Romulus Popcorn Buckets Are Coming to Theaters

This August, the Alien franchise returns to theaters with Alien: Romulus, and humans will once again face off against the deadly Xenomorph. Theater chains are going to battle as well, trying every gimmick possible to lure moviegoers into the seats. Every theater can offer comfy seats and top-of-the-line sound systems, but two major theater chains are breaking out their secret weapon: exclusive Alien: Romulus popcorn buckets!

Popcorn buckets have become the newest theater premium that have captured the imagination of movie fans, and theaters showing Alien: Romulus are jumping on the bandwagon by offering their own exclusive buckets in hopes of spurring ticket sales. The first salvo in the summer popcorn bucket wars was fired by AMC Theaters early Thursday, who posted a video to Instagram announcing their exclusive Alien: Romulus popcorn bucket, which features a facehugger gripping your tin bucket of buttered kernels. It’s probably a good thing you’ll be eating out of this in the dark.

Not to be outdone, Regal Theaters has since posted a video, offering their own exclusive popcorn bucket. This one features a Xenomorph head, with fangs bared. According to the video, you eat the popcorn out of the top of the alien head, which is both disturbing and incredibly cool.

Collectible popcorn buckets went viral earlier this year, when AMC Theaters offered a Dune 2 popcorn bucket that resembled the film’s giant, toothy sandworm. The bucket was designed to have moviegoers reach into the mouth of the sandworm to grab popcorn, but the internet quickly ruined the clever design by pointing out the bucket’s unintended symbolism…

How to Get An Alien: Romulus Popcorn Bucket

There are two ways to get an Alien: Romulus popcorn bucket, regardless of which theater chain you choose to see the film. Of course, the best way is to purchase a bucket at the theater, but if you desperately want one, we recommend you go as close to opening day as possible, and go to an early screening. Popular popcorn buckets often sell out quickly. Collectors who strike out at theaters have a second option: purchasing the buckets from the theater chain’s online store. Both AMC and Regal Theaters stores often sell their current popcorn buckets, although not every bucket is available, and popular buckets sell out fast.

Alien: Romulus takes the film series back to what made it great: suspenseful horror in a sci-fi setting. The film is set between the events of Alien and Aliens, and follows a group of young space colonizers scavenging a derelict space station, only to discover they aren’t alone when they meet the ultimate killing machine in the universe. The film is directed by noted horror director Fede Alvarez, who directed and wrote Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe.

The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Morbius, Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (Superman, The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (The Batman, Aftersun), and Aileen Wu. Ridley Scott, who directed the original Alien, as well as the prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, serves as a producer. The film’s release coincides with the 45th anniversary of the release of the original 1979 film.