Model from 'E.T.', Steven Spielberg's sci-fi classic, sells for $2.6 million

The original animatronic model used to bring big-eyed alien E.T. to life in Steven Spielberg's classic sci-fi film sold this weekend for a whopping $2.6 million, according to auction organizers.

The item was sold as part of a two-day mega-sale put on by Julien's Auctions and Turner Classic Movies that included over 1,300 props ranging from Robert DeNiro's Raging Bull boxing gloves to Chris Hemsworth's Thor hammer.

But the highest ticket item was the extra-friendly extra-terrestrial, whose glowing finger and childlike innocence melted hearts in 1982, before the age of ubiquitous computer-generated imagery.

With 85 mechanical joints, nearly everything moves on the E.T. model, from the eyes, to the neck, and of course that pointy finger that was held aloft as the alien informed his new friend Elliott that he wanted to "phone home."