AMC’s New Dune: Part Three Popcorn Buckets Bring Back the Viral Sandworm Design

AMC has found a way to turn the sandworms of Dune into a repeatable moviegoing spectacle. Its new merchandise for Dune: Part Three revives the suggestive popcorn bucket that went viral in 2024, this time with two Shai-Hulud mouths—and social media is already supplying the punchlines. The design is built to be noticed before anyone has even bought a ticket: it takes a familiar object from the films and gives it a shape that invites a second, less literal reading.

A familiar joke gets a new shape

The first bucket, released around Dune: Part Two, drew comparisons to a sex toy and picked up the nickname “Dune-ussy.” The joke traveled far enough to inspire an SNL sketch about a cast member losing his virginity to it. AMC’s latest design gives the gag two openings, formed by the gaping mouths of the sandworms ridden by the Fremen. It’s a sequel in the most direct sense: the company has kept the feature that made the original memorable and expanded it into a new visual punchline.

There are other designs, too: a longer bucket shaped around a single worm, paired with a moving thumper, and a drink container that resembles a sarcophagus with distinctly phallic proportions. The lineup extends the original idea while giving fans new details to riff on. That range matters because the joke isn’t confined to one object; each piece gives the collection another way to turn the films’ imagery into a theater prop.

Social media takes the bait

Replies to AMC’s Instagram post quickly pushed the innuendo further. “NOT THE DOUBLE DUNEUSSY 😭,” one user wrote. Another imagined “an automated stroker” with front and back options, a buddy mode, and a version for women. Posts on X followed suit, with users joking about two people reaching into the double-worm bucket at once. The comments show how little prompting the design needs: the shape does most of the work, and users supply the rest.

That’s the part most people overlook (and this is the part most people overlook): the social conversation is itself part of the product’s appeal. A collectible bucket can function as a souvenir, a conversation starter, and a piece of fan humor at the same time. The sexual jokes may dominate the posts, but they also keep the merchandise circulating beyond AMC’s own account. A single image can travel farther when viewers feel invited to add their own caption.

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@DiscussingFilm https://t.co/ssvi45h1Zs

— RunePilgrim (@Rune_Pilgrim) October 29, 2026

@FilmUpdates When me and a buddy both reach into the double penetration bucket at the same time https://t.co/hV0WCbIOK1

— Macbeth (@WhiteRabbit_Sea) October 29, 2026

@Variety The kind of guys that will pick the double sandworm. https://t.co/sAuWmv2JnM

— Digital Emu (@EmusementPark) October 29, 2026

Why the merchandise matters

The appeal goes beyond the online jokes. Both editions translate a recognizable piece of the films into a prop fans can handle, with the new design adding a tactile gag: reaching past the sandworm’s teeth for popcorn. For a theater chain, merchandise like this gives fans another way to mark a release and creates an object that can be photographed, shared, and discussed outside the auditorium. The humor is doing practical promotional work.

This is more significant than it looks, though the effect should be kept in proportion. A viral bucket can make a film release more visible in the weeks before it opens, but online attention doesn’t tell us how many people will buy the item or whether it changes anyone’s plans to see the movie. The numbers here are underwhelming because there aren’t any in the source; what’s clear is the design’s ability to generate a response.

What comes next for the sandworms

Dune: Part Three arrives in theaters December 18, giving AMC’s latest bucket time to become part of the conversation before opening night. If you're working in movie marketing, the lesson is plain: a product tied closely to a film’s visual identity can travel on its own when it also gives audiences an easy joke to share. That said, the joke has a limited shelf life, and the merchandise still has to work as a usable container once the first wave of posts passes.

For now, AMC has made the sandworm bucket a recurring bit of the Dune moviegoing experience. Two mouths, one familiar gag. A popcorn prop with its own publicity cycle.