To the creators of the Dune: Part Two popcorn bucket, the word Fleshlight is as much of a curse as saying Macbeth is in a theater. Rod Mason, the vice-president of business development at Zinc Group, and Marcus Gonzalez, the company’s global creative director, did not foresee it being the first thing on everyone’s mind when images of their specialty sandworm popcorn bucket leaked on social media earlier this year, terrifying butter dispensers and theater cleanup crews alike with its silicon teeth and pale opening. “This thing was produced six, eight, ten months beforehand. It sat in everybody’s offices for a good six to eight months,†explains Mason, who is still in slight disbelief.
By the time the inventory arrived at movie theaters, it was too late to control the fire. Photos of the bucket inspired an equal number of disgusted and “hear me out†tweets. Jimmy Kimmel accosted Dune stars Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Timothée Chalamet with the bucket, and Saturday Night Live aired a song about Marcello Hernández losing his virginity to it. The AMC-exclusive collectible sold out quickly, and people began reselling the buckets for upwards of $300 on eBay with one auction ending at $800.
The bucket’s most measurable impact, however, may be the way it showed studios a huge hole … in the market for movie-merch fanatics. In the wake of Dune: Part Two, Disney’s Inside Out 2 decided to gamify its own buckets with collectible mystery figurines, Sony’s Garfield unveiled a Baby Garfield bucket with Mr. Potato Head–style interchangeable expressions, and Universal’s Despicable Me 4 birthed a popcorn baby carrier. Then Ryan Reynolds made the whole thing personal. After declaring that “years from now they will look back at 2024 as the year the War of the Popcorn Buckets began,†the Deadpool & Wolverine star revealed a bucket he had helped design: a direct parody of the Dune bucket with Wolverine’s gaping mouth standing in for the sandworm’s.
Neither Mason nor Gonzalez deigned to comment on Reynolds’s bucket (it’s Zinc Group policy not to talk to the press about its competitors’ creations), but Mason allows that some studios are trying to re-create the Dune bucket craze inorganically (“I can’t go into much detail there,†he says). The pair do, however, have lots to say about how their most famous bucket came to be, the warring movie-merch landscape, and what movies that missed out on the bucket craze should have been doing.
Can you walk me through the general process of getting a popcorn bucket made?Â
Mason: There’s a concept drawing first, then it goes to the studio for approvals. Once we decide on what we’re going ahead with, a prototype is built. Once the prototype functions properly, we go to tooling, where they build the molding tool. We see preproduction samples. There are a lot of checks and balances along the way.
How does one become a popcorn-bucket designer? What is the career path?
Gonzalez: While I was in art school, I started doing designs for Disney. I started with illustrations and graduated to doing premium merch like the Ghost Mickey popcorn bucket.
Mason: It’s definitely a niche. Honestly, when we first started doing it, I wondered, Are people actually going to buy this stuff? Now, people pay $40 to $50 for these things. It was a learning curve for me.
Do you have rivals? What’s the movie-merch-designer scene like? Is it like a Mad Men scenario?
Mason: We have competitors, obviously. What that does is put a little more pressure on Marcus’s product-development team to make sure that we’re getting cool designs in front of clients early enough and that the price is competitive and the quality is good. It’s probably like Mad Men within Zinc, but we don’t have that much to do on a day-to-day basis with our competitors. We’re aware of what they’re doing. There’s not much sharing of information, but there are some instances when people take other people’s ideas and use them as their own.
Were there other ideas for the Dune bucket before you settled on the sandworm design?
Gonzalez: One idea was the pain box. But just by looking at it, you’re not going to know what it is unless you’re a big Dune fan. We kept going back to the worm. The challenge was doing the body and making it work as a popcorn bucket. How do you have it not look … a certain way? We thought we’d found a good solution. The art director suggested, “What if we had the worm coming out of the ground and that goes on the tin?†We’re really just designing the lid more than the tin. We landed on “How cool would it be to stick your hand in it?†We talked about the teeth and how they weren’t going to work if they’re made out of plastic because you’ll get all scratched up, so we went with the silicone material. We thought it would be something unique and different, which it was. We didn’t know what people would see and think about afterward.
I can imagine when you’re really in the zone while designing, you can’t think of it any other way.Â
Gonzalez: Yes, it’s tunnel vision because you’re not thinking in that particular mind-set. Like at Disney, I designed things people saw F-words in and called out the way the letters were placed, saying it spells something. But that’s not how I designed it, and now you’re seeing things that aren’t there.
What was the approval process like with AMC and Legendary Entertainment?
Gonzalez: I don’t think we had too much review or approval for that bucket. It went through maybe one or two rounds at most. The only major revision had to do with the art on the actual bucket. The style guide was updated two to three times after we did the design, so we had to keep updating it to reflect the marketing.
What was your initial reaction to its going viral? Do you remember where you were when you found out?
Mason: Yep! I do. My son, who’s 26, called me and said, “Dad, did you do the Dune bucket?†And I said, “Yeah, why? It’s not out in public yet.†He said, “Oh, yes it is! Check out Twitter.†I looked at Twitter and thought, Oh my goodness. We had a conversation with Legendary and AMC. There was a lot of trepidation about what could happen. To their credit, both AMC and Legendary embraced it. There were memes coming out, and Saturday Night Live did the sketch the following week. It was a wave you can’t stop from breaking. We just had to ride it in. The end result of it all was about 24 hours of doubt. From then on, I mean, we’re talking to you because of it. There’s this huge interest from not just the cinema industry but other industries as well.
During that 24 hours of doubt, how did you feel — upset, angry?
Mason: I’m a pragmatist by nature. There’s nothing we can do to change it. This thing was produced six, eight, ten months beforehand. I was a little concerned until I spoke with Legendary and AMC, but they were good with it. It probably wasn’t even 24 hours; it was more like 15 minutes until you talked to the people who actually own the IP.
Gonzalez: The first tweet that I saw, I didn’t quite understand what they were trying to say. But it wasn’t until the second tweet where it was like, “Oh, OH!†Then, my son, he’s 27, I showed him the memes, and he goes, “Yeah, that kind of looks … inappropriate.†It was definitely a panic mode: “Is this going to be taken the wrong way? What did we overlook?†We tend to be rather meticulous with the work we do. We make sure the right people see it and we dot our I’s and cross our T’s.
Mason: If we hadn’t gone through all the approvals we went through with AMC and Legendary, it would’ve been a different outcome. Because it was truly a team effort, we just had to go with it.
What I’m hearing is you both need to have your sons on the approvals team.Â
Mason: They obviously have dirtier minds than we do.
Do you have any regrets about the design? An AMC exec told Variety, “We would have never created it knowing it would be celebrated or mocked.†How did it feel to read that?
Mason: I’m never going to contradict one of our biggest clients, so I’m going to plead the Fifth on that one. There was probably a little bit of negative press, but it was negative because of the connotations of what people said they saw, not because no one was buying it. The item sold out in a short time. For anyone, if an item sells out, it’s a success.
Have you ever autographed a popcorn bucket?
Mason: No.
Gonzalez: Yes.
Mason: You have? Are you kidding me?
Gonzalez: Dude, people take me out to lunch just so I can sign their popcorn bucket or tiki mug or whatever. Most of them ask for a signature because they’re putting it in their collection. Then others claim to be doing the same, but then a week later, my signature is on eBay.
How much have they sold for? Do you keep an eye out for listings?
Gonzalez: I don’t need to anymore because my friends do that. It wasn’t a popcorn bucket that sold for a lot on eBay. It was a tiki mug, and that was about $250 to $300. But they sell for more than that. Some of the mugs we sell at Disney resell for upwards of $1,000.
Going into the summer, did you see an increase in orders for popcorn buckets post-Dune?
Mason: Definitely. A lot more cinemas want to do this now. And it’s flowed over to non-cinema clients, too. There’s always been a big demand from theme parks. Obviously, we can’t divulge who the clients are, but from the studio perspective, yes, they want to push the envelope more than they have in the past.
Do you ever test how easy it is to use the designs in a dark theater?
Mason: Interestingly, when we started doing this, the biggest objection was “It doesn’t fit in a cup holder.†Now, in a lot of cases, people buy the buckets and don’t even put popcorn in them because they see them as collector’s items.
Gonzalez: It’s the same phenomenon you see at Disneyland. People wait in line all day and then they say, “I don’t want popcorn in it. I want it just the way it is.†They don’t want to have to wipe off rotting butter or whatever. The exact same mentality transfers over to the movie theater. We are still trying to design for the lowest common denominator. The Dune one is a good example. Was the opening big enough for an adult male hand to fit into? Usually, my hand is the test to see if I can stick my hand in there without issue.
How does it feel to see people lining up for hours for something you created?
Gonzalez: It’s initially mind-blowing to think that. At places like Disney, it’s common for people to wait two to three hours for something. My dad waited hours to get a popcorn bucket. He likes to tell people in line that his son designed the bucket.
You guys work on merch for movies in all different genres. How is designing for horror movies like Alien: Romulus different from designing for action movies like Planet of the Apes?Â
Gonzalez: Each movie has the same basic tenet: What is iconic, and what do you want to take home? Dune was a challenge because it doesn’t necessarily have iconic characters, as opposed to a Marvel movie. Whereas horror movies, not talking about Friday the 13ths or Saws, don’t have specific things to go off of.
The challenge in an action movie is if we can’t use character likenesses, it’ll be harder to make it work. If Harrison Ford is the most iconic thing in your movie franchise and you can’t use him, it makes it a lot harder to design something people will gravitate toward.
Are stars or directors ever involved in the design process?
Mason: If we have to do a likeness of them, they get the final say. There’s some development for a movie coming out later this year that has a really big star in it, and if we’re doing a likeness, he will probably have the final say.
Gonzalez: You have stars who are also executive producers, so they’re not looking just from the likeness perspective; they’re looking at the assortment. Sometimes they have very strong opinions, so you follow suit.
How do you personally prepare your popcorn?
Mason: I don’t eat it. Don’t print that! But I don’t eat it.
Gonzalez: I love it. I go to the movies and get the extra-big tub of popcorn and save it, maybe even get a refill. I put it in Ziploc bags, and my son and I eat it throughout the week. Movie-theater popcorn is the best.
Is there a dream director or genre you would love to design a bucket for? Like a popcorn-bucket bucket list?
Gonzalez: My big one was Marvel, but I’m already doing Marvel. For future ones, it would be so awesome to really get into horror because you’re more unbridled due to the nature of the genre. I’d love to do more DC Comics or stuff that ties in to video games.
Mason: For me, it would be video games; it’d be really cool.
Is there a video-game franchise or company you would love to work with?
Mason: Minecraft and Roblox because it crosses demographics. They’re for adults and for kids. Everyone seems to connect with them. We did Super Mario Bros. last year, but I’d love to do something with LEGO, too.
Gonzalez: Ubisoft, Microsoft, Steam. Doing Fallout would be awesome. If they ever do another Assassin’s Creed, I’d love to do it.
Okay, now we’d like to play a game where we name a film that didn’t get the popcorn-bucket treatment and you tell us the first idea that comes to mind. Here’s the first: Challengers.
Mason: Interestingly, we did a tie-in with the Australian Open a few years ago, and it was a tennis ball that stretched out to a sipper. We could probably do that with a popcorn bucket as well.
Next, The Fall Guy.
Gonzalez: I remember the original Fall Guy TV show. So I think more about props or things that go along with the stunt genre. You’re probably not going to fixate on Ryan Gosling or Emily Blunt from a character-likeness perspective, so maybe the helicopter or motorcycle scenes.
Okay, now Saltburn.
Gonzalez: I’ve seen memes, but I haven’t seen this one. From the trailers and teasers I’ve seen, it’s very sexual. I don’t know what we’d want to show from that.
What about Monkey Man?
Mason: Given that this was so violent, maybe blood-flavored popcorn? Red-dyed popcorn?
Like hot Cheetos flavored?
Mason: Exactly.
Gonzalez: The vessel could be clear acrylic, and the manufacturer could inject red liquid so it looks like streaks of blood.
Now, Stop Making Sense, the Talking Heads doc.
Gonzalez: The most iconic thing about Talking Heads is David Byrne’s oversize jacket, which he wears in the music videos. The bust or profile would be fun for a popcorn bucket.
Immaculate, the Sydney Sweeney movie.
Gonzalez: You’re definitely not going to use things like the Cross because while it may not have religious connotations for you, it will for somebody else. I wonder if anyone would get offended if you did something with the nun’s habit.
Mason: We actually did something for The Nun last year where there was a regular popcorn bucket with a standing piece in the middle that had glow-in-the-dark eyes peeking out. It was simple but effective.
Another horror movie, M3GAN.
Gonzalez: It might get shot down after I pitched it, but I would make the doll as a popcorn bucket where the torso area is just the popcorn and you put a chute in the back and eat it, with a sound chip that says a quote from the movie so it can scare the crap out of people when it accidentally goes off.
Mason: We worked on something for the Chucky program that looked similar. You can make her eyes move or incorporate that weird dance she did.
Okay, next up: May December.Â
Mason: That movie was kind of weird. I’m not sure what you would do with it because it involved a lot of conversations and was mostly set in Julianne Moore’s house. I’m pretty sure we’d stay away from this one.
Okay, next is The Iron Claw.
Gonzalez: Definitely something with a championship belt.
Two more: Ferrari.
Gonzalez: We’d do a bucket or bucket holder for the Ferrari car. We’ve done The Fast and the Furious before, a tire sipper like one they actually use in the movie.
Final one, Oppenheimer.
Gonzalez: The first thing I would do is the bomb. What was it encased in?
Mason: A parody account made an AMC mock-up and wrote, “Look, AMC is selling a ‘the bomb’ popcorn bucket.â€
Gonzalez: Maybe the hat. The challenge there is that it’s adjacent to Indiana Jones. I wouldn’t want it to be confusing. So I’d definitely lean into the whole nuclear thing.