Comedies and cannabis go together like snacks and cannabis, but Scary Movie 6 may be taking the idea a bit too literally. Paramount’s marketing campaign for the upcoming comedy is undeniably pot-centric. However, a possible popcorn bucket shaped like a water pipe may be a bit too much for many states.
Scary Movie 6 will see Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, and Regina Hall together for the first time since the franchise’s inception in 2000. The first trailer clearly shows a bong and a jar of weed. And it’s not like previous entries haven’t made plenty of jokes and references to the plant either. The first movie even used branded rolling papers for promotion.
The point is, after almost 26 years and 6 films, Paramount is building its marketing around the franchise’s proven audience, stoners. The company is doing a very real collaboration with PAX on an official cannabis hardware line sporting Ghostface and the Scary Movie logo. It’s not subtle, and why would it be? The audiences who grew up with these films are more than of legal age to smoke marijuana if it’s legal in their state.
Which leads us to the popcorn buckets that may or may not exist.
Scary Movie 6 Popcorn Buckets
Yesterday, Scary Movie 6’s official social media accounts posted what looks like a plastic water pipe filled with popcorn and sporting the movie’s logo. The video has puffs of smoke surrounding these different-sized buckets, just in case the shape was too subtle. People almost immediately began questioning how that would be possible. Considering how many states still have laws against possessing marijuana and any paraphernalia. It’s hard to believe a major studio would make a popcorn bucket for a huge upcoming film that couldn’t be sold nationwide.
However, considering the recent changes in the market, these could be an online-only release. The issue there is that there is no evidence to support that kind of rollout. The only firm backing that these may be real is the director Michael Tiddes saying, “Yes…. It’s real!” on Instagram.
It’s completely believable that the marketing team popped some popcorn and stuck stickers on some bongs as an elaborate joke. But it’s also fully possible they are just going for broke and saying the quiet part out loud, given how socially acceptable cannabis has become in the past few years. There may also be possible legal workarounds with materials, labeling, and overall marketing.
Like how brass knuckles are illegal in some states, but you can certainly find “paperweights” that look like brass knuckles. Except these probably won’t cause anyone to do anything more than sit on the couch.
Scary Movie 6 hits theaters June 5. You can check out the trailer below:
