Reaching the bottom of the ‘Dune’ popcorn bucket

In the “Dune” films, a giant sandworm can rise from the desert and devour soldiers and military vehicles in its gaping maw. In real life, people who watch movies devour popcorn. These two ideas combine to produce the ‘Dune’ popcorn bucket, a sandworm-shaped tub that is having a cultural moment. The bucket comes on the heels of other recent popcorn collectibles such as the 16-inch Barbie Corvette snack holder. But is there more to these barrels than meets the eye?

Lindsay Moyer thinks about popcorn. She is a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization focused on food systems and healthy eating. She spoke with The New York Times to discuss what she sees when she 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 impression?

It looks pretty wild. It seems like it would actually slow you down in terms of eating. It doesn’t seem ideally designed to serve yourself popcorn.

Because it’s shaped like a worm’s mouth?

Yeah, because of all the stuff sticking out of it.

Do you like popcorn?

Yes, and I definitely spent time looking at movie theater popcorn, nutritional information, and menus. What I see through that lens is that there is an excessively large bucket and the portion is unreal.

Is that bad?

Popcorn itself is a healthy food, whole grain. It has a high volume and, before you add oil, quite low calories.

A filling snack.

But many people don’t realize that in addition to the sheer size of the bucket, popcorn, like the kind you get at the movies, also contains oil. Then when you add that buttery topping, you usually add more oil.

How big is the “Dune” bucket?

Good question. I mean, there are a lot of unknowns here. Although I spend so much of my time professionally looking at menus and nutrition facts, popcorn is often the most complicated when it comes to the information the movie chains make available.

When you go to a cinema, calories are listed on the menu. But there are some exceptions to that menu labeling law. One of them concerns temporary options that are on the menu for less than 60 days.

An AMC spokesperson told me that the “Dune” bucket, which retails for $24.99, is “slightly smaller” than the 130-ounce large one. (The bucket, which comes without popcorn in it, “is sold with a separate large popcorn for guests to enjoy, in case they don’t want to eat popcorn from their barrel,” he added in an email.) And there are free refills. What have you discovered?

My coworker and I called a number of AMC locations this morning and they all told us that the “Dune” bucket is like getting a large popcorn there, but it varies by location. We spoke to their employees and asked them how many calories are on the menu, and a large one has 980 calories. My understanding is that this would be before you’ve added any buttery topping yourself, if you choose to add it.

Ah, so there’s a surprise ending to the popcorn story.

Yes. There are a few surprises. At AMC you get a large amount, which is about 980 calories before you add anything. Then there’s the question of whether you pop it in canola oil or coconut oil – that’s not clear. The coconut oil contains more saturated fats. Do you get butter, or a buttery topping that isn’t actually butter?

Wait, the buttery topping isn’t butter?

In most cases, the buttery topping in movie theaters does not contain butter. When I called my local AMC theater, the employee there was very nice. He listed the ingredients of their buttery topping for me: highly refined soybean oil, natural and artificial buttery flavor, and beta-carotene, which can be added for color or vitamin A content. He was also able to read me the nutrition facts for their buttery topping on the package. One tablespoon contains 120 calories.

In previous articles our organization has written about movie theater popcorn over the years, we have estimated that you might add two tablespoons to a large bucket. But for some people it can be more; it all depends on how many pumps you give it.

I’m not saying people shouldn’t enjoy themselves. I just want people to know what they’re getting.

What does that ultimately yield?

If you were to add two tablespoons, you would see about 1,220 calories. That’s like eating the calories of two Big Macs; a Big Mac contains about 600 calories.

But a movie is quite long, right?

Yes, you might also need soda and some candy.