In the Dune movies, a giant sandworm can rise from the desert and devour soldiers and military vehicles in its wake. In real life, people watching movies gobble up popcorn. These two ideas have been combined to create the ‘Dune’ Popcorn Bucket, a sandworm-shaped tub having a cultural moment. The bucket arrives hot on the heels of other recent popcorn collectibles like the 16-inch Barbie Corvette Snack Case. But is there more to these vessels than meets the eye?
Lindsay Moyer thinks about popcorn. She is the senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group focused on food systems and healthy eating. He sat down with The New York Times to discuss what he sees when he thinks of “Dune: The Popcorn Bucket.” This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Have you seen the ‘Dune’ popcorn bucket?
I’ve seen pictures. I haven’t seen it in real life.
First impressions;
It looks pretty wild. It seems like it will really slow you down when it comes to eating. It doesn’t seem ideally designed for serving yourself popcorn.
Because it’s shaped like a worm’s mouth?
Yes, because of all the things that come from it.
Do you like popcorn?
Yes, and I’ve definitely spent time looking at movie theater popcorn, nutrition information, and menus. What I see through this lens is that there is an overly large bucket and the serving is unreal.
That is bad?
Popcorn itself is a healthy, whole grain food. It’s high in volume and, before you add oil, it’s pretty low in calories.
A satisfying snack.
But many people don’t realize that popcorn like the kind you get in a movie theater, in addition to the huge size of the bucket, is also oiled. Then if you add that buttery coating, you usually add more oil on top.
How big is the “Dune” bin?
Good question. I mean, there are a lot of unknowns here. Even though I spend so much of my time professionally looking at menus and nutrition facts, popcorn is often the most complex in terms of information that movie chains have.
If you go to a movie theater, the calories are listed on the menu. But there are some exceptions to this menu labeling law. One of them covers limited-time options that have been on the menu for less than 60 days.
An AMC representative told me that the “Dune” pail, which retails for $24.99, is “slightly smaller” than the large 130-ounce one. (The bucket, which comes without popcorn inside, “is sold with a separate large popcorn for the guest to enjoy, in case they don’t want to eat popcorn from their bucket,” he added in an email.) And there are Free refills. What did you discover?
My colleague and I called a few AMC locations this morning and they all told us that the “Dune” bin is like getting a large popcorn there, but that it varies by location. We talked to their employees and asked them how many calories are listed on the menu and a large has 980 calories. I understand that would be before you add any buttery topping yourself if you choose to add it.
Ah, so there’s a surprise ending to the popcorn narrative.
Yes. There are a few surprises. At AMC, you get a large, which is about 980 calories before you add anything to it. Then there’s the question of whether you put it in canola oil or coconut oil – that’s not clear. Coconut oil is higher in saturated fat. Then, are you getting butter or a buttery coating that isn’t actually butter?
Wait, butter topping isn’t butter?
In most cases in movie theaters, the butter coating does not contain butter. When I called my local AMC movie theater, the clerk there was very polite. She listed the ingredients in their buttery coating for me: ultra-refined soybean oil, natural and artificial buttery flavor, and beta carotene, which can be added for color or vitamin A content. She was also able to read me the nutrition facts for the buttery coating from the package . One tablespoon has 120 calories.
In previous articles our organization has done on movie theater popcorn over the years, we’ve estimated that you can add two tablespoons to a large bucket. But for some people it could be more. it all depends on how many pumps you give it.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t have fun. I just want people to know what they are getting.
What does this mean, in the end?
If you added two tablespoons, you’d be looking at about 1,220 calories. That’s like eating the calories of two Big Macs. a Big Mac has about 600 calories.
But one movie is long enough, right?
Yes, you might need a soda and some candy too.
