Alien: Romulus Reveals Third Popcorn Bucket, and Collectors Will Want to Take Notice

It’s official… we are living in the time of the popcorn bucket! Novelty popcorn buckets aren’t exactly a new concept, but 2024 has been their year to shine. The first to make some serious waves was AMC Theatres’ souvenir sandworm bucket for Dune: Part Two. Not only did the bucket cause a ton of online reactions, but it even inspired a Saturday Night Live sketch. Now, movies like Deadpool & Wolverine are trying to top that design while others releasing multiple options. Earlier this week, fans got a glimpse at new Alien: Romulus popcorn buckets when Fandango shared a Facehugger design and Regal Cinemas shared their Xenomorph design. Now, Cinemark is taking the Regal route with their own Xenomorph bucket. 

Cinemark Theatres took to social media today to share a look at their new popcorn bucket. While it resembles the Regal bucket, the shape is different. They also opted not to make their reveal as creepy as Regal’s. You can check out Cinemark’s post below followed by Regal’s for comparison.

AMC Exec Reacts to Dune Popcorn Bucket Backlash:

Variety recently spoke with Elizabeth Frank, the Chief Content Officer for AMC and she Frank addressed the response to the Dune: Part Two bucket. 

“We continue to learn and evolve. We would have never imagined the Dune thing. We would have never created it knowing it would be celebrated or mocked,” Frank explained. “Absolutely,” she added when asked if the SNL sketch felt like a “seal of approval.” “And you couldn’t make it happen if you wanted to. It wouldn’t be fair to pull our creative talent aside to say, ‘We hope it makes SNL.’”

“Some fans are collectors. There’s another group of people who are specific film fans, buying three different Ghostbusters products. It’s all a mix. It’s a material part of our food and beverage business, but it’s not the majority of it. It also makes the movies more fun. It’s like going home from a concert with a T-shirt. There is a lot of creative energy from it,” she added.

What Is Alien: Romulus About?

Alien: Romulus is being billed as more of a spinoff rather than a direct continuation of the Alien franchise and will see a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. 

Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), Aileen Wu. Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. 

Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16th.