Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Popcorn Bucket and Theater Bonuses Revealed

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is less than one month away from release, and tickets are officially on sale for the film. To celebrate, AMC Theaters has announced several extras that will be available for purchase when the movie makes its debut. The big highlight is a “popcorn vessel” which is a bucket shaped like Sonic’s noggin that comes with a large popcorn. There will also be a collectible combo, which includes a popcorn tin, a collector’s cup with drink, a mystery topper (with Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, or Shadow), and a mask. The theater chain will also have an opening day fan event on December 19th with “limited edition gifts.”

As is often the case with limited edition popcorn “vessels” or buckets, fans will want to act quickly if they want the Sonic one. A lot of these theater premiums sell out quickly, and can command a pretty penny on the secondary market. It’s possible AMC will have more than enough to meet demand, but fans might want to be on the safe side.

That said, Sonic fans should have no problem generally finding merchandise related to the movie. In addition to the items at AMC, a McDonald’s Happy Meal promotion seems to be in the works following the current Mario Kart tie-in. Jakks Pacific has also released several figures based on Sonic the Hedgehog 3, including toys of the movie’s main cast, as well as Shadow’s motorcycle. There’s even a figure of Tails wearing a costume from the movie’s Chao Garden restaurant!

With its December 20th release date, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 could end up being the big movie of the holiday season. It seems like there’s a lot of excitement surrounding the movie, and the first two Sonic films have been hugely successful. However, it happens to share that date with another very big release which is Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King. Mufasa is a sequel/prequel to the 2019 live-action Lion King. That movie was one of the highest-grossing films of all-time, so it will be interesting to see if that has any impact on the success of Sonic 3.

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If Sonic the Hedgehog 3 does prove successful, it could open the door for a lot more content from Paramount. Director Jeff Fowler has already let it slip that the movie’s ending will tease the appearance of a new character, just like we saw with Tails at the end of the first movie, and Shadow at the end of the second. The implication is that this character will have a major role to play in potential Sonic the Hedgehog 4. However, there have also been hints that Paramount is considering a Shadow spin-off movie, and a second season of the Knuckles streaming series.

What did you think of the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 popcorn vessel? Are you starting to get excited for the movie? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!