The Breakfast at Tiffany's poster proved a best-seller

Sarah Hodgson, a film and entertainment specialist at the auction house, expressed delight at the success of the sale.

"The packed saleroom and strong international interest both on the telephones and in the room underlined the continuing appeal of film posters, especially the sci-fi section," said Ms Hodgson.

Stunning

The US poster for 2001: A Space Odyssey was bought by an anonymous bidder.

The price paid to walk away with the print is a reflection of the cult status of the film - credited with having broken the mould of sci-fi movies.

Vertigo was a Hitchcock classic

Directed by the late legendary director Stanley Kubrick, it is visually stunning and spans three million years from the dawn of man through to his rebirth as a star child in space.

The film was recently re-released, having been upgraded with digitally remastered sound on a new 70mm print.

The posters in the sale encompassed every film genre and many had been used to advertise now prized classic movies.

Films from the 60s had their own section in the sale. One of the other top-selling posters was for the 1961 Audrey Hepburn movie Breakfast At Tiffany's.

The sale had several examples up for grabs. All sold for more than �3,000 but the highest price paid was �4,465.

Monroe

Another coveted poster was for the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, which sold for �3,290.

And a poster from the Alfred Hitchcock 1958 thriller Vertigo exceeded its top estimate of �1,000 to go for �2,115.

There were several posters from the James Bond movies, a collector's favourite, in the auction. One from Goldfinger in 1964 sold for �1,997.

Monroe memorabilia is always a popular collector's item

Screen goddess Marilyn Monroe had her own dedicated section of the sale with 20 lots of offer.

They covered most of her major films and the best-seller turned out to be a poster for The Seven Year Itch which sold for �2,350.

A poster for the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes - desirable since the recent release of the blockbuster remake - also performed well.

It went for �822 when it had been expected to make up to �600.

This is the second consecutive year that Christie's has held the movie poster sale.

The last one also proved successful, making more than �158,000.