THE bizarre reason why your popcorn bucket now costs $80 at the movies has now been revealed.
More blockbusters than ever are rolling out themed buckets for fans, and it’s all thanks to an unintended sexual innuendo.
Those who have been going to see some of the biggest movies of the past year might have noticed the crazy designs on popcorn buckets.
More often now popcorn doesn’t come in simple bags, but instead grand containers made to look like a character from the movie.
The blockbuster that made it into a viral trend was Dune: Part Two and the sandworm mouth.
The sexually suggestive nature of the bucket, which asked you to reach into the mouth of the sandworm, quickly became a viral sensation.
Rod Mason is vice president of business development at Zinc, the company behind many of the recent popular popcorn buckets.
He said: “Now everybody wants to do a popcorn bucket and everyone wants to make it into something that will be iconic.”
Marcus Gonzalez, creative director at Zinc Group, stressed that any sexual innuendo tied to the Dune: Part Two bucket was “definitely not the intent.”
However, it did sell out very quickly and even spawned a Saturday Night Live skit about a teenager using the bucket to lose his virginity.
Only a few months after the release of Dune: Part Two, Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds released one for his movie Deadpool & Wolverine.
Reynolds wrote on the social media platform Instagram around the rleeae of the bucket: “Years from now they will look back at 2024 as the year the War of the Popcorn Buckets began.”
Other recently popular buckets include the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves popcorn bucket was a giant 20-sided die.
MARVEL AT THIS
Now, top film studios like Marvel are charging upwards of $80 for a themed popcorn bucket.
The upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps creates a bucket out of the villain Galactus.
It features glowing LED eyes and removable purple horns and holds 361 ounces of popcorn, and will set you back $79.95 at Regal.
Industry insiders have already seen a nice profit from these collector’s items.
John Curry, senior vice president of commercial at Regal, said: “It’s very accretive and complementary to what we’re doing at the box office and concession sales.”
He continued to boast that excluvise items “encourage people to watch movies at Regal.”
For many, these popcorn buckets have become collector’s items, fun ways to get closer to the moviegoing experience.
Brandon Belvins, who runs a Reddit and Discord that tracks every upcoming collectible popcorn bucket release is anticipating the new Galactus one.
He said: “I am going to be outside my theater waiting for the doors to unlock for this one.”
The blockbuster that made it into a viral trend was Dune: Part Two and the sandworm mouth[/caption]
