The Novelty Popcorn Bucket is Saving Cinema

I woke up to a cool report from The Dailies that popcorn buckets were kind of saving movie theaters. They're neat little collector items that allow theaters to profit greatly and bring in cash. They also drive people to buy tickets and come to the theater.

Case in point, a $49.99 popcorn bucket shaped like an IMAX camera, tied to Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, sold out in about an hour this month.

Then it restocked and sold out again.

We're in the third wave of them making them, and I still don't have one. Feel free to send it to me, I really want one!

These buckets are not just for nerds but a bright spot for theaters that need extra revenue.

Let's divide.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

The Cash Cow

So, over the last few years, we've gotten too many reports about how the marketing departments are absolutely cooking with these cool popcorn buckets.

The Wrap did a report where they said AMC pulled in a staggering $54 million selling movie-themed merchandise and collectible vessels in 2023.

To put that into perspective, the chain's revenue from this specific category sat at a grand total of $0 just five years earlier.

We're still waiting on the numbers from 2025.

While a report from NPR's The Indicator notes that merchandise still accounts for a relatively small percentage (around 3%) of total food and beverage revenue, the profit margins are incredibly high.

That means they can make these things for cheap and sell them for a lot, and benefit a lot in the process.

Sure, some of the designs look stupid, but they're selling!

The first one I got was the infamous Dune: Part Two sandworm that spawned a cultural phenomenon and made people a little too horny.

Now it feelsl ike eveyrone has one, from the highly detailed Alien: Romulus Xenomorph head to the massive Trojan Horse vessel released for The Odyssey.

People are paying a lot of money to have a keepsake and for a laugh.

But these buckets can also be a bit of a gamble. According to reports, it can take six to nine months to design, manufacture, and ship 3D-molded plastic vessels.

You also have to place their manufacturing orders long before reviews drop or tracking numbers come on, so the chance of being stuck with a bunch of junk is high as well.

It's cool to see theaters thinking outside the box for additional revenue. Anything for these communal spaces to survive.

Let me know your favorite popcorn bucket in the comments.