A handbag-shaped popcorn bucket released to mark the opening of "The Devil Wears Prada 2." The design reads more as a fashion accessory than a popcorn container, drawing even older fans of the original film into the collecting craze. [Forbes]
A handbag-shaped popcorn bucket released to mark the opening of "The Devil Wears Prada 2." The design reads more as a fashion accessory than a popcorn container, drawing even older fans of the original film into the collecting craze. [Forbes]

Once little more than a disposable container for popcorn, the humble movie-theater bucket has become a new revenue engine for the film industry. With some consumers now heading to theaters specifically to buy limited-edition buckets rather than to watch a film, major US cinema chains are generating tens of millions — and in some cases up to $100 million — in sales from the product alone.

The New York Times reported Thursday that the market for collectible popcorn buckets — designed and released to coincide with film openings — is growing rapidly, opening fresh business opportunities for theaters, studios and manufacturers alike.

AMC, the largest cinema chain in the United States, expects its popcorn bucket sales to exceed $100 million this year, nearly double its 2023 figure. Cinemark, the third-largest US chain, said merchandise sales rose 40 percent compared to last year, driven in large part by stronger bucket sales.

"Seven years ago, this business essentially didn't exist," Nels Storm, AMC's vice president of food and beverage product strategy, told The New York Times. "Now it's become part of the culture around a big movie opening."

A limited-edition popcorn bucket shaped like an IMAX camera, released to coincide with the opening of director Christopher Nolan's film "Odyssey." Modeled after the IMAX camera used during filming, it sold out almost immediately after going on presale. [IMAX]
A limited-edition popcorn bucket shaped like an IMAX camera, released to coincide with the opening of director Christopher Nolan's film "Odyssey." Modeled after the IMAX camera used during filming, it sold out almost immediately after going on presale. [IMAX]

Among the most talked-about releases recently were limited-edition buckets tied to director Christopher Nolan's new film "Odyssey." An IMAX camera-shaped bucket priced at $50 and a Trojan horse model at $70 sold out within moments of going on sale. IMAX estimates combined sales of roughly 30,000 units across the two designs.

These buckets are no longer seen as mere containers — they are treated as limited-edition collectibles tied to a film's release. Some consumers place presale orders just to receive the bucket by delivery, without any popcorn included.

Most major Hollywood popcorn buckets are produced by a small number of manufacturers, including US-based Snap Creative and Golden Link, and Australia's Zinc. These companies license intellectual property from studios and collaborate with directors, production teams and studios to develop the designs.

Industry observers trace the current craze to the R2-D2 bucket released for "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" in 2019, with the trend exploding after the sandworm-shaped bucket for "Dune: Part Two" went viral online in 2024. Since then, unveiling a distinctive bucket for each film has become a standard part of blockbuster marketing.

The customer base is also broadening. Generation Z — with its appetite for limited-edition merchandise — has driven much of the market's growth, but older fans are increasingly joining in. The handbag-shaped bucket for "The Devil Wears Prada 2," for instance, drew middle-aged fans of the original film into the collecting craze.

Not every product succeeds, however. Bucket sales do not always track a film's box-office performance. Some films have flopped while their buckets became hot sellers; others have been blockbusters whose buckets sat unsold in inventory.

Even so, theaters see limited-edition merchandise as a powerful new draw for audiences. Regal, the second-largest US cinema chain, projects its merchandise sales will surpass $40 million this year. Chains are responding by rolling out ever larger and more inventive designs with each new release, targeting the growing collector market.


sjy@heraldcorp.com