Movie theater chains are aggressively expanding their collectible concession vessels
business, with AMC Theatres estimating that buckets will generate $100 million in revenue this year. This surge in high-priced, elaborate merchandise aims to capitalize on millennial nostalgia and increase profits as theaters struggle to sell traditional tickets.
Bill Howard, the 71-year-old chief executive of Snap Creative, once entered a sealed room on the Universal Pictures studio lot, signed a nondisclosure agreement, and surrendered his cellphone. He wasn’t there to act or direct; he was there to study a top-secret script to determine how to build the perfect popcorn bucket.
AMC and Cinemark’s High-Stakes Merchandise Pivot
The shift toward collectible concession vessels
—the industry term for these buckets—represents a massive scaling of operations. The Los Angeles Times reports that AMC Theatres sold these vessels for nine movies in 2023; by 2026, the chain plans to sell them for more than 40 movies.
The financial impact is substantial. AMC merchandise sales, primarily driven by these buckets, totaled about $54 million in 2023 and have risen since. For Cinemark Theatres, the country’s third-largest chain, bucket sales helped increase merchandise revenue by 40 percent from 2024 to 2025, according to nytimes.com. Cinemark plans to sell vessels for roughly 10 movies in 2026.
This pivot isn’t without risk. David Haywood, Cinemark’s senior vice president of food and beverage, admitted that from a margin basis, the elaborate buckets are probably not the most brilliant thing in the world
because they are expensive to produce. However, he argues they are worthwhile because they augment soda and popcorn sales and provide joy
to the moviegoing experience.
From R2-D2 to the $80 Galactus Bucket
| Product | Price | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|
| Galactus Bucket | Nearly $80 | Biggest and most expensive ever made |
| Trojan Horse | $70 | 22-inch rendering for “The Odyssey” |
| Yoshi Container | $50 | Hollow, polka-dotted egg |
| IMAX Camera | $50 | Replica for “The Odyssey” |
| Luma Bucket | $45 | Star-shaped and light-up |
| Bowser Cauldron | $8 | World’s smallest (5-11 kernels) |
The Psychology of Nostalgia and Scarcity
The business model relies heavily on “millennial nostalgia” and the thrill of the hunt. For collectors like Nicole and Brian Fontanez, who document their finds on the YouTube channel Our Guilty Collections
, the buckets are less about snacks and more about memorabilia. Brian Fontanez recounted waking up two hours early to refresh the Cinemark website to secure a Yoshi bucket before scalpers could buy the stock.
The absurdity of some designs is a feature, not a bug. Regarding the Yoshi egg, Brian Fontanez noted, There’s no popcorn going into the egg.
His wife, Nicole, described the item as something you’d get [at a] Toys ‘R’ Us.
This scarcity-driven demand creates a secondary market and drives theater attendance. Nels Storm noted that AMC locations have seen an increase in attendance when popular buckets are released, suggesting that guests are seeking tangible moviegoing memories
in an era where ticket sales are struggling.
The Industrialization of the Concession Vessel
What was once a side-business is now a coordinated industrial effort. The creation of these items involves deep collaboration between studios, producers, and specialty firms. For the “The Odyssey” buckets, Snap Creative met with producer Emma Thomas to align the designs with the film’s story beats before coordinating with IMAX.
Worth a look
