Cinema Chains Are Making Hundreds of Millions Selling Plastic Buckets

Collectible popcorn containers — themed, limited-edition, and increasingly elaborate — have quietly become a nine-figure revenue line for at least one major theater chain.

One major theater chain is projected to clear more than $100 million in 2026 from collectible concession vessels alone.
The containers are themed to specific film releases and sold at a premium above the cost of the popcorn inside.
Chains report that customers purchase the buckets without filling them, or return to refill at a discount — driving repeat foot traffic.
The New York Times reported on the trend July 23, 2026, describing the business as 'bewilderingly lucrative.'
The economics invert the traditional model: the container is now the product, and the popcorn is the add-on.

A plastic bucket — molded, branded, and in some cases designed to resemble a spaceship or a severed head — is generating more revenue for cinema chains than anyone thought to forecast five years ago.

At least one major chain is on track to exceed $100 million in 2026 from what the industry has taken to calling “collectible concession vessels,” according to reporting by The New York Times on July 23, 2026.

The vessels are released in timed runs tied to specific theatrical openings — limited quantities, premium price points, no guarantee of a second printing. Customers line up. Some do not buy a ticket to the film.

Refill programs keep those customers returning to the building. The bucket pays for itself in loyalty economics that a $17 large popcorn never quite achieved.

Theater chains spent the better part of four years explaining to investors that the theatrical experience was irreplaceable. They were right, though the irreplaceable part turned out to be the merchandise stand near the butter-pump station.

The bucket currently retailing for a Wicked re-release at one chain comes shaped like Glinda's hat. It holds approximately the same volume of popcorn as the standard large. The standard large does not have a secondary market on eBay.