Amongst some iconic movie costumes including two Batsuits, Leonard Nimoy’s Spock costume from Star Trek: The Original Series, and John Travolta’s Saturday Night Feverwhite suit, Prop Store threw a curveball with the inclusion of a pretty generic piece that ended up being a star performer at auction. Among the items that performed better than expected on the first day of the company’s Summer Entertainment Memorabilia Auction was a partial Jim Carrey costume that saw its sale price soar to more than 10 times the high-end estimate attached to it. What costume could attract this kind of attention? That would be the Santa costume that made an appearance in How the Grinch Stole Christmasback in 2000, which saw the hammer fall on a final price of $88,200. Considering the original estimates for the ensemble ranged from $3,000 to $6,000, this was a huge surprise to everyone, including those hosting the live auction.
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The costume many not be much to look like, resembling hundreds of thousands of Santa costumes sold around the world, but being the custom made production used suit that Carrey wore over his furry green Grinch costume to creep around Whoville attempting to ruin Christmas makes it one of the most valuable Santa costumes in cinema history. While the full Grinch costume is undoubtedly the hero piece of the film, this outfit – which was accompanied by several magazine pages and a Cinefex booklet – shattered what now seems a ridiculously low estimate in order to become one of the biggest sellers of the first day of Prop store’s latest auction. The costume itself, comprising of hat, coat, shoes and screen-matched belt, the coat features a hidden zipper at the back and the shoes come with the jingling bells seen in the movie. A label inside reads, “Mr. Jim Carrey,” giving a final little touch to the piece.
Screen-Matched Details Make Big Sales
The Grinchis one of the most-watched modern Christmas movies, standing alongside classics of the past like The Muppet Christmas Carol, Home Alone, and It’s a Wonderful Life on the annual playlists of viewers. That kind of recognition on its own is enough to see genuine production-used costumes and props jump up in price, but adding in an exact point in the movie where the item was used adds even more weight to its importance to collectors bidding on it. The belt included in this sale has been matched to the scene when the Grinch attempts to squeeze into a chimney and gets stuck. The costume being matched in this way adds to the weight of the item’s appeal, as seeing it on screen is different to just being told it was part of the production but not knowing whether it ever made it into the final cut.
There is also Carrey himself to be considered in the mix, and the recent reveal that a sequel to The Grinch has been discussed. In the last few years, Carrey has suggested his is looking to step away from the limelight in the near future, hinting at retirement on more than one occasion. However, in June it was revealed that a belated sequel to the movie was in development, with Carrey and director Ron Howard reportedly on board the project. While there are still plenty of hurdles to clear before we see Carrey reprising his role as the green grouch with a heart that is now not three sizes too small, the hint of that reprisal has brought The Grinch right back onto people’s radars. In short, there could not have been a better time for the 26-year-old Santa suit from the original movie to make it into a Prop Store auction and find itself a new home.
Which Version of The Grinch Is the Best?
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