Everything You Need To Know About The Sexy… Er… We Mean *Strange* ‘Dune: Part Two’ Popcorn Bucket

We’re living in an odd era for movies. Gone are the days when a simple trailer was all we needed to get us to shell out the cash for a ticket. Now weird memes power the box office. We saw it last summer with Barbenheimer, people couldn’t help but be obsessed with the juxtaposition between Barbie and Oppenheimer. It was harmless fun and it made going to see these movies more of a cultural event (it also helped that both movies are great) with many people seeing both films as an unofficial double feature.

Now we’re seeing the memification of the theater experience again with Dune: Part Two. Considering that the movie is getting stellar reviews, it’s sorta wild that the thing that has everyone talking about the upcoming movie isn’t Director Denis Villeneuve’s striking visuals or the performance of Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides. Instead, it’s AMC Theater’s weird sandworm-inspired promotional popcorn bucket.

A promotional popcorn bucket is nothing new, we’ve seen it with Star Wars, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, and Marvel. But none of those popcorn buckets have looked like some sort of weird sex toy that Elon Musk would own.

If you’ve looked at the sandworm popcorn bucket with some side-eye, you’re not alone. People are well aware that this thing looks weird. Saturday Night Live poked fun at the bucket’s resemblance to a sex toy, building an entire musical sketch around teens losing their virginity to it.

And the film’s director Denis Villeneuve is aware of the design too, telling the New York Times “When I saw it, I went, ‘Hooooooly smokes.’ What the ****!? … It’s some kind of… impressive design.”

Impressive isn’t the word we would’ve used, but hey, I guess this means we can count Villeneuve as a fan of the snack delivery system that might end up teaching kids about Indigenous mythology. Some people have also questioned the functionality of the design. Thanks to its teeth… or tendrils, or whatever the hell those things are, it doesn’t look like the easiest way to eat popcorn.

Also, we shudder at the sound this thing is going to make as dozens upon dozens of people ram their fists into these buckets while sitting through the film’s nearly three-hour runtime. Yeesh.

Anyway, if you’re looking to pick up the Dune 2 sandworm popcorn bucket (no judgment), you’ll be able to find it at participating AMC theaters as early as tomorrow, February 29th, one day before Dune: Part Two hits screens. And then what you do with your popcorn bucket in the privacy of your own home is your business, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Just make sure to wash it first. And after.