Movie theater popcorn calories come to 862 for a medium order (143 g), or 603 per 100 g, before any butter topping. The number to notice is the fat: it supplies 70% of the calories, so one tub at the movies can match a full meal while barely filling you up.
862kcal
1 medium order · 143 g, movie theater, no butter
4%protein
8.8 gProtein
57 gCarbs
70 gFat
How to burn off 862 kcal
—Walking, brisk
—Jogging
—Cycling, moderate
—Swimming
Skip the math. BodyPal counts these calories from your steps and workouts automatically.
Nutrition facts
Movie theater, no butter · per 143 g
Calories
862 kcal
Protein
8.8 g
Carbohydrate
57 g
Fat
70 g
Saturated fat
41 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
1090 mg
Potassium
222 mg
Iron
2.8 mg
Source: USDA FoodData Central
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Verified nutrition data
Numbers on this page come from USDA FoodData Central, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s food composition database, and from manufacturer labels where a branded product is named. Last verified September 2026. How we verify our data →
Movie theater popcorn: calories, protein and sodium by serving
Percent of daily value uses the FDA reference of 2,000 kcal a day.
Serving
kcal
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Sodium
% DV kcal
Medium order (143 g)
862
8.8 g
57 g
69.6 g
1,090 mg
43%
Small order (88 g)
531
5.4 g
35.1 g
42.9 g
671 mg
27%
Large order (187 g)
1,128
11.6 g
74.6 g
91.1 g
1,425 mg
56%
With butter, medium (182 g)
1,194
9 g
57.6 g
107 g
1,376 mg
60%
3 × Medium order (143 g)
2,587
26.5 g
3,269 mg
5 × Medium order (143 g)
4,311
44.2 g
5,448 mg
A large tub runs 1,128 calories before butter
Cup size matters more here than anything else. A small order (88 g) has 531 calories, or 27% of the daily value. A medium order (143 g) climbs to 862 calories and 43%. A large order (187 g) reaches 1,128 calories, which is 56% of a full day's calorie benchmark in a single bucket.
Butter topping pushes it further. A medium with butter (182 g) comes to 1,194 calories, more than a plain large and 60% of the daily value. The extra weight is almost all fat: 107 g of fat in that buttered medium versus 69.6 g without.
Refills and shared tubs blur the count. If you finish 2 medium orders over a double feature, that is 1,725 calories and 2,179 mg of sodium. Treat the tub size you order as your portion decision, because few people stop eating halfway through a film.
Fat supplies 70% of every handful
Plain popped corn is mostly starch. The theater version is not. Per 100 g it carries 48.7 g of fat, 39.9 g of carbs and only 6.2 g of protein, so the calorie split lands at 70% fat, 26% carbs and 4% protein. The oil used for popping turns a light snack into a dense one.
Saturated fat is the striking row. At 28.9 g per 100 g, it already exceeds the 20 g daily value before you finish a small order's worth of weight. Sugar barely registers at 0.4 g per 100 g, so this is a fat problem, not a sweetness problem.
There is a modest upside. Fiber comes to 6.9 g per 100 g, and a medium order delivers 9.9 g against a 28 g daily value. Protein stays low, though, at 8.8 g for that medium, which is why a tub rarely keeps you full for long.
Sodium is the row to watch
Theater popcorn holds 762 mg of sodium per 100 g. A medium order brings 1,090 mg, which is 47% of the 2,300 mg daily value. A small sits at 671 mg, or 29%, and a large hits 1,425 mg, or 62%.
Butter topping changes the sodium less than the calories, but it still counts: the buttered medium lands at 1,376 mg, or 60% of the daily value. Most of the salt comes with the popcorn itself, so skipping butter cuts calories more than it cuts sodium.
If you watch sodium, the rest of the day needs room for it. Pair the movie with lower-salt meals before and after, and drink water rather than another salty or sugary extra from the concession stand.
Order small and plan the day around it
The simplest move is a small, unbuttered order. At 531 calories it still counts as a big snack, but it leaves far more room than the 862 of a medium or the 1,128 of a large. Sharing a medium between two people gets you close to the same result.
Because protein is low and fat is high, theater popcorn works better as a planned treat than as a meal replacement. A protein-forward dinner earlier in the evening makes it easier to stop at a small tub instead of reaching for a refill.
If you log it, log the actual size and whether butter went on top, since those choices swing the total by hundreds of calories. BodyPal can log the tub from a photo, which helps when the cup has no label.
How does movie theater popcorn compare?
Here is how movie theater popcorn stacks up against home-popped popcorn, a bag of microwave popcorn and an Andes mint, per 100 g and per usual serving.
Verdict: For the lightest popcorn fix, plain popped popcorn wins easily at 387 calories per 100 g with just 4.5 g of fat and 8 mg of sodium, versus 603 calories for the theater version. A bag of microwave popcorn at 518 per 100 g is a middle ground, but its 764 mg of sodium matches the theater tub, so it is no salt saver.
Most popular movie theater popcorn brands in the United States
2Popcorn Indiana Movie Theater Popcorn28 g571 kcal
3Popcorn Indiana Original Movie Theater Popcorn28 g571 kcal
4Meijer Movie Theater Popcorn3 1/4 cups · 28 g464 kcal
5Central Market Movie Theater Popcorn1 bag · 18 g556 kcal
6Act II Movie Theater Popcorn2 tbsp unpopped · 34 g441 kcal
The Orville Redenbacher's and Act II numbers are per unpopped kernels with their oil, while the bagged ready-to-eat products use less oil than popcorn popped at a cinema. Source: manufacturer labels / USDA FoodData Central.
Movie theater popcorn FAQs
How many calories are in a movie theater popcorn?
A medium order of 143 g is 862 calories with no butter topping. A small order (88 g) is 531 calories and a large (187 g) is 1128.
Is movie theater popcorn good for weight loss?
A medium order carries 862 calories and 69.6 g of fat. Air-popped popcorn is 387 calories per 100 g against 603 for the theater version.
Movie theater popcorn vs microwave popcorn: which has more calories?
Theater popcorn is 603 calories per 100 g and microwave popcorn 518. A medium theater order of 143 g comes to 862 calories.
How much fat is in movie theater popcorn?
100 g has 48.7 g of fat, so a medium order of 143 g has 69.6 g, of which 41.3 g is saturated. With added butter a medium order is 182 g and 1194 calories.
How many calories are in a large movie theater popcorn?
A large order (187 g) has 1,128 calories without butter, which is 56% of the daily value. It also carries 91.1 g of fat and 1,425 mg of sodium.
How many calories are in a small movie theater popcorn?
A small order (88 g) has 531 calories, or 27% of the daily value. It brings 42.9 g of fat and 671 mg of sodium, making it the most manageable size on the menu.
How many calories does butter topping add to movie popcorn?
A medium with butter (182 g) has 1,194 calories, compared with 862 for a plain medium order (143 g). Fat rises from 69.6 g to 107 g, so butter adds a lot.
How much sodium is in movie theater popcorn?
A medium order has 1,090 mg of sodium, which is 47% of the 2,300 mg daily value. Per 100 g it contains 762 mg, and a large reaches 1,425 mg.
Does movie theater popcorn have fiber?
Yes. A medium order provides 9.9 g of fiber against a 28 g daily value, and the popcorn holds 6.9 g per 100 g. The fat content, though, outweighs that benefit.
