AMC's Latest Popcorn Bucket Is A Nightmare (Before Christmas)

It’s been a little bit quiet on the novelty popcorn bucket front for the last couple of months – and not to bring the focus back to us, but that’s been the case ever since we asked whether they were going too far. What a COINCIDENCE. In our defence, we had precedent for that feeling: The first half of 2026 saw popcorn buckets come in ever weirder and wilder formations, courtesy of AMC. We got a handbag-shaped popcorn bucket for The Devil Wears Prada 2; we got a basketball machine popcorn bucket for Space Jam’s re-release; and we got Shrek’s toilet. Like we said: Weird and wild.

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Well, apparently, popcorn buckets haven’t gone far enough! Another one is about to hit AMC theaters, as well as a fair few other movie theater chains, and it’s as spooky as you’d expect for this time of the year. To be honest, this one might be my favorite so far.

Jack Skellington LED Popcorn Bucket

That’s right: The world is getting a Jack Skellington Popcorn Bucket, which fully illuminates. The bucket takes Skellington’s skull and turns it into a receptacle for the snack, which is revealed by pulling off a santa hat. Hit a switch, and the whole thing lights up. It might be worth not doing that mid-movie, lest the glare hit your fellow viewers’ eyes and distract them from the on-screen action.

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@markie_devo announced that this new bucket would be arriving in theaters in early October, and Marcus Theatres already has it on its website. The bucket is being released in honor of new screenings of The Nightmare Before Christmas. AMC, Regal, Harkins, and Cinemark are also all confirmed to be carrying the Jack Skellington bucket, but a word to the wise: It will likely sell out very quickly, so get it before it’s gone and confirm stock before you head to a theater specifically.

Boo!

People seem to be simultaneously excited and vaguely sceptical about this new bucket. Excited because it’s fun; sceptical because it’ll likely be very pricey and difficult to track down. Both of those things will probably be true, but hey – if you’re a collector, you won’t wanna miss it. Plus, get it before Halloween, and the popcorn bucket will double as an excellent candy pail. Just give it a wipe first to get rid of all those popcorn smears, ya know? It can all get pretty greasy.