The popcorn bucket wars just became literal with Cinemark’s latest entry for Gladiator II. The theater chain’s new entry is not only shaped like the Roman colosseum, it plays a cutesy augmented reality gladiator battle when you point your smartphone at QR code on the bottom (AR-ENA, get it?). The butter on the popcorn is Cinemark’s tagline, claiming “you can eat war.”
In fact, all of the ad copy is brilliantly cheesy: “Every kernel of strength, every ounce of honor, is for the glory of Rome. As you preside over this gladiator arena, you can… eat war. Finish the popcorn and unleash the battle within. You will be entertained.” Being intoned in the Honest Trailer style takes it up an extra notch.
It’s the latest popcorn bucket movie merch, following high-profile entries from Dune and Deadpool. We’ve also seen entries for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and others that didn’t quite capture the same zeitgeist.
Sure, you might need to wipe off some popcorn grease to read the Cinemark bucket’s QR code, and the AR animation of two fighting gladiators is reminiscent of a PlayStation 2 render. Still, neither the Dune nor Wolverine buckets boast any interactive features, so the Gladiator II bucket has them beat there — and it’s a smart way to rope in the tech press.
Cinemark’s vessel is also plausibly shaped like a popcorn bucket with its colosseum form. The same can’t be said for Dune‘s sandworm-shaped bucket or Deadpool’s Wolverine head bucket (Dune director Denis Villeneuve called the latter “horrific” and he’s right). If you’re looking to expand your collection, the Gladiator II popcorn bucket will arrive “soon” and the movie itself hits theaters on November 22.