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When someone had the idea Turn a sandworm into a bucket of popcorn They had no idea what they were, Dune. Have they created a particularly hilarious internet sensation? Yes. But they also started a trend that had people going to the movies not just for the movies or snacks, but also for a cool collectible.
For years, movie theaters have been looking for new, unique ways to bring people to the movies: IMAX, 4DX, 3D, etc. In 2024, they found an answer with the advent of the popcorn bucket: a limited-edition collectible that, in theory, could… Storing popcorn is actually just something fun for fans to buy and enjoy as a souvenir. Popcorn buckets are nothing new in theaters and nothing new anywhere else, but 2024 has somehow brought them into the spotlight and It all started with Dune: Part Two.
The Dune: Part Two The popcorn bucket was actually just supposed to be a sandworm. But very quickly the internet realized that it looked like a sex toy, and well, no one would shut up about it, including ourselves. That meant other studios certainly had popcorn buckets in the works for films like this Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire And Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a whole new light was shone upon them.
A few weeks later, Marvel Studios announced that the ever-offensive Deadpool had designed his very own popcorn bucket Deadpool and Wolverine and the Merc With the Mouth did not disappoint. Soon it was it was revealed that Wolverine’s head, He came out with his mouth very suspiciously wide open and all bets were off.
And while the Deadpool and Wolverine Bucket was probably the most famous of the summer, we personally preferred the one Disney released Alien: Romulus that was big and thick and… just the head of an alien.
As often happens, summer turns to fall, fall turns to winter, and since movie studios have now had several months to think about popcorn buckets for their year-end releases, the buckets just kept coming. Gladiator II gave us a Roman coliseum with an AR component. Nosferatu gave us a popcorn coffin. And even Sonic the Hedgehog got inwith perhaps the only bucket that feels relatively normal.
The year-end change is that the buckets were no longer just for your basic blockbusters. Now we make gothic horror films. Now we’re making Oscar dishes. And that’s just a selection. Basically, as the title of the article suggests, 2024 was the year of the popcorn bucket. The only question is: Can the stakes rise in 2025, or will they be lame again?
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