US cinema chain Cinemark held a Bring Your Own Popcorn Bucket promotion on January 19, with one patron bringing an entire nightstand to fill.
One of the biggest chains in America, Cinemark offered movie fans the chance to bring whatever receptacle they wanted and fill it with popcorn for $5. This prompted a number of customers bringing unusual items to fill, such as earns, lunch boxes, and an entire desk drawer.
Cinemark hosted Bring Your Own Popcorn Bucket today where anyone who brought a container got it filled with popcorn for $5. pic.twitter.com/hlOUKniiOX
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) January 20, 2025
One excited fan said “Tonight was BYOB (Bring Your Own Bucket) at Cinemark. People were in there with pots, pans, buckets from Atwoods, crockpots, baskets, buckets, etc. Whatever popcorn can go in, they filled it. January 19th will be my next fave holiday”. Another called a man a “legend” for proudly posing with a desk drawer filled with the snack.
Tonight was BYOB (Bring Your Own Bucket) at @Cinemark. People were in there with pots, pans, buckets from Atwoods, crockpots, baskets, buckets, etc. Whatever popcorn can go in, they filled it. January 19th will be my next fave holiday. #NationalPopcornDay pic.twitter.com/D6AvJ56zW6
— A Pimp Named Big Back🕴🏿 (@Scotty_Jo_Yung) January 20, 2025
This guy with whom I acted in something rotten, brought an entire drawer to the Cinemark bring your own bucket popcorn day. King. pic.twitter.com/rOLtKRuY9Z
— Ian Lynch-Passarelli (@ianlynchpass) January 20, 2025
In the last few years, novelty popcorn bucket holders have become part of the promotion for both Hollywood movies and the cinemas that show them. 2024’s Dune: Part Two went viral for its collectible popcorn bucket, with a lid that was shaped like a sandworm.
Deadpool & Wolverine, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Wicked have all gotten in on the trend. Vampire film Nosferatu went as far as selling coffin shaped popcorn bucket to excited fans. Despite the collectibles selling out very quickly, not everyone was a fan. Dune star Josh Brolin described using his film’s souvenir bucket as “absolutely disgusting”.
Josh Brolin doing the #Dune Popcorn Bucket Challenge
(@colbertlateshow) pic.twitter.com/UzKZhdOnDq
— Geek Vibes Nation (@GVN_Backup) March 2, 2024
Despite success stories such as the Barbenheimer craze In 2023, cinemas have struggled to regain the momentum they had in the days before the Pandemic, with ideas such as popcorn promotions and souvenirs intended to draw people back to the movies.
UK cinema box office was reported to be down by a quarter since the pandemic at the start of 2024, although last month film maker Christopher Nolan believes his films should be seen on the big screen, and “that theatrical experience that we all know and love is so powerful and so exciting”.
