The 10 most unhinged movie popcorn buckets, from “The Odyssey”’s Trojan Horse to “Dune”’s sandworm

Popcorn has always been a staple of the moviegoing experience. Typically that popcorn has come in a bucket, and may even have been dressed with some melted butter or seasoning.

But thanks to capitalism, and perhaps, yes, also the love of cinema, movie theaters have taken popcorn to the next level with collectible tie-in buckets. While some have been fairly innocuous, a la Barbie’s pink corvette popcorn bucket, there have also been a fair share of unsettling options like Dune 2‘s sandworm-shaped monstrosity.

Entertainment Weekly dug into the popcorn bucket phenomenon, and pulled out the more deeply concerning collectibles into which one could stuff a buttered hand.

The Odyssey — Trojan Horse bucket

What could make Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey more epic than a Trojan Horse–themed popcorn bucket? The Trojan Horse was originally devised by Odysseus, the Greek King of Ithaca, as a way to break a decade-long stalemate in the Trojan War. One can only imagine how proud he would be of the craftsmanship that has gone into making a hinged belly that stows a legion of popped corn. The Odyssey debuts July 17, 2026, and the bucket will be available in-theater at Regal, AMC, and Cinemark locations. The Trojan Horse bucket is the second collectible developed for the film, the first being a comparatively reasonable-looking IMAX Film Camera Popcorn Bucket.

Alien: Romulus — Facehugger & Xenomorph buckets

What better inspiration for a salty snack container than aliens that suck your face or spew acid blood? Alien: Romulus provided just that with its light-up Facehugger popcorn bucket and equally eerie Xenomorph bin. Originally released at major theaters like AMC, Cinemark, and Regal in 2024, the buckets paid homage to one of cinema’s most terrifying creatures. Word to the wise when eating from one of these — check to make sure it’s truly a popcorn bucket and not an otherworldly abomination seeking to implant an embryo in your chest cavity first.

Deadpool and Wolverine — Wolverine’s Mouth bucket

Despite Deadpool’s reputation as “the Merc with a Mouth,” AMC Theatres had Wolverine open wide for this exclusive popcorn bucket made for the franchise’s third film, Deadpool and Wolverine. Whether one chooses to store popcorn or any other kind of snack inside, its suggestive design seems to welcome it all. Ryan Reynolds, who portrayed Deadpool in all three films, unveiled the bucket in a short video posted to social media and set to the epic song “Also Sprach Zarathustra” from 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the video, Deadpool caresses the bucket, followed by shots of popcorn falling into Wolverine’s mouth, and topped off with some melted butter. If that doesn’t sell a bucket, nothing will.

Saw X — Jigsaw bucket

Do you want to play a game… with your popcorn? To commemorate the release of Saw X, Cinemark unveiled a disturbing Jigsaw-themed limited-edition popcorn bucket. Even if you can get past Jigsaw’s (a.k.a. Billy the Puppet’s) terrifying clown face glaring at you, his flip-top head awaits to throw off your snack craving completely — especially because, once full of popcorn, it looks as if you’re eating Billy’s brains. For added effect, the bucket’s eyes glow red — a not-at-all scary addition for one’s popcorn-eating enjoyment.

Trolls Band Together — Poppy bucket

While Trolls Band Together is by all accounts an adorable children’s film, AMC Theatres debuted a bucket for the third installment of the Trolls franchise that was less cute and more questionable. The Queen Poppy–themed popcorn bucket requires an eager snacker to open up her head to devour what’s inside. Since a troll’s hair is essentially their superpower, serving as a primary source of their magic, one might reconsider opening up poor ol’ Poppy’s head to eat anything.

Terrifier 3 — Art the Clown Santa bucket

While Terrifier 3 technically had two promotional popcorn buckets, our focus is on the absolutely menacing version of Art the Clown wearing a Santa Claus hat with facial blood spatter. The sinister snacking receptacle was offered through various theater chains such as Cinemark, AMC, and Regal for the horror franchise’s third film, and later made available during Universal theme parks’ Halloween Horror Nights. Nothing gets you hungry for popcorn like butter-yellow teeth, right?

Scream 7 — Ghostface bucket

Ghostface is generally an unwelcome visitor for any and all occasions, but might he not seem so bad if he brings popcorn before he gets down to the hacking and slashing? AMC Theatres’ limited-edition Scream 7 Ghostface bucket suggests as much, with a popcorn bucket featuring the masked killer bursting through a door, knife in hand. Just be sure to put your phone on DND while eating from this bucket during a film…

Iron Lung — Maw bucket

If the horror film Iron Lung’s plot — a convict forced to pilot a submarine through an ocean of blood on a desolate moon following an apocalyptic event — didn’t already give you the creeps, the Regal exclusive Iron Lung popcorn bucket definitely will. Designed to resemble a monstrous, blood-soaked maw, which is the gaping mouth of an eel monster lurking at the bottom of a bloody ocean (just keeps getting better, right?), this popcorn bucket’s one positive characteristic is that it appears to hold a good amount of popcorn.

Dune: Part Two — Sandworm bucket

While the intent behind Dune: Part Two’s sandworm bucket might have been to pay tribute to the epic sandworms that Timothee Chalamet’s Paul Atreides rides on Arrakis, social media found the result fairly disturbing. Also, whether intended or not, the bucket quickly achieved pop culture notoriety. From Saturday Night Live’s Marcello Hernández singing about losing his virginity to the bucket to Jimmy Kimmel teasing Dune stars like Zendaya and Chalamet with it, plus people selling buckets for upwards of $300 on eBay, this piece of Dune memorabilia will certainly live on in (concerning?) infamy.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly