A collage of various tie-in popcorn buckets, including Dune, Saw X, Barbie, Ghostbusters, Ant-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Star Wars.

Image: AMC Theatres / Cinemark / Kotaku

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.

A popcorn bucket that resembles Ant-Man's head.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A popcorn bucket and soda cup styled in the gold and green colors of Aquaman's costume.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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's pink Corvette, which apparently in this case is also a popcorn bucket?

Photo: AMC Theatres

You know that rule that reasonable folks employ about not eating in the car? Yeah.

A blue, plastic, mechanical-looking blue beetle. Popcorn can be seen within through its clear eyes.

Photo: Cinemark

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.

The famous Dune popcorn bucket, with its opening stylized to look like a giant worm emerging from the sand.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A very large 20-sided die that can be opened to reveal a bounty of delicious popcorn inside.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A dark sports car with its upper section tilted open to allow one to enjoy the delicious popcorn filling the interior.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A Ghostbusters trap with popcorn sitting in a pink bucket atop it that is likely meant to suggest the dazzling light that emerges from an open ghost trap in the films.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A popcorn bucket that looks like it's made out of tendrils of wood grows out of the arms of Groot.

Photo: Cinemark

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.

Two juxtaposed images of the same item. On the left, it is closed and we can see that it is a case meant to resemble the pink-covered Burn Book from Mean Girls. On the right, it is open, displaying where the tasty popcorn would go.

Photo: AMC Theatres

Yes. Simple, elegant, and most of all, fetch.

A cat, or at least a creature resembling a cat, looks cute and attentive while it seemingly pops out of an orange egg of some kind.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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?

R2-D2, with a straw in the top of his head and popcorn in a sliding panel in his torso.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

The head of Jigsaw's puppet from the Saw films, but with popcorn in its cranium.

Photo: Cinemark

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?

A blue, star-shaped plastic container of popcorn on a little stand with silhouettes of characters from Marvels on it.

Photo: Cinemark

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's famous hammer rests with its handle upward as if just waiting for someone to come along and lift it. Apparently there's popcorn in there.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A Troll character stands with is head open, apparently to store popcorn.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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?

A futuristic-looking angular bucket of black and gold, with Wakandan script along the top and what is meant to look like some kind of digital readout on one side.

Photo: AMC Theatres

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.

A hat that resembles the one worn by Wonka in the recent film, but upside-down to contain popcorn.

Photo: Cinemark

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?