The 10 most expensive film posters – in pictures

10) A one-sheet poster for the 1931 Frankenstein, starring Boris Karloff, which went for a then-record of $198,000 in 1993. Like nearly all the top 10, it's a classic horror film from the 1930s, advertised with dramatic graphic blocks Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex Feature

9) Not a horror film, of course, but a one-sheet for the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers dance film Flying Down to Rio from 1933, which fetched $239,000 in 2008. Fun and exuberant, it looks like a 1930s air-voyage ad as much as anything else Photograph: Alamy

8) A three-sheet for the 1933 monster movie King Kong in what is known as the "Style A" design, which sold for $244,500 in 1999. This for comparison, is the "Style B" three sheet Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex Feature

7) The first of two appearances by the 1934 Boris Karloff/Bela Lugosi horror The Black Cat, taken from the Poe story. This is the "Style D" one-sheet, which went for $286,800 in 2007. Look at those cat's eyes! Photograph: Everett Collection / Rex Feature

6) A one-sheet for the Bela Lugosi Dracula from 1931, owned by the actor Nicolas Cage. It went for $310,700 in 2009 when Cage sold off his collection. Paying such big money for posters could be the "strangest passion the world has ever known" Photograph: Courtesy Of Heritage Auctions

5) Yet another Boris Karloff – a one-sheet for The Bride of Frankenstein from 1935, which fetched $334,600 in 2007 Photograph: Courtesy of Heritage Auctions

4) The second appearance of Karloff/Lugosi horror The Black Cat from 1934. This is the "Style B" – perhaps less dramatic than the "Style D" – but it sold for significantly more: $334,600 in 2009 Photograph: Courtesy of Heritage Auctions

3) Here we have the first appearance of arguably the most beautiful poster ever designed, by German graphic artist Heinz Schulz-Neudamm. This is the domestic German three-sheet for Fritz Lang's silent masterpiece Metropolis from 1927, which sold for $357,750 in 2000 Photograph: Moviestore Collection / Rex Feat

2) Boris Karloff is the king of the high-price poster: this is his sixth entry. The most expensive US film poster is The Mummy from 1932 and when it sold for $435,500 in 1997 it was the highest price ever paid for a poster. Until... Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/Universal

1) The current record-holder, the "international" version of the Metropolis poster – the same Heinz Schulz-Neudamm design as number 3 minus the German writing. The clean lines and delicate shading make this a wonder to behold. It sold for $690,000 in 2005; the rumoured purchaser was Leonardo DiCaprio Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext/Paramount