The iconic floating piece of wood that famously kept Rose alive in the film Titanic has been sold at auction for an impressive $718,750 (£569,739).

Since the release of the blockbuster film in 1997, fans have speculated whether the panel was large enough to accommodate Rose’s love interest, Jack, potentially saving him from the frigid waters. The auction listing acknowledged the ongoing debate among fans surrounding this prop.

The sale took place as part of an auction featuring props and costumes owned by the renowned restaurant and resort chain Planet Hollywood.

In the cinematic rendition, Jack, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, maintains that the panel, a section of a door frame, could only support Rose, played by Kate Winslet, leading to his tragic demise in the icy Atlantic waters.

In a revealing episode of Mythbusters in 2012, Titanic director James Cameron addressed the fervent discussion surrounding the scene, noting the influx of emails branding Rose as “selfish” and Jack as an “idiot.” Cameron definitively stated that Jack’s fate was predetermined by the script, effectively settling the debate once and for all.

Addressing the ongoing speculation, the director remarked, “Maybe we screwed up and the board should have been a tiny bit smaller, but the dude’s going down.”

The prop, frequently misconstrued as a door, was crafted from a genuine piece of wreckage recovered from the 1912 Titanic disaster, as confirmed by auctioneers Heritage Auctions.

In response to the debate surrounding the panel’s size, the auction listing provides clarification, stating, “The prop measures approximately 8 feet long (2.4 meters) and 41 inches (1 meter) wide.”

Among the notable items featured in the auction was the whip from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” which fetched a staggering $525,000.

Additionally, a Spider-Man suit worn by Tobey Maguire garnered considerable attention, selling for $125,000. Similarly, an axe famously wielded by Jack Nicholson’s character in “The Shining,” accompanied by the iconic line “Here’s Johnny!”, also sold for $125,000.

The auction, which concluded on Sunday evening, proved to be immensely successful, raising a total of $15.68 million. Heritage Auctions declared it as one of the most triumphant sales of prop and costume collections to date.

Joseph Maddalena, representing Heritage Auctions, remarked, “There were countless bidding wars… so many we lost track.”