The calories in movie theater popcorn, even without butter, are still shockingly high. Huge serving sizes, the method of popping and the unconscious consumption all lead to an intake of excessive calories.
Calories
According to Anderson University, a kid's serving size, which is about 5 cups of popcorn without any butter, contains 300 calories, a small serving or 7 cups is 400 calories. A medium serving or 11 cups is 650 calories, and a large serving or 16 cups is 900 calories. The extra-large serving of 20 cups contains 1,160 calories.
Considerations
Even without adding the extra pumps of butter, the calories in movie theater popcorn are higher than other varieties of popcorn because it is popped in oil, like coconut oil or canola oil. Air-popped varieties have been offered in the past, but they haven't been popular with the public, according to George Dunn, president and COO of Regal Entertainment Group.
Warning
The amount of saturated fat in movie theater popcorn can easily exceed several days' worth of the Mayo Clinic-recommended amount of 15 g per day. A kid's size contains 14 g saturated fat, small has 19 g, medium has 31 g, large has 43 g and the extra-large has 55 g saturated fat.
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