With so many notable films set to arrive between now and the end of the year, it’s easy to miss things when it comes to the varied — and largely un-checklisted — world of movie memorabilia.
After all, a single movie can have countless advance posters teasing the forthcoming film released months or even years in advance. Then, upon arrival, there can be all kinds of promotional materials — posters, in-theater giveaways, in-store promotions and merchandise to chase. You know, the playbook started by Star Wars.
The fourth and final Hunger Games movie, Mockingjay Part 2, is set to arrive Nov. 20, and it’s a perfect example of how tough collecting movies can be when they’re not quite merchandising behemoths like Star Wars, which we’ve seen in the toy aisles en masse since Force Friday for The Force Awakens and for years as a brand. The four Hunger Games films have grossed more than $1.1 billion at the box office but you won’t find trading cards for this movie or the previous one. The first two did have card sets from NECA, but neither had any of the advanced cards — autographs or memorabilia — that collectors expect.
The poster above is a prime example of a final theatrical one-sheet that would be a nice item if signed by the star, Jennifer Lawrence. However, she’s not an easy autograph with PSA-authenticated 8-by-10 photos routinely having $200-and-up price tags attached to them on eBay. You can figure a poster would command much more, but with more than a dozen different ones for the film on eBay, which would be the ideal one to get signed if you could?
A 6-by-8 foot banner version of this poster sold for more than $100 on eBay, meanwhile a 12-by-6 foot version that’s horizontally designed sold for about that same amount if you include shipping. But then a different auction for the same one ended for just $30. The standard poster, unsigned, has sold for as much as $46 with shipping. Other than pricey authentic props, which can reach collectors’ hands via studio auctions, posters are the easiest way for fans to collect films — but it can still be quite complicated.
And, believe it or not, the digital age has helped make it easier for movie collectors as many of the past photograph packages and other promotional items sent to media members for promotion for films of, say, 20 years ago are now done electronically.
An eBay search for “Mockingly Part 2” has a surprisingly low number of sold items, but Barbie dolls, cups and buttons are popular along with cast-signed posters of various types (with perhaps questionable authenticity) that can be had for less than a PSA-authenticated Lawrence photo. The poster above seems like it’s a popular choice among eBay buyers. Buzz has never seen a minute of the franchise, but a striking poster like that one caught our attention — and it seems collectors have noticed it, too.
Of course, with this franchise being one that began as a series of books, there’s a whole other collecting direction to take, too. We’ll just let the price of this auction speak for itself.
Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.
>> Click here to shop for non-sports boxes on BlowoutCards.com.
BlowoutBuzz.com 