A new themed popcorn bucket made by Marvel Studios to celebrate the release of “Fantastic Four: First Steps” has broken size and price records for the novelty items, which have made millions for theaters and helped pull them from the depths of COVID-era losses.

Key Facts

• The newest limited edition popcorn bucket holds a massive 9 liters, or 361 oz., of popcorn and is shaped like the movie's villan—Galactus, Marvel’s devourer of worlds.

• The bucket, with its glowing LED eyes and removable horns, is selling for $80 in select theaters and online stores, making it the most expensive novelty popcorn bucket made since AMC Theatres started the trend in earnest in 2019 by releasing an R2-D2 bucket to coincide with the release of "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker."

• The buckets are part of a broader strategy to enhance the moviegoing experience and boost concession sales—Regal and Cinemark jumped on board with “Barbie” and “Scream VI” themed vessels in 2023, respectively—and it’s worked.

Key Background

The “Fantastic Four” bucket is 20 inches wide with the horns of Galactus' helmet attached, 17.5 inches tall and 9.6 inches deep—so big that the theaters are warning online buyers shipping "will cost a bit more than usual." A regular, refillable large popcorn bucket at AMC Theatres is about 150 ounces, making the $80 novelty more than twice as big. The bucket is just one of the custom containers made for “First Steps” and is available starting Thursday in Cinemark, AMC, and Regal theaters (and on their websites starting July 26, Aug. 1 and Aug. 14, respectively). Other novelty concession items made for "First Steps" include an 85-ounce "Fantasticar" popcorn bucket sold by Regal for $57, a Mr. Fantastic bucket from Cinemark ($58) limited-edition pint glasses from Alamo Drafthouse.

Will Novelty Popcorn Buckets Be True Collectables?

Hard to say. While some people have certainly gone all-in, there isn’t a huge secondary market for most of the buckets, but some do go for above asking price. An eBay seller who got their hands on the new Galactus bucket early has already sold nine for $150 each, and buckets from "Superman," "Barbie" and "Avengers: Endgame" are all listed for $75 or more.