The 5 Most iconic popcorn buckets of all time No movie is released anymore without a collectible bucket
There is no greater pleasure than sinking into a seat at the cinema with a bucket of popcorn still warm in your hands. The audience of Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, Christopher Nolan's film in American theaters from July 17, 2026, must have thought the same: the movie arrived accompanied by a container shaped like an IMAX 15/65mm film camera, the very same one used to shoot it. The camera-bucket was sold for around 50 dollars and sold out on the first day, to the point that the CEO of IMAX asked the Chinese division to ship its own stock to the United States.
The popcorn bucket is no longer just a container it has become a collectible item that major American cinema chains such as AMC, Regal, and Cinemark have turned into a phenomenon through a now well-tested mechanism, perhaps the strongest piece of cinematic merchandising around. They launch limited-edition buckets alongside the film, often exclusively in theaters and only for a few days, and the aura of exclusivity does the rest. Fans, gripped by FOMO, line up to get their hands on them, stocks sell out within hours, and those who miss out have only one option: eBay and reselling sites, where the buckets reappear at inflated prices, listed by other users. And the more outlandish the shapes the buckets take, the more following the logic of collecting — the desire to own them grows.
From the sandworm of Dune to the Colosseum from Gladiator II, here are the five most iconic pop buckets of all time.
The sandworm from Dune: Part Two
If today's buckets are increasingly bizarre and extreme, the credit or should we say the blame? — belongs in part to the popcorn bucket launched for Dune: Part Two. The tin bucket is topped by the sandworm from Arrakis, its mouth wide open and ringed with rubbery teeth through which you fish out your popcorn. The internet took approximately 11 and a half seconds to turn it into a meme, and Saturday Night Live even built a musical sketch around it, featuring Marcello Hernández and Ayo Edebiri. Sold for $24.99 in theaters at the film's release, the worm quickly ended up on eBay for over $800.
The It-Bag from The Devil Wears Prada 2
A structured fire-red bag, a stiletto heel charm that ends in a pitchfork, referencing the film's logo. The one designed for The Devil Wears Prada 2 could be among the most memorable and coveted buckets ever. It immediately behaved like a true it-bag: its original in-theater price was $39.95, but once it sold out on AMC, Regal, and Cinemark, it reappeared on reselling sites for over two hundred dollars.
Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, from The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Galactus, the cosmic villain played by Ralph Ineson in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, can devour entire planets. So why shouldn't audiences be able to eat popcorn straight from his head? That is the idea behind what is officially presented as «the largest popcorn container in the universe». On July 18, 2025, in Los Angeles, it was certified by the Guinness World Records as the largest commercially available bucket, thanks to its 9-liter capacity. Standing 44 centimeters tall and 50 centimeters wide, it features LED eyes, removable horns, and a retail price of around eighty euros.
The pink Corvette from Barbie
In 2023 the world turned pink, and the convertible Corvette from Barbie went on sale at AMC theaters one day before the film's release, available in limited quantities as part of a bundle for $64.99 including a doll and a large serving of popcorn. Given the asking price, the little car could only hold two and a half liters of popcorn and that is precisely what sparked controversy. Under AMC's post, users complained in the comments about the disproportionate price of something that, they joked, could barely hold two kernels of popped corn. Not everyone, however, could resist its sleek silhouette and retro finishes: stocks sold out all the same, and the Corvette duly ended up on eBay.
The AR-ena from Gladiator II
We close our roundup in Rome, the Eternal City — or rather, in its miniature replica: for Gladiator II, Cinemark put on sale the AR-ena Popcorn Bucket for $22.99. A gold-colored scale replica of the Colosseum, complete with arches and columns. The name, however, is the true stroke of genius: AR stands for Augmented Reality, because once the popcorn is gone, you can scan the QR code on the bottom of the bucket and watch an augmented reality gladiatorial battle between Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, the film's two leads.