Bucket or Chuck It? is a series in which 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.

Faster than a speeding bucket, able to leap over tall buildings in a single pop. It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … Superman-themed concession vessels! Movie theaters are going all out with merch for James Gunn’s summer superhero blockbuster, and the popcorn buckets, as always, are the main attraction. AMC’s bucket is a Daily Planet newspaper box. Cinemark’s is an adorable re-creation of Krypto, Superman’s dog. We got our paws on two of Regal’s offerings: a popcorn-machine heat-ray bucket and another Krypto. Between the two, one is definitely superer than the other.

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 it.

The heat-ray bucket is a marvel despite being DC. It’s a whimsical concept, a meta-commentary on the means of production of the very popcorn within it. A mini-model of a popcorn machine, it shows kernels getting cooked by Superman shooting laser beams through the “glass.” It’s like an image straight out of a Silver Age Supe comic, and I like that the bucket design finds a way to incorporate his powers into the popcorn world. All in all, a very dynamic and playful design.

The puppy attached to the Krypto bucket has felt “fur,” but thankfully it doesn’t extend to his paws, which are plastic and extend into the bucket like he’s hanging off the edge. He’s pretty weighty and can stand independently on a display shelf, but I take issue with how plain the bucket is and how Funko Pop–ish Krypto looks. (Compare with Cinemark’s offering, which is a gorgeously detailed Krypto.)

Heat-ray score: 5 out of 5
Krypto score: 3 out of 5

Functionality

Testing the effectiveness and durability of the bucket’s movable features and determining how easily popcorn can be accessed while you’re seated in the theater.

The heat-ray bucket has a latch door in the back that makes for easy popcorn filling and eating. I like that it’s clear so you can peer in at your popcorn, and I like the width of the latch door. I could pour popcorn and dip my hand in there with no problem. Meanwhile, the Krypto bucket is as normal a bucket as buckets come: You reach your hand in, get popcorn, etc. But the fear of getting greasy yellow butter topping on Krypto’s white felt makes this, to me, less functional as a popcorn bucket.

Heat-ray score: 4 out of 5
Krypto score: 3 out of 5

Volume

How much popcorn fits in the bucket?

Both of these buckets hold a very generous amount of popcorn. During testing, the heat-ray bucket held a large eight-ounce bag of popcorn with some room at the top for a touch more, and the Krypto bucket also fit the whole bag. 

Both score: 5 out of 5

Value

Judging whether the creativity, quality, and keepsake potential of the bucket align with its price tag.

At $49.95, the heat-ray bucket is expensive, but as I always caution, I judge buckets’ value with collectors in mind who already drop this sort of money on merch for their favorite fandoms. The Superman figurine is doing an awesome little pose, and this piece can double as a display case if you so choose. Worth it.

The Krypto bucket, at $39.95, comes with quite a hefty Krypto that doubles as its own toy, and the bucket is useful and versatile because it’s a cheap, round, normal bucket. But it’s expensive if you’re buying this for a kid, which is who the design seems geared for.

Heat-ray score: 4 out of 5
Krypto score: 3 out of 5

Verdict

Heat-ray final score: 18 out of 20
Krypto final score: 14 out of 20

While the Krypto bucket technically gets a passing Bucket or Chuck It? grade, not only is this not the strongest Superman bucket at Regal, it’s not the strongest Krypto on the market. I’m sure it will have lots of appeal to people who like their merch a little chibi, though. Based on the above criteria, we have a clear winner in Regal’s Superman-bucket showdown, and it’s the heat-ray bucket. I really can’t get over how much I like that it’s a popcorn bucket doing a spin on the whole industrial apparatus of movie-theater popcorn. Who thinks of this stuff?!

 Heat ray vs. puppy: Which concession vessel will win?