AMC Unveils Two Sandworm Popcorn Buckets for Dune: Part Three
AMC Theatres has unveiled two new popcorn buckets for Dune: Part Three, and one of them comes with a pair of sandworms. The cinema chain's designs were reported by Variety on 29 October 2026, ahead of the film's opening in theatres on 18 December.
The first design is the Sandworm Thumper. The Thumper is the device the Fremen, the desert people of the story, use to lure sandworms, and AMC's version is a working design. The second is the Double Sandworm, which features two Shai-Hulud sandworms, the name the Fremen give these creatures. AMC says the double design makes popcorn easier to share.
The buckets are part of a wider Dune: Part Three line. It also includes an Atreides-Fremen light-up cup, a Spacing Guild Navigator cup, mystery keychains and a sandworm plush. The collectibles will be sold only at AMC locations and at Odeon Cinemas in Europe, so fans outside those venues cannot buy them directly. Prices for the new items were not given in the announcement.
AMC has a track record with this kind of merchandise. Its sandworm-shaped bucket for Dune: Part Two went viral in 2024, and Florida Today reported at the time that it was sold only at AMC Theatres. The canisters were priced at $24.99 plus tax. Demand was so strong that Yahoo Entertainment reported that some of the buckets were resold for more than $800.
The chain has also made a business case for these items. In May 2024, AMC chief executive Adam Aron told The Hollywood Reporter that he estimated custom popcorn buckets had brought in $54 million in revenue over the previous few years.
For moviegoers, the practical question is simple. A bucket is a souvenir you buy with your ticket, and a collectible you can only get at one chain's cinemas creates a reason to visit on opening weekend. For the studio, the buckets keep Dune in front of audiences months before the film arrives.
What comes next is a matter of timing. The buckets are expected to be on sale as the film approaches its December release, and fans will be watching to see how quickly the new designs sell out.
