The year in buckets of popcorn

When someone had the idea of ​​turning a sandworm into a bucket of popcorn they had no idea what Dune were. Did they create a uniquely hilarious internet sensation? Yes. But they also sparked a trend that had people going to movie theaters not only to watch movies or eat snacks, but also to buy a cool collector’s item.

For years, movie theaters have been looking for new and unique ways to bring people to the movies: IMAX, 4DX, 3D, etc. In 2024, they found an answer with the appearance of the Popcorn Bucket: a limited-edition collectible that could, in theory, be used to store popcorn, but is actually something fun for fans to buy and enjoy. as a souvenir Popcorn buckets aren’t new to movie theaters, nor are they new elsewhere, but 2024 put them in the spotlight and it all started with Dune: part two.

He Dune: Part Two The popcorn bucket was 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, including ourselves. That meant that while other studios surely had buckets of popcorn in the works for movies like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Godzilla x Kong: The New EmpireA new light shone upon them.

A few weeks later, Marvel Studios announced that the always offensive Deadpool had designed his own popcorn bucket to Deadpool and Wolverine and the Merc Con la Boca did not disappoint. Shortly after, it was revealed that Wolverine’s head, with a very suspiciously open mouth, was sticking out and all bets were off.

And while the Deadpool and Wolverine The cube was probably the most famous of the summer, we personally prefer the one that Disney launched for Alien: Romulus which 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 now had several months to think about buckets of popcorn for their year-end releases, the buckets kept coming. Gladiator II gave us a Roman Colosseum with an AR component. Nosferatu He gave us a coffin of popcorn. And even Sonic the Hedgehog joined in, with perhaps the only cube that feels relatively normal.

The change by the end of the year is that the buckets were no longer just for basic blockbusters. Now we’re making gothic horror movies. Now we’re doing the Oscar fare. And that’s just a sample. Basically, as the title of the article says, 2024 was the year of the popcorn bucket. The only question is: can the year 2025 raise the stakes or will they go back to being boring?

Want more io9 news? See when to expect the latest releases from Marvel, Star Wars and Star Trek, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and television, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.