Going to the cinema used to be simple.

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Tickets were cheaper, the ads weren’t 45 minutes, and your popcorn just used to come in a standard cardboard tub.

Now? It feels like every major blockbuster is trying to outdo the last with increasingly bizarre concession stand creations — and Spider-Man: Brand New Day may have just added itself to that growing hall of fame.

Cinemark has officially unveiled popcorn and drinks merchandise for the upcoming Marvel sequel, and fans online are already doing double takes for all the wrong reasons.

The design of the combo-container, meant to celebrate Tom Holland’s return as Peter Parker, features a giant Spider-Man arm posed in his signature web-shooting gesture. Attached to it is a large white cone-shaped bowl designed to resemble webbing, with a straw sticking through the middle so fans can use it as a drink-and-snack combo.

In theory, it’s inventive.

In practice? Social media thinks it looks like something else entirely.

And once people saw it, there was no going back.

The reaction online was immediate.

One user wrote: “Chum bucket remove the ‘h,’”

Another simply said: “And someone approved that… Amazing.”

“Ummm guys…who designed the spiderweb cup?” another asked, with one Instagram user commenting: “That’s suspicious.”

Others took aim at what’s becoming a bigger trend in Hollywood’s increasingly chaotic popcorn bucket arms race.

“The industry has been intentionally making these popcorn buckets look dirty for publicity ever since the Dune 2 bucket,” one fan argued.

That comment refers to the now-infamous Dune: Part Two popcorn bucket that went viral in 2024 after fans pointed out its sandworm-mouth design looked unintentionally suggestive. What should have been straightforward promotional merch became one of the internet’s favourite memes.

And now many think studios are leaning into it.

One of the more blunt reactions to the Spider-Man bucket read: “I don’t want a spiderman jizz tornado thank you,”

Another wrote: “We need to chill on the popcorn buckets i think.”

While someone else joked: “No one actually thought about the cup I see.”

Not everyone was sold on the design either, with one fan offering a simpler alternative: “Think I’ll stick with the one shaped like a building with Spidey crawling on it.”

At this point, it’s becoming a pattern.

What started as quirky collectibles has evolved into a full-blown viral marketing machine, whether intentional or not.

And Spider-Man: Brand New Day is far from the only recent example.

Earlier this year, a promotional “gripper” cup for Supergirl also caused chaos online after fans compared its torso-shaped design to something much less superheroic. Before that, Deadpool & Wolverine released a deliberately outrageous Wolverine-themed bucket that openly played into the joke.

Studios have clearly realised something important: the stranger the merch, the louder the conversation.

And right now, Brand New Day is dominating that conversation before the film has even hit cinemas.

The movie marks Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing as Spider-Man after first debuting as the character in Captain America: Civil War back in 2016.

He then led Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017, Far From Home in 2019, and the massive multiverse smash No Way Home in 2021.

This new instalment lands on July 31 and sees Holland return alongside Zendaya, who reprises her role as MJ.

The sequel reportedly follows Peter Parker as he embraces protecting New York full-time as Spider-Man following the events of No Way Home and the world forgetting who he is. But the pressure begins to trigger a dangerous physical transformation that threatens his existence.

It also brings in a stacked supporting cast including Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Marvin Jones III.

Off-screen, Holland and Zendaya’s relationship has remained just as headline-worthy.

The pair, who first met filming Spider-Man: Homecoming and began dating in 2021, reportedly tied the knot earlier this year.

Holland recently addressed the wedding rumours — and the fake AI photos that surfaced around them.

“No, because they were all there,” Holland told Esquire when asked if he had to explain to family members that the viral wedding images weren’t real.

He also offered an interesting pick for who he’d like to see eventually carry the Spider-Man mantle.

“Owen Cooper would be awesome,” he said. “Obviously he’s super-talented and the talk of the town right now.”

But before fans get to see what Brand New Day has in store, many are still trying to figure out one thing: How exactly that popcorn bucket made it through every stage of approval without anyone raising an eyebrow.

Featured image credit: YouTube/Sony Pictures Entertainment/Cinemark