The internet truly is a wild place when one of the biggest viral jokes of last year can spur a whole phenomenon. Dune 2 was one of the best movies of 2024, making quite the splash on social media. In an unexpected turn of events, most of the attention was due to the marketing team’s wild popcorn bucket design, which led to a lot of NSFW jokes online and even an SNL skit. If you’ll believe it, Dune star Timothée Chalamet is still being asked about this crazy popcorn bucket over a year later.
While doing press for A Complete Unknown, Chalamet was asked by Triple J if he owned the viral NSFW popcorn bucket. It had nothing to do with the critically acclaimed Bob Dylan biopic he was promoting, but the Wonka actor went out of his way to answer the question, and he could not have given a more hilarious response:
Of course, the Little Women actor would be one to play into the strange hype surrounding the questionable popcorn bucket. His resume is stacked with some of the most critically acclaimed movies of this century, but he truly is a kid at heart. The Beautiful Boy actor often jokes around, as shown above by holding up the interview to go out of his way and make a suggestive comment about the Sandworm bucket. He loves to show fans that he’s down to earth, and it seems really genuine, like showing up to the viral Timothée Chalamet look-a-like competition in NYC.
I can’t help but wonder what the Call Me By Your Name actor’s high profile girlfriend thinks about his comments regarding the bucket being kept under his bed. Over the course of the past year, makeup mogul Kylie Jenner and Chalamet have gotten increasingly more serious and public about their relationship. While the two have avoided talking about their relationship for their own sanity, it hasn’t stopped them from recently attending very public events together, like the A Complete Unknown premiere and the Golden Globes.
The reason I bring this up is because while the Lady Bird actor is known for his quirky personality, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians alum is not. I can’t really see her making a dirty joke about the auspicious hole with teeth that is the access point to your popcorn, but I guess it is possible she has a secret silly side offline.
Jokes aside, the viral Dune popcorn bucket has spurred an entirely craze in the commercial world of movies. Almost every big blockbuster has an elaborate popcorn bucket launched with its release in theaters. None have been as explicit as Dune’s, although Deadpool & Wolverine certainly did try to give them a run for their money.
Some of them are pretty cool though, like Wicked’s Glinda and Elphaba themed buckets, and Nosferatu’s coffin. I can’t help thinking to myself, who is buying a $25 (give or take) popcorn bucket? On top of the already expensive movie theater popcorn! But that’s just me, there clearly is a method behind the madness.
I will say, I don’t know how the Dune 3 popcorn bucket will be able to top that of Dune 2, but can’t wait to see what they come up with. Now that it’s clear the Bones and All actor is completely in on the joke, I’m gonna need a social media campaign with him and the bucket.
While there is no popcorn bucket for A Complete Unknown, you should still go see it in theaters, with Chalamet’s performance sure to make anyone a certified Bob Dylan fan. For those of you who are like the French Dispatch actor and have the viral popcorn bucket at home, you can relive the movie theater magic by watching Dune 2 at home, available to stream with a Netflix subscription.
