Dune: Part Three's Popcorn Bucket Literally Doubles Down On The Viral Sandworm Design

Buckets. For tens of thousands of years, there have been... buckets. They are magnificently versatile containers. They can hold sand, water, soap and water, ice, ice-cold beer, fried chicken, pig slop, the head of heavy metal guitarist Buckethead, and so on. But their most joyous use, especially if you're talking to Tom Cruise, may be the housing of movie theater popcorn.

In recent years, AMC and studio marketing departments have teamed to bring us themed popcorn buckets. They can get pretty silly, as we saw with the "Deadpool & Wolverine" popcorn bucket. They can also get downright suggestive, as evidenced by the "Dune: Part Two" sandworm receptacle (which earned a "Saturday Night Live" parody). The latter was such a viral smash, moviegoers have been eagerly anticipating how Warner Bros. could possibly top it. Well, what's better than one gaping hole from which to extract hot buttered happiness? How about two gaping holes (replete once again with prickly sandworm teeth to tickle your wrist as you plunge your fingers into the creatures' maws)? Check it out, via Variety.

AMC

AMC

According to an AMC press release, there will also be a Sandworm Thumper collectible, which you can see above, designed for a solo consumer. The exhibitor hasn't announced the price of either bucket, but we do know these collectibles usually sell in a range between $25 and $50. We'll surely know how much they'll set you back prior to the film's hotly anticipated December 18 release. There will also be collectible drinkware, mystery keychains and sandworm plushies.

These buckets have been a marketing godsend for theater owners, who make the lion's share of their money off concessions. Is it ridiculous to blow this much cash on a popcorn bucket? Absolutely, but people need whimsical distractions more than ever right now, so if a food receptacle that looks like something out of a David Cronenberg movie puts a smile on someone's face, I'm all for it.

What's more, according to /Film sources, early buzz on the (allegedly) closing cinematic chapter of the "Dune" series is that it may very well be the best of the series. The recently released final trailer blew my socks off. Could "Dune: Part Three" follow in the steps of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and be an Oscar dominating trilogy capper? Will this be the movie that gets Timothée Chalamet his first Best Actor trophy? And then there's the most important question: could this be the first film with a collectible popcorn bucket to win Best Picture?