As it turns out, the Dune: Part Two sandworm-shaped monstrosity that AMC is passing off as a popcorn bucket isn’t the only one of its kind. In fact, since 2019, AMC has apparently made a killing selling all kinds of collectible tie-in buckets for the year’s biggest blockbusters, from Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker to Taylor Swift: Eras Tour. It’s all a racket, I tells ya, but a racket that has spawned a bigger market than I was led to believe. Cinemark and other movie theater chains have also jumped on the train, and by now there are folks with a sizeable-enough bunch of these buckets at home to call it an honest-to-goodness collection, and their interest in them an obsession.
And frighteningly, we may just be at the start of this trend, considering that starting this week, you can pick up a Slimer bucket to coincide with your viewing of the new Ghostbusters flick. After diving down this rabbit hole, and proceeding to become the fucking Joker about it, I’ve come to you all with my findings. I’m so sorry. Here are some of the best, and absolute worst, popcorn buckets you can pick up.
For real American dollars.
Of your own volition.
For some reason.
Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantamania
The bucket is obviously a very cool bit of memorabilia for the form factor alone, but I can’t really imagine nonchalantly picking a dude’s brains for popcorn. I think not.
Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom
This is more or less the stereotypical version of these crossovers I tend to see when I go to theatres. I sure wouldn’t pay money for a reskin, but at least this one is kinda fun, and doesn’t just stick the poster art on and call it a day.
Barbie: The Movie
You know that rule that reasonable folks employ about not eating in the car? Yeah.
Blue Beetle
I’m more mixed on this Blue Beetle bucket than I thought I’d be. On one hand, I quite literally never want to look it in the eye, let alone wear it around my neck like the straps seem to suggest you should. On the other hand, it looks like you can close this bad boy and take it on the go, and there’s no better way to snack as far as I’m concerned.
Dune: Part Two
The one that kicked up all this dirt (sand?) in the first place. I’ve come around on it, actually. It’s still hideous, and the folks who want to fuck it are still beyond help, but it’s also just the right amount of unhinged for me to proudly display it on my mantle. Now, to get a mantle.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
This is the gold standard, easily. It helps that the Dungeons & Dragons movie is a hoot and a half, but it’s also practical and boasts a gorgeous design. That’s a hell of a D20! Imagine throwing that, getting a crit, and then popping that sucker open for a mid-game bite.
Fast X
Once again, no one should be eating on/from a car! However, unlike Barbie’s tie-in bucket, I’ve got to give this one kudos because, much like Dom Toretto, it is completely impractical but likely to feed a family.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
There’s simply too much going on here, man. It’d be one thing to do the ghoulish pink bucket on the top or the ghost trap on the bottom, but to slap them together like this is a crime.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
This Groot-themed bucket gets a thumbs-up for being a reasonably sized actual bucket. I don’t love the chunk in the front that has the movie’s name emblazoned on it, especially since I think the wooden imagery and Groot handle do all the talking necessary, but I’ll relent and eat from this thing.
Mean Girls
Yes. Simple, elegant, and most of all, fetch.
The Marvels
Is this the cat that’s actually an alien from Ms. Marvel? I think the problems with this one are numerous, but let’s start there. It’s not obviously a callback to something in these movies that the average person can pick up on. That makes it much more of a hardcore fan collector item, which is great for the dozens of people who went to see this movie, but not for a more casual fan. Second big problem: Am I supposed to eat around the cat? Is there actually less space in this huge popcorn bucket than if I simply bought a normal large bucket? Third: Wait, am I supposed to pop open the cat’s head for a drink and it’s actually removable? What is happening here?
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
I wouldn’t personally want a 2-in-1 popcorn bucket and drink, but apparently a lot of folks did, since this R2D2-themed bucket was the one to kickstart this fad back in 2019. Shame that the success of this thing is tied to that stinker of a movie, though.
Saw X
No, I do not want to play this game. I would never and I hope you wouldn’t either. What are we really doing here? How do we stop?
The Marvels (again)
I had to spotlight this second bucket for The Marvels because look at how overly designed this thing is. Look at how unnecessarily huge it is. No receptacle for food should be this unfathomably large, and it certainly shouldn’t be designed to poke an eye out.
Thor: Love and Thunder
This might just be the dumbest one of all the buckets I’ve seen today. Why the hell would anyone want to lift the hammer to reveal the bucket here? If you’re going to make it a container that can be ferried places, at least make it easy to carry around. If I wanted a Mjolnir display, I’d just buy one of the millions of figures and statues that have been available since the dawn of time.
Trolls Band Together
That is a child, folks. Not to mention, Trolls’ hair is the source of their power. How could anyone sleep at night after eating from this bucket, let alone taking it home to show off?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This bucket feels like a slice of Wakanda that you’re able to bring back home without the colonialist implications. It looks high-tech, features plenty of sleek iconography, and just looks snazzy. This is what they eat popcorn out of in Wakandan theatres and I want one for myself.
Wonka
Look, I don’t hate it. Of all the things you could make into a bucket, a hat is most of the way there. For a movie about a guy often heralded for his creativity, it’s a bit simple though. It’s pretty clear this wasn’t thought up in a land of pure imagination.
And that’s thankfully all for now folks. Lucky for y’all, I cut about another dozen of these buckets that were just some character’s head. The hell was going on there, y’know? Like, who thought that was the move? And importantly, since these things are largely selling like crazy, why is it working? What is wrong with you all?
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