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It’s not easy being a theater owner these days. For one thing, convincing people to leave the comfort of their own homes in the age of streaming is a challenge. The movies themselves just aren’t enough of a draw anymore. The declining box office has forced theaters to get creative with incentives that fill seats. As a result, we’re now looking at an unprecedented boom in movie theater collectibles led by the collectible movie theater popcorn bucket.
Some jumped headfirst into collecting while others wondered, “When did collectible popcorn buckets become a thing?”
You can thank (or blame) this current fad on AMC’s infamous Dune: Part Two popcorn bucket. The salacious sandworm wasn’t the first time theaters offered customers a novel way to hold their snacks, but in March 2024 it was the first to go mainstream. After all, of all the AMC popcorn buckets, only the provocative Dune 2 sandworm bucket got its own SNL sketch.
Wars Make Money (Even Weird Ones)
The sandworm popcorn bucket provided pop culture fodder for a couple months before the so-called War of the Popcorn Buckets kicked off. Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds teased a Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn bucket that would out-gross the Dune bucket.
The leap from niche collectors’ item to “Thing Everyone’s Talking About” has spelled out big bucks for movie theater chains. It’s not enough to offer a commemorative plastic tub anymore. The popcorn bucket trend set expectations for consumers that weird, out-there movie collectibles would be part of the moviegoing experience while theater chains reap the rewards.
Unusual bucket designs doesn’t just bring casual interest, but paying customers. AMC reported their Despicable Me 4 popcorn bucket was part of the highest revenue program of the year and second highest in company history.
The financial success for theaters shouldn’t come as a shock, given that popcorn buckets aren’t cheap. Some buckets, like Regal’s Baby Deadpool Cup & Bucket combo, sell for up to $45.99. After the pandemic, theater chains are showing signs they’re happy to indulge in the growing trend.
Deadpool & Wolverine saw over nine unique popcorn buckets released for the film alone. To stay competitive, some theaters offer exclusive designs, like Regal’s Inside Out 2 Anger popcorn bucket.
Between AMC’s offerings, Cinemark popcorn buckets, and all of the Regal popcorn buckets, it’s a golden age for collectors of movie merchandise.
It Was All Started By A Mouse… Again
Collectible popcorn buckets might seem like a new gimmick, but some pop culture fans haven been building their collection for years.
On an episode of Walt Disney’s Disneyland in 1954, Walt Disney reflected, “It was all started by a mouse.” One could argue popcorn buckets have roots in the similar Disney popcorn bucket trend that has been popular for years, making movie theater popcorn buckets, in a way, also started by a mouse.
Specialty buckets like Barbie’s pink Cadillac and the Mean Girls Burn Book popcorn tin might rule the multiplex, but they owe a debt to the Magic Kingdom. Parkgoers at Disney World, Disneyland, and Tokyo Disney have been collecting buckets shaped like everything from Mickey Mouse to The Mayor’s car from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Disney popcorn buckets started out as simple plastic containers decorated with popular characters. Over time, they became more elaborate, morphing into different shapes. Designs include fresh takes on old classics, like the Mickey Mouse Balloon Bucket, which comes in several colors, including 2023’s metallic rainbow Pride bucket.
In 2022, EPCOT even had its own Dune 2 moment with the much less suggestive but equally popular Figment popcorn bucket. EPCOT offered the popcorn bucket as part of its Festival of the Arts, not suspecting that it would become a key focus of the whole festival. Fans waited in line for up to seven hours to get their hands on Figment.
Style vs. (Sweet Buttery) Substance
As you may have noticed, the term “popcorn bucket” isn’t always accurate when describing these unique collectibles. Most theater chains have started to call them “Popcorn Vessels” due to their increasingly un-bucket-like appearance.
With intricate vessels like Deadpool & Wolverine‘s Deadpool Popcorn Taxi, the popcorn is an afterthought. While the bucket makes a cool display on your shelf, a hatch on the vessel’s roof hides where the popcorn goes. It’s just one example of how the newest movie popcorn buckets prioritize style over function.
Then there are buckets like AMC’s light-up Ghostbusters Trap popcorn bucket and Cinemark’s Saw X Billy the Puppet bucket with creepy glowing eyes that look almost too nice to ruin with greasy, buttery foodstuffs.
Get It While Its Hot
But what attracts theatergoers to these collectible popcorn buckets?
Like the Disney popcorn buckets that preceded them, collectors can only experience movie theater popcorn buckets in person. They can’t be streamed or pirated, and while some chains have begun offering a bucket or two online, the majority can only be bought in person—ideally, on opening day before they’re sold out.
Of course, there are still ways to get sold-out buckets. Resellers list them on the secondhand market for a steep markup.
That Dune 2 bucket? Those go for around $100 on eBay, with some sellers asking as much as $800. The similarly risqué Deadpool & Wolverine “mouth” popcorn bucket has an asking price of $135. Quite an increase from the retail price of $29.99.
With upcoming releases of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Borderlands, and Alien: Romulus popcorn buckets, this trend isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, given how popular the buckets are with theatergoers and how profitable they’ve been for theater owners, we’re pretty confident in saying collectible movie popcorn buckets are here to stay.
Now, be a doll and pass the butter, would you?
