Alien: Romulus popcorn bucket. Photo: Regal
Alien: Romulus popcorn bucket. Photo: Regal
Alien: Romulus popcorn bucket. Photo: Regal
Alien: Romulus popcorn bucket. Photo: Regal

Best and worst cinema popcorn buckets, from Barbie to The Batman


Faisal Salah
  • English
  • Arabic

Each era seems to have its own hotly-desired movie promotional tie-in product of choice. In the '90s, it was breakfast cereals and Happy Meals, and in 2024 it is the popcorn bucket.

After the Dune: Part Two sandworm-shaped bucket garnered viral interest across the world and became a collector's item, these themed-buckets are quickly emerging as a staple aspect of each blockbuster release, growing increasingly creative and elaborate in design.

Last month, for the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, Disney attempted to recapture the same excitement with a bucket shaped like the head of Wolverine, but failed to capture the same viral magic.

With a new bucket seemingly hitting the cinema almost every week, we have sorted through the best, worst and weirdest popcorn buckets released to date.

Worst: Alien: Romulus

The Alien fandom has been growing since the release of the first film in 1979 and seems to have hit its peak with the success of Alien: Romulus.

While some fans, including those in the UAE, were able to buy a xenomorph's head to hold their popcorn in, fans who attended screenings at Regal Cinemas in the US had to settle with a cylindrical see-through bucket that had a single face hugger on one side and the Wayland-Yutani logo on the other side. Fans were left to wonder, where's the main alien?

Worst: Inside Out 2 Control Panel

Inside Out 2 control panel snack tray combo set. Photo: Cinemark
Inside Out 2 control panel snack tray combo set. Photo: Cinemark

Pixar films often feature worlds that are filled with whimsy and imagination, always colourful and energetic. Their latest film, Inside Out 2, put the studio back in the record books this year with impressive ticket sales that have passed $1.65 billion worldwide.

Young fans who flocked to theatres to watch the film at Cinemark were offered a popcorn bucket shaped like the console the emotions use to control the main character, Riley.

For such a beautiful and quirky film experience, this popcorn bucket falls short of that whimsy. It is nice that it also serves as a holder for a drink on the side, but ultimately, it is just a small oval box with a lid.

Worst: Barbie Corvette

Barbie Corvette popcorn bucket. Photo: AMC Theatres
Barbie Corvette popcorn bucket. Photo: AMC Theatres

On its face, the pink Corvette popcorn bucket from AMC Theatres, which comes with a Barbie doll, is a fantastic idea. It was so sought-after, that it garnered headlines across the US as moviegoers searched for their own. Even its exorbitant $65 price point wasn’t putting off hardcore fans.

So why is it on the worst list? The thing can barely hold 12 pieces of popcorn. Pictures of the toy car showed it holding the salty snacks making it clear that it is primarily a model car and not a popcorn bucket. If the item is sold as a popcorn bucket, the least it should do is be able to carry a significant amount. The promotional material even showed a separate bucket alongside the car.

Best: R2-D2

R2-D2 popcorn bucket. Photo: AMC Theatres
R2-D2 popcorn bucket. Photo: AMC Theatres

The gold standard of what a popcorn bucket can and should do. This bucket, made by AMC Theatres for the re-release of Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace in April, is shaped like one of the most popular robots in cinema history, R2-D2.

The bucket has two major components – a compartment that holds a healthy amount of popcorn that can open and close with a hatch door, and a drinks container that doubles as the droid’s head. This is a clever design, and unlike the Barbie Corvette, the R2-D2 works both as a vehicle of food and drink as well as a worthy addition to a fan's model collection.

Best: Saw X

Saw X popcorn bucket. Photo: Cinemark
Saw X popcorn bucket. Photo: Cinemark

The Saw franchise returned last year with the release of the tenth film in the series. The face of the franchise is a puppet named Jigsaw who often arrives just before a victim is put into a painful trap. The creepy puppet has become one of the most beloved figures in horror alongside Chucky and Freddy Kreuger.

Saw fans who went to watch the latest film at Cinemark were given the chance to take Jigsaw home with them in the form of a popcorn bucket head. It’s great because it fits thematically within the film’s gruesome death scenes, as users need to uncover the top of the head to enjoy the popcorn underneath it.

Best: Bat-signal

Batman popcorn bucket. Photo: AMC Theatres
Batman popcorn bucket. Photo: AMC Theatres

The latest popcorn bucket to get fans excited is made by AMC Theatres to celebrate the re-release of 2022’s The Batman, as well as the character’s 85th anniversary. The bucket is shaped like the bat-signal, an object synonymous with the Caped Crusader which is used by Inspector Gordon to summon Batman.

The bat-signal is an instant winner. The fact that it has a built-in light that gives the signal character and makes it a must-own for fans of the Dark Knight. It’s also a huge bonus in that there’s room for a lot of popcorn when the lid is opened.

Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10

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Dunki
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How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Profile

Name: Carzaty

Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar

Launched: 2017

Employees: 22

Based: Dubai and Muscat

Sector: Automobile retail

Funding to date: $5.5 million

UAE players with central contracts

Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

HOW DO SIM CARD SCAMS WORK?

Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.

They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards, often by claiming their phone has been lost or stolen 

They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.

The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.

UAE SQUAD

UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards

Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi

'Gold'

Director:Anthony Hayes

Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes

Rating:3/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

The specs

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Manchester United v Club America

When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

SANCTIONED
  • Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
  • Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB. 
  • Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.  
  • Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
  • Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Updated: September 04, 2024, 5:26 AM`