The buttery smell of popcorn is intrinsically linked to the film experience, and now, so are the receptacles it comes in with the rise of novelty popcorn buckets. With each new hot film release, we get a new collectible item to clutter our ever-growing merchandise shelves. But hey, these come with snacks.
The latest popcorn bucket releases to send horror fans wild online are for M3GAN 2.0, which lets you get inside the iconic android’s head quite literally and the 50th anniversay Jaws popcorn buckets. M3GAN 2.0 popcorn buckets are available from Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas. The bucket is a replica bust of M3GAN herself, with her head splitting in half to reveal the goods inside. The Bruce Jaws 50th anniversary bucket is available at Alamo Drafthouse and AMC theaters.
These are just the latest in a line of weird and wonderful novelty popcorn buckets to cause a stir online, prompting fans to rush to their local cinema chain, often camping out before the doors open to get their hands on a unique and sometimes valuable collectible item. But why exactly are novelty popcorn buckets the new “it” item? And which horror films have spurred the trend? FANGORIA investigates…
Why are themed popcorn buckets going viral?
The trend of novelty popcorn buckets seemed to kick off with the release of Dune: Part Two in 2023 and its NSFW design that instantly led to a slew of viral videos and social media posts. It was a marketing team’s dream to see how quickly the bucket spread among not just film fans but the general social media crowd, so it makes sense that films in its wake would want to replicate the same success. On a simpler level, labeling an item as “limited edition” drives interest, with many coveting the item due to its exclusivity more than anything else.
Like movie merchandise that came before, the popcorn buckets are also highly collectible, with some selling for more than double and triple their original price online. With the movie theater industry struggling due to the rise of streaming services, among other factors, novelty popcorn buckets priced between $20 and $50 can bring in a much-needed extra income stream to keep these businesses afloat. In 2023, AMC Theaters reportedly generated $54 million in revenue thanks to merchandise sales, including popcorn buckets and other collectibles.
For fans, it could be the material nature of the popcorn buckets that adds to their desirability. Despite the prominence of streaming services, film fans are increasingly turning to and celebrating physical media. The same can be said for film merchandise, which provides a tangible part of the film experience to hold onto and revisit. It provides many with a way to connect to their fandom and a film they enjoy in a unique and somewhat cost-efficient way, given how expensive collectible items can be.
Speaking to FANGORIA, Alamo Drafthouse’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chaya Rosenthal, believes the highly collectible nature of the buckets and their reusability for years after, as plant pots, etc, make them such a desirable product.
But it's not the first time this level of attention has surrounded movie merchandise, as she explained: “Posters back in the day were really big. You would have fans who would want to own posters that are unique and not the official movie poster. With Alamo, as well as with Mondo, pint glasses are big. We have social fan pages that are primarily focused on collecting Alamo and Mondo pint glasses, so this type of craze has been around for a while. I think we've just seen it go more mainstream, to be honest, across more theaters and studios.”
SVP of food and beverage at Cinemark, David Haywood, told FANGORIA he credits social media in the case of the popcorn bucket explosion. He said, “You can’t have a conversation around the explosion in popularity of collectible popcorn buckets without mentioning social media. As Instagram and TikTok make it easier for people to share experiences and make connections, we have seen guests pushing for more and more creative designs that lend to fun conversations online. And, of course, the more people post about their new movie swag, the more everyone else wants it.”
Haywood added, “In general, people love new things and getting to be in on a trend. More and more, we’re seeing ‘kidult’ tendencies that even further generate interest in these merchandise opportunities. The growing online engagement is adding a whole new layer to this already emphatic consumer excitement, particularly when potential FOMO is involved!”
The attention the popcorn buckets have had has been a boon for cinemas, with Haywood noting “record-breaking box office performances” and additional revenue across merchandise – and not just those that contain popped corn kernels. “Popcorn buckets have certainly been at the forefront of the zeitgeist in recent years due to the virality of certain designs, but what we’ve seen is consumers are opting to make the most of their out-of-home entertainment experiences,” he continued. “We’ve seen this trend play out in record-breaking box office performances and increased indulgence in premium amenities, including a whole array of unique collectible merchandise items, from popcorn buckets to cups, plushes, and more.”
Rosenthal noted a similar trend at Alamo, adding: “At Alamo, we've expanded our inventory to include popcorn buckets. But where we've also seen some really great results is in our character blankets. For Lion King, for instance, we created a wearable blanket that has a lion on the top. I've seen the same craze with that as well. Lunch boxes are another area where items have sold out instantly. I think it's definitely helped from a revenue standpoint, but I will say that it's spread across multiple different products, not just popcorn buckets.”
And it's hard for them not to get sucked into the trend, too, with Haywood and Rosenthal telling us about their personal favorite bucket designs so far. “One of my favorite recent experiences surrounds the movie Terrifier 3,” Haywood shared. “The overwhelming social media outcry from fans who wanted their own unique vessel led us to work with our partners to design a truly terrifying popcorn tub. That amazing fan reaction to the creation was a great experience showing the creativity and love for these specialty vessels.”
Rosenthal continued, “It's a great question. I like the Back to the Future one of the DeLorean. It looks awesome, it lights up, and it's super cool. I also like a few of the new Wicked 2 lunch boxes that I know a couple of companies are working on right now.”
With Terrifier 4 and a third Beetlejuice film on the horizon, the craze sure doesn’t look like it's going to slow down anytime soon. We’re already adding new designs to our wishlist, with Rosenthal sharing some exciting news Alamo Drafthouse has in the pipeline for kaiju fans: “We are working with our friends at Toho on a Godzilla popcorn bucket. Our first-ever Godzilla popcorn bucket, and it is so cool. We’re very excited to see that one come to life. We're in early phases right now, but I can tell you already that's my instant favorite.”
Which genre film popcorn buckets have been social media hits?
The Monkey
The perfect example of chilling horror iconography turned into a marketable product, The Monkey popcorn bucket ticked all the boxes. If, after seeing the gory horror-comedy with a murderous drumming monkey, you decided you wanted one for yourself, it was made possible with this unique piece of merchandise available exclusively through AMC.
It’s eerily like the terrifying toy in Osgood Perkins’ latest movie while also doubling as a cinema snack receptacle. The 85-ounce bucket has arms that can be moved up and down to beat the monkey’s drum just like it does in the film before selecting a target – so we don’t advise it.
Terrifier 3
Following in the footsteps of Ghostface, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and many others, Art The Clown is one of the most iconic slasher villains of all time. It makes sense, then, that his monochromatic smiling visage was turned into a popcorn bucket to celebrate the release of Terrifier 3 last year.
Available from Cinemark Theaters, the simple bucket was a replica of Art’s head wearing a Christmas hat, meaning it can also double up as a festive decoration when the holiday season comes around. Splattered with blood and baring Art’s sinister grin, the popcorn bucket quickly went viral as excitement for the third – and biggest to date – Terrifier film intensified. Who knows what they will come up with for the fourth film.
Alien: Romulus
It was a battle of the popcorn buckets when Alien: Romulus was released, with fans of the sci-fi franchise battling it out for multiple pieces of merch across cinema chains. AMC, Regal, and Cinemark all released their own Xenomorph and Face Hugger-inspired designs for Alien fans (or just people who really, really like popcorn) to collect.
AMC’s classic paid homage to one of Alien’s most iconic moments, with a large Face Hugger crawling around the simple bucket’s gunmetal gray exterior with its tail wrapping around the base. It also features Romulus’ poster and release date on the other side for some added flair.
Regal dropped not one, but two popcorn buckets for eager collectors. One took inspiration from AMC’s but with some added oomph, with its design featuring a Face Hugger crawling up the side of a replica specimen container…Oh, and did we mention it lights up? The other featured the same specimen, contained but with a large Xenomorph head on the lid.
Lastly, we had Cinemark’s utterly unhinged, wearable Xenomorph head popcorn bucket, which frankly looked like a complete nightmare to reach your final kernels of popcorn right at the bottom of that enormous skull – but it would make an incredible plant pot to use afterward.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice fans on social media went into meltdown mode when a sequel to the classic Tim Burton film was announced, and the same excitement reared its head again when videos of the film’s popcorn buckets from Regal Cinemas were released.
The Beetlejuice Beetlejuice buckets got millennial fans of the franchise right in the nostalgia, bringing classic props from the film to life for them to hold in their own two hands, and snack from no less.
One design featured an iconic Sandworm coiled up to form a bucket, while another was based on the Betelgeuse tombstone with a hatch at the back to let you reach in and grab your snacks. The last (and by far my favorite) is a Handbook for the Recently Deceased that opens to reveal not pages, but a large space for treats or whatever trinkets you want to store in it after. With a third film on the horizon, who knows what we’re going to get next.
Nosferatu
Not everyone could afford the life-size sarcophagus to be buried in after watching Nosferatu (yes, really), but Regal Cinema’s popcorn bucket tie-in was the next best thing. In a suitably morbid fashion, the bucket was shaped like a tiny sarcophagus, which is any spooky cinema fan’s perfect piece of homeware.
It wasn’t the only bizarre piece of merchandise that went viral with the release of Nosferatu – yes, aside from the sarcophagus – with everything from a life-size sarcophagus bed being made available on the NBC Universal Store website and a fragrance from Focus Features and Heretic Parfum promising to make you smell like a vampire. Come back, Nosferatu marketing, we miss you.
Chucky
Popcorn buckets aren’t just limited to the movies, as shown by Halloween Horror Nights’ 2024 festivities, where Universal released a familiar icon in bucket form. Also available at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Singapore to mark the spooky season, a talking Chucky popcorn bucket sent horror fans absolutely wild, with many clamoring online for one. Yes, a popcorn bucket that can talk. The peak of technology, if you ask us.
The doll bucket, which featured stitching like the character in Bride of Chucky, came with glowing and blinking eyes. It can also speak three different phrases: “…from now on.. no more Mr. Good Guy,” “…alright kid…fun's over,” and “…sorry kid you got me…I'm bad…(laughing).” It’s just like having your own Good Guys doll, only now, you can eat popcorn out of it. Fun for the whole family.
And of course… Dune: Part Two
Ah, yes. How could we possibly talk about viral popcorn buckets without mentioning…This. Dune: Part Two not only won itself Oscars, but also a dedicated fanbase thanks to the, uh unique popcorn bucket design from AMC.
There’s a lot to break down here about this alien sex toy/cinema snack receptacle. It resembles a Shai-Hulud, otherwise known as a sandworm, and when a cinemagoer reaches into the bucket, their hand has to pass the creature’s many, many teeth to get to the popcorn inside. Of course, the design quickly went viral and even became the subject of an SNL skit.
It caught the attention of the cast, who discussed it in an interview with Entertainment Tonight with Zendaya pointing out how difficult it would be to get popcorn out as the teeth “pull the popcorn out of your hand.” Josh Brolin added, “I'm not sticking my hand in there.” Same, to be honest.
What does the future of movie themed popcorn buckets hold for us? Only time will tell, but we'd love to see a Toxic Avenger bucket in theaters this summer, and we'll be first in line for that newly announced Godzilla popcorn bucket. Stay tuned for all the most horrific popcorn bucket reveals.
