Moviegoers are filming themselves 'stealing' a life-size cardboard of Alexander Skarsgård from cinema lobbies, and the clips are spreading fast on TikTok. The Wicker standee shows the actor as a bearded, towering man woven from wicker, and creators caption the video: 'Oh yeah, you're coming home with me.'
Clips online show fans looking over, posing with, and threatening the cutout rather than carrying it out of the building, and the joke depends on how seriously each creator plays it. The trend has built over the past few days ahead of the film's limited US release on 23 October from Black Bear Pictures.
Are Moviegoers Really Stealing the 'Wicker' Standee?
So far, it appears to be a performance. One clip is framed as a POV about needing your own wicker man, and another seems to promise a quick getaway before its caption cuts off. Each creator plays a devoted fan who cannot be trusted alone with the display.
Reaction online has been warm. One reply praised the stunt with 'This is how you promote a movie!!', while another asked whether anyone had thought to put an AirTag on it. No cinema has confirmed that a standee has actually gone missing, so for now the heist remains a running joke.
Moviegoers are “stealing” the ‘Wicker’ promotional standee ahead of the film’s release October 23.
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) October 19, 2026
The movie follows an ostracized fisherwoman who develops a relationship with a man made out of wicker. pic.twitter.com/VNkcCBF2Kn
Why Do Fans Love Alexander Skarsgård So Much?
The affection is easy to see. Wicker received two standing ovations at its Sundance premiere in January, and the trailer prompted fans to praise his transformation, with one writing that the film 'doesn't hide this handsome man.' Co-star Olivia Colman has called him breathtaking in the suit.
Skarsgård has taken the attention with good humour, joking at Sundance that missing out on awards had left his self-esteem on the floor. His see-through shoes at the BFI London Film Festival on 8 October also drew strong reactions, ranging from disgust to extreme lust. Fans clearly want something physical to go with that devotion, and the wicker suit gives them one.
Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård's Wild New Movie
Colman plays a lonely fisherwoman who commissions a husband from Peter Dinklage's basket weaver, and the result is Skarsgård as a man woven from wicker. Wētā Workshop built the character as a practical suit, using a 30lb wicker shell fitted over a 3D-printed copy of his body, with only minimal digital effects around his eyes.
That craftsmanship helps explain the appeal of the cutout. Fans cannot get near the original suit, but a life-size copy that reproduces its detailed weave is within reach in any foyer showing the film.
How Do You Get the Official Wicker Husband Popcorn Bucket?
Regal offers an approved alternative. Since 8 October, it has made free 3D-print files available for a woven torso bucket, and anyone who brings a printed one to a Regal screening receives a free small popcorn. The bucket is not sold at the concession stand, so you will need to print it yourself.
The offer lets fans take a Wicker husband home without leaving a gap in the foyer. The film is rated R and expands nationwide on 30 October, and with its opening this Friday, the first cinema to confirm a genuine standee disappearance will have a strange story to tell.
