Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Bleak House’ Auction Brings $1.65 Million at Heritage Auctions

DALLAS, Texas (Sept. 29, 2025) — Heritage Auctions’ landmark event The Guillermo del Toro Collection: Bleak House Part 1 realized $1.65 million including buyer’s premium Sept. 26, drawing impassioned bidding from more than 700 collectors around the globe.

The once-in-a-lifetime offering marked the first public opportunity to acquire treasures from the Academy Award-winning filmmaker’s famed Bleak House — a sanctuary of monsters, myths and imagination that has inspired his films and captivated cinephiles for decades.

From screen-used props to concept art and original illustrations, the auction offered a revelatory glimpse into the mind of one of cinema’s most visionary storytellers. Among the highlights, an original painting by H.R. Giger, a concept design for an unproduced script titled The Tourist, achieved $325,000 and realized an auction record for the artist, while artist Bernie Wrightson’s haunting published illustration plate for Marvel’s novel adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein soared to $250,000 and his final album cover painting for Meat Loaf’s DeadRinger brought $167,000, underscoring the deep reverence collectors hold for del Toro’s singular universe and his relationship with great artists’ works.

Other standouts included:

  • Charlie Hunnam’s Black Jaeger Drivesuit and his White Jaeger Drivesuit from Pacific Rim — $75,000 each
  • Mike Mignola’s original art for Hellboy: Seed of Destruction — $51,250
  • Ron Perlman’s Hellboy screen-used leather duster trench coat — $50,000
  • Mike Mignola’s original artwork of Pinhead for Clive Barker’s Hellraiser — $50,000
  • Richard Corben’s original wraparound cover art for “Vic and Blood: The Chronicles of a Boy and His Dog” #2 — $50,000
  • Allen Williams’ original illustration art for Pan’s Labyrinth: Labyrinth of the Faun — $16,250
  • Full-body conceptual clay maquette for Amphibian Man for The Shape of Water — $6,250
  • Precise replica of the Cronos“Vampire Device” built for Guillermo del Toro — $5,750

“This was a historic sale, not only for Heritage but for collectors everywhere,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. “These were not just props or pieces of memorabilia. They are the creative DNA of one of cinema’s most visionary storytellers. The response from bidders shows just how deeply Guillermo’s imagination resonates around the world.”

From Cronos to The Shape of Water, from Hellboy to Frankenstein, every piece in this auction told a story, and now those stories continue with collectors who share Guillermo’s passion. Today’s results prove that his legacy as a filmmaker and collector is as indelible as the monsters he has given us. For del Toro, collecting has always been more than ownership.

“I feel like a good guardian — knowing fully that these, and future, artifacts have now found loving hands,” del Toro wrote following the auction. “If you love somebody, you have estate planning, you know, and this is me estate planning for a family that has been with me since I was a kid.”

The sale was also a reminder of del Toro’s role as a devoted steward of genre history. Alongside objects from his own filmography, collectors snapped up treasures from the masters who shaped his imagination: from Ray Harryhausen’s Cyclops to H.R. Giger’s biomechanical nightmare, from Mike Mignola’s rendition of Pinhead to original artworks by Richard Corben and Drew Struzan. The auction offered a sweeping cross-section of 20th-century fantasy and horror art, filtered through the lens of an artist who has spent his life celebrating the “other.”

“Guillermo’s Bleak House has always been a place of wonder,” Maddalena said. “And now that wonder is spreading to collectors worldwide. These results prove there is a thriving, passionate community eager to preserve and honor the stories, visions and artistry that Guillermo has cherished throughout his life.”

This sale marked the first of three auctions presenting selections from del Toro’s Bleak House collection. Parts 2 and 3 will follow in Spring and Winter 2026, promising further opportunities for collectors to engage with the visual and emotional DNA of a master storyteller.

Complete results for Heritage’s Sept. 26 Guillermo del Toro Collection: Bleak House Part 1 auction can be found here.

Source/Images: Press Release