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The ‘Dune 2’ Popcorn Bucket Is Cursed

By Laila Abuelhawa
A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “DUNE: PART TWO,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

In the second installment of the highly-anticipated Dune film, something strange has taken over the sci-fi film’s marketing. Someone on Team Dune came up with the most cursed popcorn bucket. The reveal of the Dune 2 Sandworm Popcorn Bucket has had the internet and media in a frenzy because of the bucket’s eerie opening with teeth. The jokes write themselves. Since the popcorn bucket’s opening forces one to stick their whole hand in, the amount of popcorn yielded isn’t much because the “teeth” act as a filter. As freakishly unnerving as the popcorn bucket is, the marketing team accomplished what they wanted: everyone is talking about it now. Per Deadline, the sequel is projected to produce more than $65 million in its domestic opening. Tickets are being sold over a month in advance, so the possibility of the film surpassing projections seems highly likely.

What’s Dune 2 About?

Dune: Part Two will be released in theaters on March 1. The film is an adaptation of Frank Herbert’s acclaimed bestseller of the same name. The cast features returning and new members Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Souheila Yacoub, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, and Javier Bardem. The continuation of the film series will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides (Chalamet) as he unites with Chani (Zendaya) and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee. A seven-minute scene has been released, giving fans a taste of what’s to come on the big screen in a few weeks. Watch the scene below:

And here are some reactions to the cursed bucket.

  • Dune Not Engage

    Entertainment Tonight on Twitter: "The 'Dune: Part Two' cast has some hot takes about the viral sandworm popcorn bucket: "I'm not gonna stick my hand in there." 😭 pic.twitter.com/iuOQqHjAbs / Twitter"

    The 'Dune: Part Two' cast has some hot takes about the viral sandworm popcorn bucket: "I'm not gonna stick my hand in there." 😭 pic.twitter.com/iuOQqHjAbs

    The Dune stars were asked about their thoughts on the popcorn bucket while on their press tour ahead of the film’s release. The leading ladies couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous design of the popcorn bucket, with Florence Pugh proclaiming, “It’s not okay!” Zendaya nodded and added, laughing, “It’s weird.” Meanwhile, Josh Brolin shifted in his seat and declared: “If I see a bunch of people in the theater with one of those freaking buckets in their hand, I’m gonna be like, ‘Okay, you’re an idiot.'” Zendaya pointed out that from a practical standpoint, you won’t get any amount of popcorn out of the bucket. Brolin added, “I’m not gonna stick my hand in there.” Meanwhile, Dave Bautista was all for it, jokingly motioning his hands to reach into the bucket multiple times.

  • 'I Designed That'

    AP Entertainment on Twitter: ""I designed that."Timothée Chalamet jokes about the "Dune: Part Two" sandworm-shaped popcorn bucket. Chalamet again plays Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve's epic sci-fi sequel - this time opposite Austin Butler. pic.twitter.com/O9wtg4Xw1o / Twitter"

    "I designed that."Timothée Chalamet jokes about the "Dune: Part Two" sandworm-shaped popcorn bucket. Chalamet again plays Paul Atreides in Denis Villeneuve's epic sci-fi sequel - this time opposite Austin Butler. pic.twitter.com/O9wtg4Xw1o

    In a joint interview, Timothee Chalamet pointed out that Austin Butler had no idea what the popcorn bucket even looked like. Having been asked about the bucket in previous interviews, Butler was in the dark — surprising for a Millenial with social media accounts. Chalamet teased his co-star, saying, “It was all innuendo earlier.” After a brief pause, the Dune star proclaimed, “But yeah, I designed that.”

  • Upselling The Monstrosity

    Resell News 💸 on Twitter: "🍿 ACTIVE FLIP 🍿The viral Dune 2 popcorn bucket is set to release March 1st. However, some AMC locations have already started putting them out.Retail: $30Resell: $65+Profit: $35 each pic.twitter.com/mbjL9PcUWq / Twitter"

    🍿 ACTIVE FLIP 🍿The viral Dune 2 popcorn bucket is set to release March 1st. However, some AMC locations have already started putting them out.Retail: $30Resell: $65+Profit: $35 each pic.twitter.com/mbjL9PcUWq

    Folks who have gotten their hands on the sandworm bucket early have capitalized on the profits on eBay. Doubling the price to at least $70 on the reselling site, there are those out there who want this popcorn bucket for reasons we don’t wish to know. Still, the fact that the popcorn bucket is highly sought after is something that other films may use as inspiration when marketing their movie theater merch in the future.

  • Choices Were Made

    In a blind feel test, Mashable found some employees to bravely volunteer to touch and feel the cursed bucket. Just feeling the outside of the bucket, the women are already clearly skeeved out by the shape and ridges along the top of the bucket. When the moment to insert their hands into the bucket comes, all of the blind testers expressed their distaste of the feeling of the sandworm’s teeth. Some instantly knew it was a sandworm just from the feel. As one person perfectly described the experience, “It feels organic in a way that I’m not comfortable with.”

  • Popcorn POV

     

    View this post on Instagram

    For those who were wondering what it’s like to stick their hand into the sandworm popcorn bucket without having to do so can finally get a sense in this clip. From the POV from inside the bucket, it is wild how your entire arm gets swallowed up by the big bucket. What makes this Mashable clip more funny is their use of a 0.5x camera setting to make the arm look even scarier. To blindly feel around for a helping of popcorn, only to have more than half of it fall from your hands will make this popcorn last the entirety of the 166-minute-long film (nearly three hours).

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