band Cream, where he produced one of rock's most distinctive sounds.

Its personalized decoration, in a psychedelic style, makes the instrument one of the most easily recognizable in rock and a symbol of the "Summer of Love", the counterculture movement of 1967 which marked a generation.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the two guitars will go to a mental health charity.



‘Mufasa’ and ‘Sonic 3’ Rule First Weekend of 2025

Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)
Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)
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‘Mufasa’ and ‘Sonic 3’ Rule First Weekend of 2025

Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)
Director Barry Jenkins at the premiere of "Mufasa: The Lion King." (AFP via Getty Images)

The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.

The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn’t far behind.

“Sonic 3” stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. “Mufasa’s” running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.

In third place, Focus Features’ “Nosferatu” remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable.

“Nosferatu,” which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).

No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, “Moana 2,” claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.

The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in 2019.

A24’s drama “Babygirl," which added 49 locations, held steady at $4.5 million.

Another Thanksgiving leftover, “Wicked,” rounded out the top five. Universal’s movie musical was made available to purchase on VOD on Jan. 31, but still earned another $10.2 million from theaters. The movie is up for several awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including nominations for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, best motion picture musical or comedy and “cinematic and box office achievement,” which last year went to “Barbie.”

Also in theaters this weekend was the IMAX re-release of David Fincher’s 4K restoration of “Seven,” which earned just over $1 million from 200 locations.

The 2025 box office year is already off to a better start than 2024, up around 20% from the same weekend last year.