“Dune: Part 2” is going viral more than a month before it's scheduled to hit theaters — for reasons that have nothing to do with the movie. It was the movie's alleged promotional popcorn bucket that turned into instant meme fodder for its questionable design.
Covering the bucket is a lid designed to look like a replica of a sandworm — the giant extraterrestrial creatures from Arrakis, a fictional planet featured in the “Dune” novels and films. The sandworm's open mouth consists of a ring of long, sharp “teeth” with a small hole in the middle, into which a hand can reach and grab the popcorn.
But that's not the use case that came to people's minds when images of the bucket circulated online this weekend. Instead, Internet users had a field day Comparing the cover to the flesh light And he jokes about it Having sexual activity with Aquarius.
“Just listen to me for a minute,” one X user said books In the response, which collected 12,000 likes.
“Six pumps of butter, grab the popcorn,” another user books To 11,000 likes.
“Someone is getting fired,” one TikTok user joked in a video sharing photos of the bucket. “I mean, from the side, great. But then you see it from another angle — this is going to be a bucket of high-demand popcorn.”
Some online even speculated that the film's marketing team “knew what they were doing.” Whether it's true or not, Aquarius' unorthodox virality has succeeded in getting people talking: “Dune 2” went viral in trending X topics over the weekend.
Warner Bros. did not respond. Discovery immediately requested comment.
The buckets will be available starting February 29, AMC Theaters posted on social media. That would make “Dune: Part 2,” scheduled to debut March 1, the latest film to promote collectible popcorn boxes as part of the moviegoing experience.
As blockbuster movies and concerts brought millions of people back to movie theaters over the past year, many flocked to buy a pink Corvette convertible popcorn container before watching the “Barbie” movie. Others were eager to pick up an “Eras Tour” or “Renaissance Tour” themed popcorn bucket and drink cup when watching Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concert films, as the containers became just another limited-edition item in fan merchandise collections.
And the sandworm popcorn bucket isn't the first popcorn container to spark creative interpretations. When the “Mean Girls” musical opened in theaters this month, it also came with a Burn Book-themed popcorn box — which many netizens immediately saw as the perfect box For their herbal stash.
For many moviegoers, unintended but noteworthy interpretations of these collectibles are part of the fun. As one X user puffy“You mean girls a box of weed popcorn daughter or Dune 2 meaty popcorn son?”
