When someone had the idea to turn a sandworm into a bucket of popcorn they had no idea what they were Dune. Did they create a singularly hilarious internet sensation? Yes. But they also set off a trend that saw people go to movie theaters not just for the movies or the snacks, but for a cool collectible too.
For years movie theaters have been looking for new, unique ways to get people to the theater: IMAX, 4DX, 3D, etc. In 2024, they found an answer with the emergence of the popcorn bucket: a limited edition collectible that, in theory, could be used to hold popcorn but is really just something fun for fans to buy and enjoy as a keepsake. Popcorn buckets aren’t a new thing in theaters, nor are they new in other places, but 2024 kind of brought them into the spotlight and it all started with Dune: Part Two.
The Dune: Part Two popcorn bucket was just supposed to be a sandworm. But very quickly the internet realized it looked like a sex toy, and, well, no one would shut up about it, ourselves included. That meant while other studios surely had popcorn buckets in the works for films like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a brand new light was shined on them.
A few weeks later, Marvel Studios announced that the always-offensive Deadpool had designed his very own popcorn bucket for Deadpool & Wolverine and the Merc With the Mouth did not disappoint. Soon after, it was revealed that Wolverine’s head, with a very suspiciously wide open mouth, was coming out and all bets were off.
And while the Deadpool & Wolverine bucket was probably the most famous of the summer, personally we preferred the one Disney released for Alien: Romulus which was big and thick and… just the head of an alien.
As tends to happen, summer turns to fall, fall turns to winter, and since movie studios now had several months to think about popcorn buckets for their end-of-the-year releases, the buckets just kept on coming. Gladiator II gave us a Roman Colosseum with an AR component. Nosferatu gave us a popcorn coffin. And even Sonic the Hedgehog got on board, with maybe the only bucket that feels relatively normal.
The change by the end of the year is the buckets were no longer only for your basic blockbusters. Now we’re doing gothic horror movies. Now we’re doing Oscar fare. And that’s just a sampling. Basically, as the title of the article states, 2024 was the year of the popcorn bucket. The only question is, can 2025 raise the stakes, or will they get back to being lame?
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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