TikTok Is Arguing Over These 'Dystopian' Uber Eats Offerings

You've read the headline. You saw the word "dystopian" next to "Uber Eats." Presumably, images like the scene Newsweek described of delivery bikes fighting through a flooded New York City came to mind. Well, no. 

The declaration of "I hate this dystopia" made by the TikTok account @jenkemjones was referring to the possibility of ordering, nachos, a Nathan's hot dog, and other movie theater fare from Regal Cinemas via Uber Eats. "I would love to pay a delivery fee for a dry a** Nathan's hot dog," he comments in the video, scrolling through the options so that we can see how unappetizing the options were. "Who the [futuens] is buying this [excretum]?"

The video has been watched more than 292,000 times. Of those hundreds of thousands, more than 34,000 have clicked the "like" button, possibly in agreement. "For $10 you could get 2 microwave boxes of popcorn," one person calculated. "It doesn't even look good in the pictures," another remarked. 

Some raised their hands to admit that this option is definitely geared towards them. "Honestly this is something i'd do if i was blacked out," a user wrote. With three laugh-crying emojis, another admitted, "I'd totally order the popcorn." The general sentiment was that stoners would probably order cinema food if the cravings hit. More generally, however, movie popcorn is just superior to non-movie popcorn. This is apparently still true even after it has time to cool and be snacked upon by a less than scrupulous deliverer. 

The TikTok video by @jenkemjones may be about how strange it is to order movie theater food via a delivery app. However, AMC seems to be hoping that this kind of trend catches on. It intends to make popcorn places without the movies.

As explained in a press release, AMC figured that no one knew popcorn as well as a movie theater chain that serves millions. So, throughout 2022, it will set up 15 popcorn outlets. More importantly for those confused by the TikTok video, AMC also intends to also make its regular theaters places from which popcorn can be ordered by using "existing delivery-to-home mobile services." 

The reason for this is probably that, as Business Insider revealed, AMC's ticket sales dropped in 2020 by 97%, amounting to a net loss of $901 million. Very few people want to go to the movie theaters during a pandemic. This, as CNBC has noted, has caused studios to release films on streaming services. In other words, the dystopian reality of ordering a Nathan's hot dog or theater-style popcorn on Uber Eats is that businesses are trying to supply an old way of movie snacking under radically changed conditions.