Bucket or Chuck It is a series where staff writer Rebecca Alter reviews the latest promotional popcorn buckets. You can watch her full hands-on demo on TikTok. For a breakdown of her score, read on.
So maybe M3gan 2.0 isn’t bulletproof: The s3quel pulled $10.2 million domestic in its opening weekend, a far cry from the surprise success of the first movie in the January doldrums of 2023. But the real tell of a movie’s success or failure is if the tie-in collectible-popcorn bucket is any good. So how does Alamo Drafthouse’s $45 M3gan 2.0 bucket rate? We evaluated it based on four criteria — design, functionality, volume, and value — to determine if this model of M3gan is worth adopting.
Design
Assessing the appearance of the bucket based on creativity, attention to detail, and how willing a person would be to put their hand inside.
This bucket has a classic M3gan design, putting her in her iconic outfit from the first movie. What’s fun is her head splits open in a way that actually provides more horror than the movie. I like that she is a bust, and that she opens and shuts the way she does. I see her perched on a Grecian column under museum lighting in a sophisticate’s study, with her open-and-shut head used as a humidor to store his finest Cubans.
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Score: 4 out of 5
Functionality
Testing the effectiveness and durability of how the bucket’s movable features work and determining how easily popcorn can be accessed while seated in the theater.
You eat the popcorn right out of her busted-open face. M3gan’s scalp-lid keeps popcorn fresh. It seems like this could be tough to wash out for reuse, especially since Alamo Drafthouse uses real butter in its popcorn, which seems like it’ll need more than a cursory rinse. But as a popcorn companion for your M3gan 2.0 theatrical experience, she’ll work just fine.
Score: 4 out of 5
Volume
How much popcorn fits in the bucket?
She holds a bunch of popcorn! Like a medium popcorn’s worth of popcorn. Almost 16 cups of popcorn.
Score: 4 out of 5
Value
Judging whether the creativity, quality, and keepsake potential of the bucket aligns with its price tag.
This M3gan is $45, but considering what food can run you at Drafthouse anyway, it’s not so bad for what you’re getting. It seems durable, and there’s enough space inside to use it for all kinds of storage.
Score: 4 out of 5
Verdict
Final Score: 16 out of 20
Is it worth $45? If you love M3gan and have a kitschy interior-design sensibility, I’d say so.
