Dorothys famous ruby slipperssold at Heritage Auctions on Dec. 7 for a price somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, for $32.5 million to be exact. One of four surviving pairs worn by Judy Garland in 1939s The Wizard of Oz, they are now the most famous and the most valuable movie memorabilia ever sold at auction. The Hollywood/Entertainment SignatureAuctionset the record for an entertainment auction, grossing $38,615,188. That shatters the $22.8 million realized during the 2011 Debbie Reynolds Auction held by Heritage Auctions, according to executive vice president Joe Maddalena. There is simply no comparison between Judy Garlands ruby slippers and any other piece of Hollywood memorabilia, mentioned Maddalena. The breathtaking result reflects just how important movies and movie memorabilia are to our culture and to collectors. Its been a privilege for all of us to be a part of the slippers epic journey over the rainbow and off to a new home, continued Maddalena. There were numerous star attractions spanning cinemas rich history throughout this event, but none stood taller or shined brighter than the Technicolor treasures from The Wizard of Oz, which sparked a bidding war that lasted nearly as long as a walk down the Yellow Brick Road. Live bidding opened at $1.55 million. Several thrilling minutes later, as bidding hit million-dollar increments, the slippers hit their final price, and the auction room erupted with applause. The pre-auction estimate for the slippers was $3 million and up. No other pair had ever come close to that final number. One pair of ruby slippers sold at auction in 2000 for $666,000. A dozen years later, Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio spent $2 million on the pair donated to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. DiCaprio led the group of donors that allowed for the 2012 sale, which was brokered by Profiles in History, the auction house founded by Maddalena. The pair that sold at Heritage on Dec. 7 was famously stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minn., in the summer of 2005, recovered 13 years later by the FBI, and returned to owner Michael Shaw earlier this year. Upon their recovery in 2018, the FBI took the slippers to the Smithsonians National Museum of American History, where, the museum noted, smudges on the heavy glass vitrine must be routinely cleaned because of the millions who stand transfixed before them each year. There, conservators compared them to the museums pair donated in 1979. The FBI later said, Examination of the recovered shoes showed that their construction, materials, and wear are consistent with the pair in the museums collection. Dorothys slippers were designed by Gilbert Adrian, MGMs chief costume designer, and made by Western Costume Company using white silk pumps from the Innes Shoe Company in Los Angeles. Shaws slippers were once known as The Traveling Shoes because of their long, storied exhibition history. The pair has since been renamed The Stolen Pair given the backstory that involved an elderly thief in ill health, 77-year-old Terry Jon Martin, who confessed in court documents last year to stealing the ruby slippers because he wanted to pull off one last score. Like the ruby slippers, the Wicked Witchs hat in this auction was part of Shaws Hollywood on Tour during the 1980s and 90s. Shaw obtained the slippers and hat from collector Kent Warner, who discovered them at the historic David Weisz Co. MGM Auction in 1970. Says Maddalena, who has handled more Wizard of Ozmemorabilia and props than any other auctioneer, including Dorothys blue dress and the Witchs hourglass: This is the finest example of the Wicked Witchs hat known to exist. That explains why the hat realized $2,930,000 after yet another lengthy bidding war. Its also the only hat to feature inside its brim, M. Hamilton 4461-164, referring to, of course, Margaret Hamilton, the former kindergarten teacher who loved children yet became the source of so many nightmares. Like the slippers, the legendary Adrian designed this iconic piece of Hollywood history during his tenure at MGM; the hat is also featured in the book The Wizardry of Oz. Before the auction, the Wicked Witchs hat had changed hands only once in more than half a century. The slippers and hat were joined by numerous other treasures from Oz, including producer Mervyn LeRoys copy of the script from the MGM art department, which sold for $50,000; the screen door from Dorothys Kansas home, which sold for $37,500; Judy Garlands Dorothy Gale wig from the first week of shooting, which realized $30,000; and the MGM contract signed by Over the Rainbow songwriters Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, which dared to dream a final price of $23,125. Another highlight in this auction soaring to new heights, was the sole screen-used hero flying wooden hoverboard from Back to the Future Part II, signed by Michael J. Fox and writer-producer Bob Gale and accompanied by its safety harness. The Mattel hoverboard has impeccable provenance, as it came from the only other man to use it during production: Foxs stunt double Charlie Croughwell, who will donate at least 50 percent of the proceeds to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research. The hoverboard sold for $237,500. A number of bidders got into the Christmas spirit as they tussled over the knit cap, scarf, coat and mittens Macaulay Culkin wore as Kevin McCallister in 1990s Home Alone. Live bidding on the ensemble opened at $32,000, but in the end, one determined collector made sure that while you can mess with a lot of things, you cant mess with kids on Christmas, as the costume sold for $162,500. Tom Hanks iconic co-star from Robert Zemeckis 2000 film Cast Away, a screen-matched Wilson, found its way to a new home for $162,500. And several bidders driven by pure imagination fought over one of the rare surviving golden tickets from 1971s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. A gold-foil, screen-used ticket gaining its lucky recipient admittance to Wonkas candy factory realized $118,750. For additional information, visit www.HA.com. Images courtesy Heritage Auctions.