Cinemark To Deliver Popcorn, Wings, And ICEEs To Your Door

If you've ever watched a movie from the comfort of your home and wished you had a bucket of real movie theater popcorn in your lap (I can smell it just thinking about it), a major American cinema chain just might have you covered. Cinemark, a company with over 500 theater locations and and 5,800 screens throughout North America, is betting that you'll still want to order movie theater concessions for delivery, even if you skip out on going to the movies. ICEEs, hot dogs, popcorn, candy—it's all yours through the magic of third-party delivery.

Cinemark announced this week that the company has entered into a partnership with the nation's three largest third-party food delivery services, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats, to deliver movie theater snacks straight to the customer's door. The press release notes that Cinemark is the first national cinema chain to partner with all three services.

"Although there is nothing like indulging in your favorite movie theater concessions while watching great content in one of our immersive auditoriums, we are thrilled to now give fans across our markets the ability to have their favorite concessions delivered to their homes when they aren't able to make it to the theater," Cinemark's SVP of Food & Beverage said in the press release. As we've seen with AMC, food and drinks are where cinemas hope to generate profit as theater attendance dwindles.

The Cinemark deliveries can encompass just about everything you'd want from a movie theater concession stand: popcorn, candy, chips, soda, hot dogs, nachos, and even things like chicken wings and ICEEs. There's some obvious benefits to having these items delivered. For one thing, I hate how greasy my hands get when I eat this ultra-buttery popcorn in public. At home, I can bring a whole roll of paper towels over to the coffee table and feel free to get messy.

That being said, I am a little curious (and pessimistic) about how items like buttered popcorn and frozen ICEEs will fare during a 20-minute drive. ICEEs melt into a puddle pretty quickly, and room-temp popcorn isn't any fun. Nacho cheese congeals within minutes, and in a combo order, chocolate candy might melt if it's placed in the bag alongside the hot food. Clearly, speed will be the name of the game here.

The program is rolling out to all domestic Cinemark locations between now and the end of the year. The company decided to expand upon its delivery options after testing the program at a limited number of locations and seeing "resoundingly positive results."

Of course, there is the elephant in the room: the cost.

As we all know, movie theater popcorn doesn't come cheap, and nothing you get at the concession stand is a steal. So I explored the offerings at Cinemark's Grand Prairie, Texas location via Grubhub, surveying the prices of each classic movie snack staple. Here's what they'll run you (pricing varies by location):

• Bucket of popcorn: $8 for medium, $9 for large
• Buttery liquid topping: $0.50 for four packets
• Hot dog: $6.50 for a 1/4-lb. dog
• Nachos: $6.50
• Movie theater candy: $3.50 to $3.75
• Fountain soda: $4 for medium, $4.50 for large
• ICEE: $4 for medium, $4.50 for large

Not terrible, but also not so reasonable that just anyone would take their chances getting them delivered. Perhaps to sweeten the pot for those on the fence, there's also merchandise available for delivery, including a Cinemark fleece blanket for $20 and limited-edition Taylor Swift popcorn buckets ($15) and cups ($12), celebrating her Eras Tour film.

So far, Cinemark already has some theaters participating in the delivery service, but it plans on rolling out more through the end of the year. (You can keep track of which theaters are participating here.) Currently, all of the locations are limited to Cinemark's home state of Texas, but that list should expand outward soon.

If you're really just craving that movie theater butter flavor on your popcorn and don't think AMC's grocery store version will cut it, I suggest you purchase some coconut oil to pop your popcorn in, along with every concession stand's secret weapon: Flavacol. This artificially flavored popcorn salt (available here) delivers the buttery taste and aroma you'd recognize from any trip to the movies. Dust your freshly popped popcorn with that, and you won't have to pay nearly $10 plus tip to have it delivered.

So, how about you? Would you be willing to shell out the money for real movie theater concessions delivered directly to your home? Or are you like me, and would you rather hop by the drug store to get the same candy and make your own popcorn at home? Let us know what you think down below.