diff --git a/wagtail/admin/action_menu.py b/wagtail/admin/action_menu.py
index 0089bca663..8342a96d12 100644
--- a/wagtail/admin/action_menu.py
+++ b/wagtail/admin/action_menu.py
@@ -317,6 +317,9 @@ class PageActionMenu:
             self.default_item = None
 
     def render_html(self):
+        if not self.default_item:
+            return ""
+
         rendered_menu_items = [
             menu_item.render_html(self.context) for menu_item in self.menu_items
         ]
@@ -335,7 +338,7 @@ class PageActionMenu:
 
     @cached_property
     def media(self):
-        media = Media()
+        media = self.default_item.media if self.default_item else Media()
         for item in self.menu_items:
             media += item.media
         return media
diff --git a/wagtail/snippets/action_menu.py b/wagtail/snippets/action_menu.py
index c105f6162d..a4d6a62aaa 100644
--- a/wagtail/snippets/action_menu.py
+++ b/wagtail/snippets/action_menu.py
@@ -368,7 +368,7 @@ class SnippetActionMenu:
 
     @cached_property
     def media(self):
-        media = Media()
+        media = self.default_item.media if self.default_item else Media()
         for item in self.menu_items:
             media += item.media
         return media