The Titanic “door” jamb that kept Rose alive sold for $718,750

The floating piece of wood that kept the Titanic Rose alive has sold for $718,750 (£569,739) at auction.

Since the film's 1997 release, fans have wondered if the painting is large enough to fit her love interest Jack as well, saving him from an icy death.

The listing noted that the prop “generated a lot of controversy among fans.”

The sale took place during an auction of props and costumes owned by the Planet Hollywood restaurant and resort chain.

In the hit film, the fictional Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, insists that the painting – part of a door frame – was only big enough for his beloved Rose, played by Kate Winslet. He later died in the frozen Atlantic Ocean, his body falling into the depths of the ocean.

In a 2012 episode of Mythbusters, Titanic director James Cameron revealed that he receives dozens of emails a day calling Rose “selfish” and Jack an “idiot” in the scene.

But he put an end to the debate by saying that Jack should die according to the script.

“Maybe we made a mistake and the plate should have been a little smaller, but man is it falling apart,” he said.

prop, It is often confused with a doorThe painting was based on an entire piece of wreckage recovered from the 1912 tragedy, according to Heritage Auctions.

Addressing the debate over whether the commission could accommodate both, the list states: “The pillar is approximately 8 feet (2.4 m) long and 41 inches (1 m) wide.”

Other props featured at the auction included the whip from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which sold for $525,000.

Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man suit sold for $125,000, while the ax used by Jack Nicholson in The Shining to hack down a bathroom door during a “Here's Johnny!” advert sold for $125,000. Attracted the same amount.

The auction, which ended Sunday evening, raised $15.68 million, making it one of the most successful sales of props and costumes, Heritage Auctions said.

“There were countless bidding wars…we lost a lot of them,” Heritage's Joseph Maddalena said.