• A pair of ruby slippers has become the most expensive piece of entertainment memorabilia sold at auction.
• The shoes, which featured in "The Wizard of Oz," fetched $28 million at auction.
• The pair — one of several worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film — were once stolen from a museum.

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz" sold at an auction on Saturday for $28 million — the highest- price ever paid for a piece of entertainment memorabilia.

Heritage Auctions, the auction house that sold the shoes, which are one of four surviving pairs from the 1939 movie, said in a press release that live bidding opened at $1.55 million, with pre-auction estimates for the slippers starting from $3 million.

"They surpassed that within seconds," the auction house said.

Including the Dallas-based auction house's fee, the unknown buyer is set to pay $32.5 million in total.

The iconic slippers, dubbed the "the Holy Grail of Hollywood memorabilia" by the auction house, already had a storied past.

As Rhys Thomas, author of "The Ruby Slippers of Oz," put it, they have seen "more twists and turns than the Yellow Brick Road."

They disappeared for more than a decade after being stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005 while on loan.

The FBI recovered the shoes in 2018 during a sting operation.

The man behind the heist, Terry Jon Martin, 77, pleaded guilty to the theft last year.

An attorney for Martin said that his client had believed that the rubies on the shoes were real, but he got rid of them after being told they were glass.

Martin, who was suffering from poor health, was given no prison time at a hearing in early 2024, the Associated Press reported.

The shoes were returned to their owner, Michael Shaw, earlier this year. He gave them to Heritage Auctions for Saturday's auction.

The sale of the shoes comes amid renewed interest in the musical following the release of "Wicked," which tells the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West.

The movie, which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, has taken the box office by storm, grossing more than $295 million domestically and over $390 million worldwide.

• The new "Wicked" movie musical is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz."
• Many characters established in "The Wizard of Oz" make appearances in the first film.
• Here's what to know about how the two stories overlap.

Spoilers ahead for "Wicked" movie and Broadway show

"Wicked" is a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," but the story starts halfway through the original 1939 movie.

This may confuse some fans who tune into the new prequel, which premieres this week on the same day as another blockbuster heavyweight, "Gladiator II."

The 1939 film and other adaptations of Oz, like 1970s film 'The Wiz', are based on the original book by Frank L. Baum "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," written in 1900.

The "Wicked" movie and Broadway show, however, are based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 revisionist novel "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."

Maguire's novel reframes the popular plot of the original book and 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz" around the book's main villain, the Wicked Witch of the West. Elphaba, as she's christened by Maguire, is the hero of this rewriting.

The Broadway adaption of the book is a resounding success. Since its debut in 2005, "Wicked" has become the second-highest-grossing Broadway show, selling over a billion tickets.

Wicked begins after Elphaba's death

"Wicked" closely follows the musical's first act, which begins half way through the original plot of "The Wizard of Oz" film.

"The Wizard of Oz" starts when Dorothy Gale, her dog Toto, and her house are picked up by a tornado in Kansas and dropped in Oz, landing on and killing the Wicked Witch of the East.

Glinda the Good Witch gives Dorothy the Wicked Witch of the East's ruby shoes. The Wicked Witch of the West, the Witch of the East's sister, (also known as Elphaba) swears vengeance against Dorothy.

Later in the film, Dorothy must steal Elphaba's broom and deliver it to the Wizard of Oz, so the Wizard will transport her home to Kansas. Dorothy accidentally splashes water on the witch during the encounter.

The witch melts and eventually dies, allowing Dorothy to complete her mission to retrieve Elphaba's broom for the Wizard.

This moment is where "Wicked" begins.

The movie's opening scene is set in Elphaba's castle after the confrontation with Dorothy, signified by the puddle of water and a witch hat on the floor.

A flying monkey, one of Elphaba's servants, crashes through the window. The camera briefly shows Dorothy and her crew — the cowardly lion, the Tin Man, and the scarecrow — on the yellow brick road as the monkey flies over Oz.

Glinda (Ariana Grande) later confirms to the people of Munchkinland, a region in Oz, that Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is dead, leading to cheers and joyful singing.

When the crowd asks how Elphaba became evil, Glinda starts telling the story of the witch's life from childhood revealing she and the wicked witch were once friends.

The movie follows the musical and book's plot where Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, didn't start out wicked. She was ostracized in Oz for her green skin tone from an early age.

The rest of the film shows Elphaba's origin story, ending where the end of act one would normally be in the Broadway show.

"Wicked Part Two," which premieres in November 2025, covers act two of the Broadway show. The second act shows the days leading up to Dorothy's arrival and the story of "The Wizard of Oz" from the point of view of Glinda and Elphaba.

• The "Wicked" movie covers act one of the original musical's plot.
• The film is part of a two-part franchise, with the sequel set for release on November 21, 2025.
• Here's what we know about "Wicked: For Good," including the cast and potential plot.

The cinematic debut of "Wicked" is already as long as the Broadway original, but only covers half of the show's plot. A second movie is coming in November 2025 to complete the story.

The director of 'Wicked' and its sequel, Jon M. Chu, announced in April 2022 that the film adaptation would be split into two movies released in 2024 and 2025.

This remains true even as Universal is marketing the movie as "Wicked," instead of "Wicked Part One." Warner Bros., the studio behind the release, also used this tactic with box office hits "Dune" and "It."

"Wicked," the musical, is the second-highest-grossing Broadway show ever. The plot follows the origin story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, a character from "The Wizard of Oz."

The movie version stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Eviro, and Michelle Yeoh. "Wicked" competed with another double-hitter, "Gladiator 2," for the top box office spot.

Although recent cinema adaptions of stage musicals like "Cats" and Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" haven't had box-office success, "Wicked" is primed to join the billion-dollar club. Deadline predicted a $80 million plus opening, and higher first-day ticket pre-sales than "Inside Out 2," which brought in over $1 billion in ticket sales in 2024.

Marc Platt, who produced the "Wicked" movie and stage production, said he initially intended for the story to be a film but changed his mind after speaking to Stephen Schwartz, who composed the music and lyrics for the stage musical.

"I waited a very long time to make the movie," Platt said at the movie's London premiere where Business Insider was in attendance. Now, fans will have to wait even longer, until November 21, 2025, for the second part of "Wicked," titled "Wicked: For Good."

Both parts of 'Wicked' were filmed together

The cast, director, and crew have all shared reasons for splitting "Wicked" into two films.

Both Chu and Platt have said in interviews that they didn't want to cram or cut songs or characters to fit the story into one movie.

Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, told Entertainment Weekly in February that the split allowed more space to develop her character's friendship and rivalry with Glinda the Good Witch, played by Grande.

A fan newsletter, "The Schwartz Scene," reported that composer Schwartz said there had to be a break after "Defying Gravity," the final song in the musical's first act.

"We found it very difficult to get past 'Defying Gravity' without a break," he said. "That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic."

In 2023, Schwartz told the now-defunct site, The Messenger, that the second part will include new original songs written for the film.

"The storytelling required it, and therefore they were created—the intention was that they were organic and not imposed on the movie," he said.

Both parts of "Wicked" were filmed simultaneously and all the stars from the first film will return in the sequel. This also makes it unlikely the sequel could be delayed by production issues and should arrive on schedule next November.

'Wicked: For Good' will likely cover the second act of the Broadway musical

Spoilers ahead for "Wicked," the Broadway musical and the film.

The sequel's title is named after the act two song "For Good," performed by Elphaba and Glinda.

The first movie adapts the first act of the Broadway musical, explaining how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch.

Though Elphaba grew up being bullied and mistreated for her green skin and magical powers, she is desperate to prove she can be good and become like everyone else.

She and her younger sister Nessarose end up at Shiz University, a magical school in the world of Oz, but Elphaba is forced to share a room with a self-absorbed student called Galinda.

The pair bicker and fight until they become friends. At the same time, both women fall for Prince Fiyero Tiggular, and Elphaba learns that someone is trying to cage Oz's animals and stop them from speaking.

Later in the film, Elphaba is invited to meet The Wizard of Oz, its ruler, and brings along Galinda, who now goes by Glinda.

They learn that the wizard is a con man and that he and Madame Morrible, a magic professor at Shiz, are behind the conspiracy against the talking animals.

They want to use Elphaba's powers to help their plot because she is Oz's chosen one, not the Wizard — she can read a special book of spells called the Grimmerie.

But Elphaba steals the book instead and leaves Emerald City, leaving behind Glinda, who still believes in the Wizard.

The second film will cover the second act, set a few years after the first. In this act, the story connects back to the plot of "The Wizard of Oz," which viewers might be more familiar with from the 1939 film.

Glinda and Madame Morrible are part of the Wizard's administration, and Fiyero is head of a hunting squad for Elphaba.

Nessarose has become a cruel governor of Munchkinland and earned the title of the Wicked Witch of the East.

Elphaba, now known as the Wicked Witch of the West, tries to do good for the animals and people of Oz, but her magic and actions continue to harm her loved ones.

When her sister is crushed and killed by Dorothy's house, she vows to become truly wicked. This establishes her character as the witch depicted in "The Wizard of Oz" book and film.

There are no new characters in Act Two, except Dorothy, who is normally not played by a character onstage. There has been no casting announcement to suggest Dorothy will have a larger role in the second film.