9 Awesome Auction Movie Moments That Will Have You Bidding For More

Auctions in movies have been the setting for lots of great moments, from fun and sexy to edge-of-your seat suspense. Often characters can be introduced, become entangled in mystery or create a scene. Some of the best uses of an auction have been those that allow characters to be clever or funny. Here are 9 of the best auctions moments in cinema.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Everyone’s favorite Batman movie (staring George Clooney that is) sees our hero facing off against the chilling Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as the Caped Crusader joins up with Robin (Chris O’Donnell) and Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone). But Freeze isn’t the only baddie on the scene. Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) shows up and in an amusing scene, has the boys bidding for her affection with her secret mind-altering perfumes. ‘Course Batman wins when he flashes his Batman Gothcard.

The First Wives Club (1996)

Three women come together after a college friend dies and learn that each of their husbands have left them for younger women. Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton play the divorced women and decide to take action against their exes. One of the younger mistresses is played by Sara Jessica Parker, whose character is a bit one-dimensional, a social climber who will try anything to get into the New York high life. The women follow her to Christie’s auction house and create a bidding war over a Japanese plate, pushing the price to over a hundred-forty thousand dollars, ensuring the young woman pay far too much. That’s just nasty. And wickedly funny.

The Best Offer (2013)

Virgil Oldman (Geoffrey Rush) is the director of his own established auction house, dealing with rare works of art and antiquities. He is fascinated with the female face in portrait and is called to a reclusive estate to assess the belongings for auctions, but finds the young, sensual hermit woman inside too intriguing to ignore. The opening scene finds the master at work selling items when a painting of a young woman comes to bid. There is a man in the audience, played by Donald Sutherland, who seems to know Oldman, and a silent signal is passed between them. They share a partnership that is best learned by watching the film. Oh, what dark secrets are hidden in this gem. (Read the review here.)

Still of the Night (1982)

Psychiatrist Dr. Sam Rice (Roy Scheider) gets involved with the mistress of one of his patients, who just happened to have been murdered! Police suspect a women killed the man, and question Rice, though he refuses to cooperation because of patient confidentiality and begins to investigate on his own. The woman, a beautiful auctioneer played by Brooke Reynolds (Meryl Streep) is fearful of her life the two begin their own affair. As police close in and doubts arise, at an auction, to protect Brooke, Rice bids on an expensive piece in order to get her attention and warn her to get out. Wildly suspenseful movie and a great auction moment.

Octopussy (1983)

British MI6 Agent James Bond (Roger Moore) goes on the hunt for the murderer of another agent who was found with a fake Fabergé egg in his hand. When the real egg comes up for auction in London, Bond takes a place at the bidding table in an attempt to discover who might be the seller and if they are linked to the agent’s death. He faces off against Afghan prince Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan) who seems willing to pay anything for the treasure. Little does he know that Bond has a few tricks up his sleeve. Bond knows ‘egg-sactly’ what he’s doing.

MouseHunt (1997)

Brothers Lars (Lee Evans) and Ernie (Nathan Lane) have inherited a rundown mansion, thinking it’s a worthless piece of real estate, but soon learn that it’s actually a near priceless work of lost architecture and so set about to refurbish it in an attempt to sell, but are thwarted by a pesky house mouse with some other ideas about the fate of the home. Despite the rodent’s antics, the boys move forward with their scheme, and on the day of the auction, the mouse, who has caused continued chaos, let’s loose its final plan to end the sale of the house. Slapstick fun.

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Everyone wants to visit the chocolate factory where the greatest candy ever made is produced. When only 5 Willy Wonka bars holding ‘Golden Tickets’ for a special one-time only chance to see the factory become available, the whole world goes on a shopping spree. It gets so wild that the bars are sold at auction with big money being spent for a chance to nab a ticket. Even the Queen of England gets in on the action. That’s a seriously secret factory.

Groundhog Day (1993)

Weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) finds himself stuck reliving the same day over and over, and to pass the time, and stop from going insane (and earn the love of his producer, Rita Hanson (Andie MacDowell)), takes piano lessons, learns French poetry, and slowly transforms from a bitter misanthrope to an altruistic caregiver with a heart of gold. At one point in the film, the town sponsors, as part of their Groundhog Day celebration, a bachelor auction and Conners is volunteered by some fans to get up on stage. Naturally, he is “bought” by Rita and you can guess the rest. Six more weeks of winter.

North by Northwest (1959)

There can be no doubt about this one. A classic that has yet to be equaled, this Alfred Hitchcock favorite sees Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) as an advertising executive who is mistaken for a spy trying to figure just how he ended up in this deadly mixup, all the while sweeping the lovely Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint) off her feet. At an auction, where he’s hoping to find Eve, he ends up trapped by his enemies who are closing in fast. To escape, he starts placing ridiculous, nonsensical bids in hopes of getting security to escort him out. The best there has ever been.

What do you think?  What are your bids for the best auction movie moments? Let us know in the comments below.