Collectors have been swooning over vintage movie posters for decades. And just as we’ve examined investing in sports cards and video games, classic movie posters continue to be a target for cinema enthusiasts and investors alike.
Are Vintage Movie Posters a Good Investment?
Just like so many types of collectables…the answer to this question is “yes…but it depends.” Some factors to consider when investing in vintage movie posters include condition, age, country-of-origin, rarity, artwork and authenticity. Unfortunately, many investors account for all of these things and still end up with fakes or reproductions. But if you know what to look for, these classics can fetch a pretty penny.
For instance, the poster for the 1927 film “Metropolis” sold for $690,000 in 2005, making it the most expensive individual movie poster sale in history. But, unless you’re Leonardo DiCaprio (who actually owns this poster), you probably don’t have 690k to invest in movie posters. Now that is an extreme example and there are many vintage and modern movie posters out there that are affordable for the everyday investor.
The #1 Vintage Movie Poster to Own for 2021
Thanks to Disney Plus, the Star Wars franchise has been revitalized – bringing in new, younger fans to keep the story arch going on forever. As a result, I believe that vintage Star Wars collectibles will continue to gain in popularity – and gain in value.
One of my favorite rarities is the investment-grade original Star Wars one-sheet movie poster from 1977. The story of this vintage movie poster is quite interesting – which only adds to the legend. Here’s the scoop….
As Star Wars was getting ready to be released – producer Gary Kurtz recalls disagreements over the copy that was being used for the movie posters. According to Kurtz, the marketing firm hired to promote the film “wanted something they could put on billboards and elsewhere. They came up with a whole group of taglines that were terrible because they were typical for Hollywood movies.”
David Weitzner, who was the new head of marketing for Fox, wrote the copy for first advance release of the movie poster – shown below:
As you can imagine, George Lucas was not happy with how Star Wars was getting promoted.
Weitzner recalls “Every piece of copy that I had written for this film did not meet with George’s approval. It dawned on me one day that the best way to solve that was to use words that were not written by anyone but George.”
With that realization, the most famous words in the history of a Hollywood movie franchise – written by George Lucas – were put front and center on the new Star Wars movie posters…..
“A Long Time Ago…In a Galaxy Far, Far Away”
And here is the very first Star Wars movie poster that contains that powerful tagline:
In my opinion, this is the #1 vintage movie poster to own for 2021. It gave birth to the most popular movie franchise in history – and I consider it an investable piece of art.
NOTE: Beware of fakes/bootlegs, which always pop up on eBay. Make sure that your poster contains the “GAU logo” at the bottom to confirm authenticity.
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About Bryan Bottarelli
Whether it was selling the Star Wars figures he collected as a little boy for 50 times their value or using the $125 he made cutting grass to buy a Michael Jordan rookie card that he later sold for $1,500, it was always clear that Bryan Bottarelli was a born trader – possessing the unique ability to identify opportunities and leverage his investments.
Graduating with a business degree from the highly rated Indiana University Kelley School of Business, Bryan got his first job out of college trading stock options on the floor of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). There, he was mentored by one of the country’s top floor traders during the heart of the technology boom from 1999 to 2000 – trading in the crowded and lively Apple computer pit. Executing his trades in real time, Bryan learned to identify and implement some of his most powerful trading secrets… secrets that rarely find their way outside the CBOE to be used by individual traders.
Recognizing the true value of these methods, Bryan tapped into his entrepreneurial spirit and took a risk. He walked off the CBOE floor and launched his own independent trading research service called Bottarelli Research. From February 2006 to December 2018, Bryan gave his precise trading instructions to a small, elite group – most of whom have been followers ever since.
As a “play tactician,” Bryan uses his hands-on knowledge of floor trading to shape opportunities and chart formations into elegant, powerful and profitable recommendations. And by using the same hedging techniques taught by professional floor traders, Bryan is able to deliver his readers remarkable gain opportunities while strictly limiting their total risk.
Along the way, Bryan has developed a cumulative track record that could impress even the most successful hedge fund manager.
He now spends his days moderating one of the most elite trading research forums ever created: The War Room.
