Walmart Is The Only Place You Can Get AMC's New At-Home Popcorn
AMC Theatres has been in the news lately, and mostly for the wrong reasons. The chain, like many other movie theaters, has had a tough time recovering from the huge economic hit dealt by the pandemic and in 2022, Variety reported that AMC's profits were down by $287.7 million. In an attempt to recoup some of its losses, the chain recently announced "sightline" ticket pricing, meaning that more desirable seats would cost more. Needless to say, this move has not exactly been welcomed by moviegoers.
Despite all of its struggles, AMC does have something positive to report, and as this news is food-related, we're all over it. According to a press release received by Mashed, AMC is now partnering with Walmart to sell the former's movie theater popcorn in the latter's stores. No, the popcorn won't be popped onsite at in-store concessions stands to eat while you shop, but it will be hitting store shelves just in time for your Academy Awards watch party.
It will come in both bagged and microwave varieties
The official release date for AMC's at-home popcorn will be March 11, which, yes, was planned to coincide with the March 12 Oscars telecast. What could be better than eating movie theater popcorn while watching an hours-long program devoted to movies? If you want your popcorn hot and fresh, you can purchase it in microwave-ready pouches and pop it yourself. If you're all about convenience — or you're prone to burning the microwave kind and want to avoid that stench — you may be glad to hear that ready-to-eat bags of the stuff will be available, as well.
As this popcorn is meant to mimic the movie-going experience, it doesn't come in all manner of crazy flavors. Instead, there are just three options for both the microwave and bagged varieties: classic butter, extra butter, and lightly salted. (The popcorn probably won't be made with real butter, but then, that "buttery topping" you get in theaters is also not something that came out of a cow, which means most movie theater popcorn is actually vegan.) If you want to try this popcorn, you can only find it at Walmart — check the endcaps and displays when it launches, since there's likely to be a certain amount of fanfare for this store-exclusive product. Prices may vary by location, but you can expect to pay about $3.98 for a bag weighing about 4 to 5 ounces and $4.98 for a box of six microwave bags.