For Auction: Marilyn’s Clothes, Thor’s Hammer, Cap’s Shield

This combination photo shows Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Something's Got To Give," in Los Angeles in April 1962, left, and a custom-made pale pink silk blouse worn by Monroe in "Let’s Make Love." The items is one of many pieces of Hollywood memorabilia up for action July 15 through July 17 at Julien’s Auctions. (AP Photo, left, Julien's Auctions via AP)
This combination photo shows Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Something's Got To Give," in Los Angeles in April 1962, left, and a custom-made pale pink silk blouse worn by Monroe in "Let’s Make Love." The items is one of many pieces of Hollywood memorabilia up for action July 15 through July 17 at Julien’s Auctions. (AP Photo, left, Julien's Auctions via AP)
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For Auction: Marilyn’s Clothes, Thor’s Hammer, Cap’s Shield

This combination photo shows Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Something's Got To Give," in Los Angeles in April 1962, left, and a custom-made pale pink silk blouse worn by Monroe in "Let’s Make Love." The items is one of many pieces of Hollywood memorabilia up for action July 15 through July 17 at Julien’s Auctions. (AP Photo, left, Julien's Auctions via AP)
This combination photo shows Marilyn Monroe on the set of "Something's Got To Give," in Los Angeles in April 1962, left, and a custom-made pale pink silk blouse worn by Monroe in "Let’s Make Love." The items is one of many pieces of Hollywood memorabilia up for action July 15 through July 17 at Julien’s Auctions. (AP Photo, left, Julien's Auctions via AP)

It may not be that Marilyn Monroe dress, but several gowns she donned for “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business” are going up for auction this summer along with 1,400 other pieces of Hollywood history.

Over three days in July, Turner Classic Movies and Julien’s Auctions are teaming up to auction off items like Captain America’s shield from “Captain America: The First Avenger,” a two-piece Givenchy ensemble worn by Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and Jules Winnfield’s “bad mother (expletive)″ wallet from “Pulp Fiction,” the organizations said Tuesday.

One of the six original Stormtrooper helmets from “Star Wars: A New Hope” is among the items being auctioned off. The helmet was used during the Tunisia shoot and later restored by Star Wars expert Gino Sabatino. A variety of props used in the Harry Potter films, like Draco Malfoy’s “Nimbus 2001” broomstick and Voldemort’s Elder Wand, are also up for bidding, as is the hammer used by Chris Hemsworth in “Thor: The Dark World.”

There will be special collections from the estates of James Garner, Robert Stack and Doris Day, as well as legendary editor Anne V. Coates’ marked scripts, including a never-before-seen glimpse into her Oscar-winning decision-making on David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia.” Other Coates items include her lined scripts for “The Elephant Man” and “Out of Sight.”

“Our fans crave a tangible connection to their passion and now they can satisfy that desire with these iconic costumes and unique memorabilia from the movies we air on TCM,” said TCM’s general manager Pola Changnon.

One of the biggest ticket items is a yacht once owned by JP Getty that was used in the exterior scenes of the film “Pal Joey,” starring Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth and Kim Novak. There are also costume jewelry options worn by Monroe, Hayworth, Judy Garland, Olivia de Havilland and Barbara Stanwyck from Joseff of Hollywood.

“Today marks an exciting milestone for Julien’s Auctions as our new collaboration with TCM will bring our world class collection of important Hollywood artifacts and our premium auctions to new heights and build on our reputation as the leading auction house to the stars,” said Martin Nolan, Executive Director of Julien’s Auctions.

The auction will run July 15 through July 17 at Julien’s Actions in Beverly Hills.



‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

 People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

 People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)

With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed fresh life into a box office that has struggled lately, leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.

Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.” It’s also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, “Gladiator II” was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, “Gladiator II” has performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

Going into the weekend, box office was down about 11% from last year and some 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant this week's two headline films led a much-needed resurgence for theaters. With “Moana 2” releasing Wednesday, Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“This weekend’s two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

The collision of the two movies led to some echoes of the “Barbenheimer” effect of last year, when “Barbie" and “Oppenheimer” launched simultaneously. The nickname this time, “Glicked,” wasn’t quite as catchy and the cultural imprint was also notably less. Few people sought out a double feature this time. The domestic grosses in 2023 – $162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer” – were also higher.

But the counter-programming effect was still potent for “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” which likewise split broadly along gender lines. And it was again the female-leaning release – “Wicked,” like “Barbie” before it – that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for “Wicked” were female, while 61% of those seeing “Gladiator II” were male.

And while “Barbenheimer” benefitted enormously from meme-spread word-of-mouth, both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” leaned on all-out marketing blitzes.

Both movies pulled out all the stops in global advertising campaigns that spanned everything from “Wicked” Mattel dolls (some of which led to an awkward recall) to an Airbnb cross-promotion with the actual Colosseum in Rome. For “Gladiator II,” Paramount even took the unusual step of simultaneously running a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio station and digital platforms.

Though “Wicked” will face some direct competition from “Moana 2,” it would seem to be better set up for a long and lucrative run in theaters. Even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has had mostly stellar reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. The reception for “Wicked” has been strong enough that Oscar prognosticators expect it to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

Producers, perhaps sensing a hit, also took the step of splitting “Wicked” in two. Part two, already filmed, is due out next November. Each “Wicked” installation cost around $150 million to make.

“Gladiator II” has also enjoyed good reviews, particularly for Washington's charismatic performance. Audience scores, though, were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. “Gladiator II” will make up for some of that, however, with robust international sales. It launched in many overseas markets a week ago, earning $87 million before landing in North America.