Thousands of Marvel popcorn buckets recalled following risk of 'serious injury or death'
We're not sure where the trend of novelty popcorn buckets came from, but to be honest, we wish it would go away just as quickly as it came. Like how supermarkets place candy near the checkout so your screaming kid begs for it and worn-down adults eventually relent, the deluge of colorful popcorn buckets is much the same.
Taking your kids to Moana and you know they’ll want a giant Maui bucket where you store popcorn in his biceps. What about going to Minions and putting popcorn in their butts, with a bucket that probably farts every time you move it?
We've even seen it with Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, where the historical epic now lets you eat popcorn out of a giant plastic horse like you're a real-life Achilles.
As you can imagine, the marketing might of Marvel hasn't missed a trick on this one, with Deadpool & Wolverine opting for some decidedly NSFW-looking popcorn buckets to stick with its R-rated theming.
Advert
Unfortunately for Marvel film fans, thousands of those pricey popcorn buckets are being recalled due to fears of "serious injury or death" to children.
A notice from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission informs consumers that merchandise based on 2025's The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Captain America: Brave New World is being recalled.
Around 55,350 units are affected by the same concerns, especially relating to button cell batteries that can be accessed easily by children. Named after 18-month-old Reese Hamsmith, who died after swallowing a button cell battery, the introduction of Reese's Law in 2022 means all products containing them must have child-resistant battery compartments and have clear warnings on packaging.
Button cell batteries are a serious risk in terms of internal chemical burns or even death, while the blue Invisible Woman drinking cup, orange Human Torch cup, and Captain America helmet popcorn bucket fall foul of violating Reese's Law.
The Fantastic Four Cups were sold at AMC movie theaters across the USA between March and April 2025, costing about $15. Costing around $30, the Captain America Popcorn Helmet Containers were sold at AMC Theaters, Cobb Theaters, Drive-In Group, El Capitan EVO Cinemas, Goldenlink, GQT Movies, Harkins, Independent Theatre, Maya Cinemas, Reading, West Wind, Escap, and Zurich Group between February and August 2025.
Anyone who has an offending product should immediately contact Golden Link for a refund, with those affected asked to send a photograph proving disposal to [email protected].
While you might be asking who on Earth is paying for these pieces of tat that inevitably sit at the back of a cupboard and massively contribute to the world's plastic problem, it's an industry with a bizarre boom.
Speaking to The New York Times, Nels Storm, AMC Theaters' vice president of food and beverage product strategy, suggested the chain will make $100 million in revenue from popcorn buckets in 2026.
Explaining the frankly bizarre trend, Storm added: "Seven years ago, this business effectively didn’t exist for AMC. I would never suggest that popcorn buckets are the reason people go to the movies, or that movie-themed merch is saving the industry, but over the last few years they’ve become a big part of the conversation around major releases."
This comes as Spider-Man: Brand New Day has raised a few eyebrows over its own popcorn bucket, with a particularly graphic depiction of Peter Parker's natural web fluid shooting from his wrist. With no LED lights on that one, your saucy Spider-Man bucket should be safe to add to the collection.