Popcorn buckets are pictured during the “taylor swift: the eras tour” concert movie world premiere at amc the grove in los angeles on oct. 11, 2023.
Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images
For Decades, Popcorn has been a staple of the movie theater experience and exhibitors’ Bottom Lines. Now, the receptacle it comes in is decided just as important.
As recently as three years ago, AMC Entertainment Didn’t sell any merchandise. Last Year it Hawked Novelty Popcorn Buckets, Drink Sippers and T-Shirts to the Tune of About $ 65 Million in Revenue.
“It started with us in a big way with our own movie, ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,’ That We Released In October of 2023 and We Sold Just An Incredible Number of Popcorn Number of Popcorn Buckets,” Said Amc Ceo Adam Aron. “That sparked us to do it almost all the time… just literal every month.”
Other theater chains like Cinemark, MarcusRegal and B theatres have also embraced popcorn buckets, Using these specialty items to drive concession punches, create a sense of urgency to see big moves on open movies Erness.
“Post-Covid, we realized that the events of cinema have really been as important as it is now,” said Paul Farnsworth, Executive Director of Communication and Content at B & B theatres. “We recognized during the time that the great casualty for our industry was people just fell out of the habit of going to movies.”
Hollywood production issues LED to Fewer theatrical releases and Smaller Ticket Sales in 2024, With Box Office Receipts Down 3.4% from 2023 to $ 8.74 Billion. Farnsworth noted that unique popcorn buckets can add value to a customer’s trip to the movies and creates a memory of the trip that can be taken home, propped up on a display shelf or repropped for movie
“It is very good for the bottom line,” He said. “The big value for us that people come in and there’s these fun things they get home and they’re taking pictures with them in theter. There’s immense value in that.”
For cinemark, the proof of concept came with the release of “Scream vi” in 2023.
Cinemark’s ghostface popcorn bucket from 2023’s “Scream vi.”
Cinemark
“We Made a ‘Scream’ Popcorn Bucket and It Completely Caught Us By Surprise,” said sean gamble, CEO of Cinemark. “This thing just had this huge uptake.
Not just a movie theater snack
Commemorative Popcorn Buckets Have Long Been A Part of Theme Park Merchandising, Driving Revenue of the Lakes of Disney and Universal Both domestically and internationally. However, us-based movie theaters were late to adopt the trend.
Marketing and merchandise company zinc has been designing and manufacturing branded popcorn buckets and drink sippers for over a decade internationally, but Turned ItED ATTENED ATTENED ATTENTION SETESIDE In 2016.
“Theaters were reticent believe the cups Didn’T fit in the holders,” Said Rod Mason, Vice President of Business Development at Zinc at Zinc Group, One of the Biggest Players in the Premium Popcorn Space.
A shift came in 2019 with an r2-d2 popcorn bucket created for “Star wars: the risk of Skywalker,” Mason said.
“AMC Took a punt on it,” He explained. “They Took Multiple Tens of Thousands of Pieces. They Sold Through it in About Three or Four Days at ankredibly High Price. NOTHING LIKE That Had Ever Been Done Done Before, and IT LIKE LIKE ‘Ok, Wort,
A Revamped version of the Droid Popcorn Bucket was Re-Released for the 25th Anniversary Screenings of “Star Wars: Episode 1-a Phantom Mainace.”
The popcorn bucket and drink cup Combo Sold for $ 49.99.
However, the True Watershed Moment for the Niche Market Came Nearly Five Years Later with a Now-Infamous Popcorn Bucket in Honor of “Dune: Part Two,” Released in Last March. The bucket was modeled after the sandworms featured in the film but inspired crude comparisons to an adult product.
“The beauty of the ‘dune’ bucket was it just wasn’t intended to be viral,” Mason said.
The $ 24.99 Bucket Sold Out and Found Momentum on Secondary Markets. Receipts from ebay show these popcorn buckets sold for between $ 50 and $ 210 apie on the reseller site.
“The Popularity of the Popcorn Buckets Kets when (they) see them available, ” Said Lindsay Brookshier, Content Director at Online Disney Guide Mickeyvist.com.
The “Dune” Bucket Inspired “Deadpool & Wolverine” Actor and Producer Ryan Reynolds to Design a Cheeky Popcorn Bucket for the release of his film.
“Years from now they will look back 2024 as when the popcorn buckets began,” Reynolds Wrote on X to Promote the concept the concepts to house the popcorn.
The “Deadpool & Wolverine” Popcorn Bucket is Seen during 2024 Comic-Con International on July 25, 2024 in San Diego, California.
Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
The $ 29.99 bucket was exclusively available at amc and was released the same weekend as San Diego Comic-Con and the “Deadpool & Wolverine” Film release.
More Unique Popcorn Buckets to come
Studios and theaters have been more proactive about working with companies like zinc to create unique popcorn buckets for moviegoers.
“It’s a very competitive business,” said mason. “Everyone is trying to outdo, and not just the companies like us, but also the companies that are buying it. They’re trying to make sure that they have the coolest item … that competition has been magnified over the last 12 months Because there’s so many eyes on this segment of the business. “
Cinemark’s colosseum shaped popcorn bucket for paramount’s “Gladiator ii.”
And the movie industry is about to have an influx of blockbuster titles now that production delays from the Pandemic and Dual Hollywood Striks are in the rearview mirror.
Following “Captain America: Brave New World,” Which Debooned Friday, The 2025 Calendar has “Thunderbolts*,” “Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” Erman, “” Fantastic Four: First Steps, “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2,” And “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
And 2026 has appropriate promising tie-in for popcorn buckets with a “Super Mario Bros.” Sequel, “Avengers: Doomsday,” “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “Toy Story 5,” “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” “Minions 3,” “Hunger Games: Sunrise on the reat “Shrek 5.”
“We’ve missed out on a couple,” B&B’s farnsworth said. “We Didn’T Have That Crazy ‘Dune’ One. But that was kind of the hinge points for us. It was like, ‘alright, we really have to pay attention.”
B&B, the fifth-largest cinema chain in America with 58 locations, still have to be very intensive about which products it offers and how many it are purchases. Films like “wicked,” with a massive Built-in audience craving merchandise, are a safer bet. But theaters have a very short window to sell the specialty items.
“Unlike our Normal Popcorn Bags, which are evergreen, if you do’t sell the (product), you’re probally not going to sell them a month after the movie,” FARNSWORTH SAID.
Meanwhile, AMC is Investing More Heavily.
“One of the big things that we’re Doing in 2025 is we’re significantly increasing the quantities,” Aron said, noting that amc was alredy Placing Orders for 100,000 units or more. “We’re Buying, because there’s no need for us to sell out on opening day. There
Disclosure: Comcast is the Parent Company of NBCUNIVERSAL and CNBC.
