We Tasted And Ranked 24 AMC Movie Theater Snacks

Popcorn and candy have been concession standards and favorites for moviegoers ever since the end of the silent film era, but more recently theaters have upped their game to lure customers off their couches and into seats. That is especially true of the innovative AMC theaters chain, which has been welcoming guests since 1920. In 2017, AMC introduced AMC Feature Fare, which Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage George Patterson described in a press release as the chain's "first true restaurant-style menu launch in a non-dine-in-theatre setting, with a menu selection sure to delight the taste buds," (via WAFB).

Today, the options at an AMC Theater are endless, and new items are introduced annually. The fine folks at AMC opened its doors to me and my big mouth at its 34th Street location in New York to taste everything it has to offer. It marked the first time I've ever been to a movie theater not see a movie, but to try 24 different movie snacks in one sitting.

Here is the ultimate ranking of all 24 of the non-popcorn and candy snack items AMC offers. The taste test is based on flavor, temperature, longevity, and overall satisfaction. Without further ado, lights, camera, snacks, rankings!

Some recommendations are based on first-hand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the theater. I'd like to personally thank Damien and Josh for their time, expertise, and kindness in helping to make this happen.

Read more: The Ultimate American Fast Food Restaurants Ranked

Patty Melt Sliders

In general, patty melts are one of the best kinds of hamburgers one can order, where Swiss cheese and caramelized onions top a beef patty sandwiched between grilled rye bread. AMC's take, which was introduced in December of 2023, is a decent-sized duo of sliders that are attached to one another

While the soft pretzel bun by King's Hawaiian is a nice twist here, it sort of takes away from the promised namesake item. That aside, the real issue here is the soppy onions, which taste like a sweet relish that would be more at home on a hot dog than a burger.

This patty melt is certainly an inspired option, but one that sadly isn't all that inspiring. Also, burgers are best eaten immediately, so these will probably run cold by the time one settles into their seat to watch the big picture.

Pretzel Bites - Garlic Parmesan With Cheese

Pretzel bites have been a staple menu item at AMC since 2017. With a literal bite-size frame, they are certainly a good candidate to share with a friend or a loved one. However, the garlic Parmesan flavor isn't really one you'd want to share.

These bites look like they just survived a heavy sandstorm, with the buttery surface retaining a browned mess of seasoning. The taste leans heavily on the pungent Parmesan cheese, rendering any possible garlic included to counterbalance it useless. The pretzels themselves are merely okay, lacking a big crunch on the exterior, or any real softness on the interior. Maybe garlic Parmesan would have worked better as a breadstick than a messy pretzel bite.

Jalapeño Cheese Stuffed Pretzel Knots

Out of the 24 items I tried off the AMC snack menu, a whopping 12 of them are pretzel-related. One of the newer versions is the jalapeño cheese stuffed pretzel knots, which dropped in the fall of 2023. These knots come four to an order and with a side of Heinz ranch dressing.

On the outside, they have the appearance of gigantic, fluffy garlic knots, but their taste neither resembles that nor something all that pretzel-like. The white cheese on the inside is creamy like goat cheese, and embedded within is a very subtle hint of jalapeño. I was hoping to see some actual slices or bits of jalapeño, but alas, none showed up. If I were you, I'd pass on these knots and hold out for a return of jalapeño poppers, which AMC offered in 2012.

Curly Fries

The amazing thing about curly fries is they all taste exactly the same, no matter where you get them from. Spiralized potatoes with an orange tint and seasoned with paprika, and perhaps onion and garlic powders, are simply fun to eat. The ones AMC has been cooking up in its fryer since at least 2013 follow suit, and the plentiful 8-ounce portion is served in a box.

If you like curly fries, these will certainly scratch that itch, but I'm not sure how worthy they are as an actual movie snack. The problem with fries is that when they get cold, they are not worth eating. By the time the previews are over, there's no chance these curly fries are even remotely lukewarm anymore. They stay mostly crunchy on the outside, but some tend to have mushy insides. Time is not on their side.

Bacon Beer Cheese Sliders

Out of the three new burger slider options, the bacon beer cheese is the true middle child of the lot. Like the patty melt, it also is sandwiched between a pretzel bun, but is thankfully free of those pesky sweet onions.

The main draw here is the double dose of cheeses — American and an unspecified white "beer" cheese. The smooth American cheese is a welcome departure from the patty melt's pungent Swiss. The beer cheese has a melty, but odd composition, and was hard to wrap my taste buds around. Both cheeses help disguise the limp bacon that's creeping out of the two sliders' edges, as well as the burger itself, which wasn't all that juicy. Again, the issue with eating a burger at the movies is that it's not going to hold up well for a movie of any length.

Pretzel Bites - Cinnamon Sugar With Icing

With the exception of the garlic Parmesan flavor, the Pretzel Bites at AMC are all worthy of a nosh. The pretzels with cinnamon sugar are a nice option for those looking for a happy medium between snack and dessert.

Lathered in a buttery sheen, these Pretzel Bites are sprinkled with a light cinnamon seasoning. They will leave your hands constantly in need of napkins, so be sure to stock up on extras before taking your seat.

These Bites come with a side cup of the PretzelHaus Bakery Icing. The icing is served at room temperature, and is less goopy than I'm accustomed to. This allows for less mess, although since the Bites are small, soft, and not so sturdy, it's hard to dip them in the cup and get much out of it.

Pretzel Bites - Unsalted With Cheese

When you strip a pretzel of salt, the doughy bread has a lot to prove all by its lonesome. To most, AMC's unsalted Pretzel Bites will certainly be lacking that extra kick of sodium, but for those looking to keep those numbers down, this is a decent choice to have at the movies.

The Unsalted Pretzel Bites are still covered in butter, so it's not a dry affair. And if you're sharing them with someone who really needs that salty kick, the Della Terra Nacho Cheese sauce that accompanies them will provide all the savoriness needed.

Stone-Fired Flatbread Pizza - 4 Cheese

In 2017, AMC entered the pizza game and gave its product a real artisan name: stone-fired flatbreads. Despite its fancy name, it's essentially Domino's thin crust that eschews a round pie shape for a long, rectangular one. That helps for space when eating inside the theater, where slices are cut into five handy alternating triangles.

None of the pizzas AMC offers are spectacular, but they are certainly serviceable. The most basic one is the 4 Cheese blend, where the Italian cheeses provolone, Parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella come together in a sharp white mass. That mass gives cover to a very light layer, which doesn't make much of an impact. Regardless of when you start munching on the pizza, the temperature doesn't really matter, as the crust seemed to retain a cracker crunch, and the cheese is congealed to prevent sliding.

Pretzel Bites - Salted With Cheese

As I discovered, AMC's Pretzel Bites work rather well even without salt. As you can imagine, they work even better with salt. The salt grains are not giant coarse Kosher salt bits, nor are they small like table salt, but rather a happy medium between the two. Dipping them into the slightly warm Della Terra nacho cheese sauce certainly adds to the fun, but isn't totally necessary.

Like all the other Pretzel Bites, this one is lubed up in butter. There are about 20 pieces in a box, and at $7.99, it's a decent bang for the buck, and perfect for sharing.

Pretzel Bites - Everything Bagel With Cheese

Ever since Trader Joe's introduced its fantastic Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend back in 2017, every food item imaginable has been fair game to be spiced up by such a variety. Taking note of the trend, AMC shook things up with its Pretzel Bites with an Everything Bagel topping option.

I didn't get a full rundown of which seasonings made up AMC's "Everything" seasoning, but to the naked eye, I saw sea salt, poppyseeds, sesame seeds, and perhaps garlic or onion flakes liberally covering these bites. True to its name, these Pretzel Bites are "everything" you'd ever want in a pretzel snack, a cornucopia of flavoring that makes them the best of that bunch.

Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders

Simplicity is a recipe for success in life, and the same is true when it comes to AMC's sliders. Out of the three options available, the bacon cheeseburger sliders are the one with the least amount of accouterments, which serves it and the diner well. American cheese, a couple of pieces of that limp bacon, and a small amount of Thousand Island dressing top each burger. In lieu of an unnecessary pretzel bun, these sliders are served inside a plain old brioche bun made by King's Hawaiian.

Size matters too, and these sliders aren't like those rinky dinky, tiny White Castle ones. This duo of burgers is more than enough to satisfy a hungry belly. Sure, they won't stay warm for long, but for those looking for a standard burger to down at a movie, this is the one to wrap your fingers around.

Stone-Fired Flatbread Pizza - Supreme

AMC's 4 Cheese Flatbread is serviceable, but is essentially a no frills, cheesy thin crust pizza. It practically begs for more flavor, and luckily there are other flatbread pizza options on the menu, and even at the same $9.99 price point. The lesser of the two remaining options is the Supreme version, which isn't all that "supreme" in terms of toppings.

What one does get are flecks of sausage, and a melange of squishy red, yellow, and green peppers. Also included are nice and salty slices of pepperoni. Interestingly enough, one gets the same amount of slices -- eight -- as you would ordering the Pepperoni Flatbread, making this a great value.

Flatbread Pizza - Pepperoni

While the Supreme flavor of the Stone-Fired Flatbread Pizza is certainly an elevated version of the 4 Cheese option, it has a little too much going on its surface. The colored peppers and sausages are fine, but they keep the true star from shining — the pepperoni.

For me, if I had to pick a flatbread pizza for my next trip to AMC, the choice would easily be the Pepperoni. Salty and savory, the thick and crispy slices are all this AMC pizza needs to be an enjoyable movie snack. Knowing that AMC can cook up pepperoni just right, I would love for them to remake Pretzels Knots by swapping out the jalapeño for these delectable slices, surrounded by cheese.

IMPOSSIBLE Nuggets

If there was one item out of all 24 that was an absolute surprise, then the IMPOSSIBLE Nuggets easily took that crown, IN ALL CAPS. This vegetarian option, dressed up like a fried carnivore one, was added to the line-up in 2022. AMC's CEO Adam Aron praised the nuggets on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying, "With crispy breading on the outside, and a tender juicy bite on the inside, it's hard to believe they are made solely from plants."

While the CEO of AMC has to stand behind his products, I have to admit that everything he said hits the mark exactly. If you didn't tell me that they were plant-based, I could have been fooled into thinking they were actually McDonald's McNuggets based on look, texture, consistency, and somewhat taste. Ten nuggets come to in order, with a choice of dipping sauce, and at $9.99, it's worth taking a chance on.

Bavarian Legend Pretzel - Everything Bagel With Cheese

I've established that the Pretzel Bites are fine fare, but AMC's line of Bavarian Legends Pretzel will make you forget all about those puny fellers. These babies birthed in 2017 are quite the whopper, weighing in at 1½ pounds; they come in a box bigger than many that hold pizzas. It not only takes two hands to hold the box, but it may take five mouths to even finish one of the pretzel. The Bavarian Legend Pretzel price tag of $16.49 may have buyers doing a double take, but shows beyond a doubt that it's well worth the money.

The Bavarian Legend Pretzels come in four flavors, and the one that finished in "last" place was the Everything Bagel version. It only achieved that status because it didn't have enough of the Everything Bagel seasoning.

Bavarian Legend Pretzel - Cinnamon Sugar With Icing

Like with the Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites, if you have more of a sweet tooth, definitely consider the Cinnamon Sugar version of the Bavarian Legend Pretzel. This one is doused in a blizzard of cinnamon, which on its own looks like it weighs 1½ pounds. It is both overly sweet and overly so darn good.

This one comes with the same icing dip, but because you can break up this pretzel into longer pieces, they are much more user-friendly when it comes to dipping. These pretzels are hard to finish in one sitting, but they have longevity and thus can be eaten long after the end credits have rolled. Reheating them is easy, and may make for a tasty breakfast the following day. Just try to ignore that an order of one tallies 2,480 calories and 5,590 milligrams of sodium.

Mac & Cheese Bites

When Joaquin Phoenix's "Joker" hit screens in October of 2019, it proved to be a bona fide box office hit that was no laughing matter. Launched as a pairing snack at the same time was AMC's mac & cheese bites, which on their own quickly demonstrated that they too were no joke.

Ten golden brown balls come in an order, but these little guys pack a lot in quite a small frame. Once you break through the oily and crispy exterior, a super cheesy, but not too liquidy interior awaits. I'm not sure how many macaroni noodles were actually inside, but it didn't really matter as they were scrumptious. While the side cup of marinara sauce isn't required for full enjoyment, if you give these mac & cheese bites a dip in them, you may start believing this is the next evolution of mozzarella sticks.

Chili Dog

Taking on a chili dog at a movie theater is inviting a disaster. Think of all the things that could go wrong: You could stain your shirt or pants, you could get a serious case of indigestion, and it's possible your date may not want to kiss you after eating one.

If you accept all these inherent risks, then by all means jump all over this quality option from AMC. The plump, beefy hot dog is slathered in a dark, heavy sauce, which includes even more bits of beef. The chili is smoky, thick, and thankfully bean-free. While nacho cheese does not come with it, you're already spending $8.49 for a hot dog, what's an extra $1.99 at this point to truly live life to the fullest?

All-Beef Hot Dog

For those hot dog eaters who are less adventurous, and would rather have a cleaner night at the movies, stick with the no-nonsense all-beef hot dog. While the bun is nothing to write home about and is a waste of calories, the dog itself is a real weiner, I mean, winner!

Hot dogs everywhere are needlessly expensive, but for a snack at the movies, one for $7.49 doesn't seem so horrible. Plus this dog is a big bite that would put 7-Eleven's Big Bite to shame. While AMC could be a bit more generous in the garnish and toppings department here, the options for Heinz sauces are in abundance. Since the hot dogs and the Bavarian Pretzels are quality eats, I would love to see a collaboration of the two as pigs in a pretzel blanket.

MovieNachos

Outside of popcorn and candy, nachos is a pretty standard and beloved snack found at movie theater chains. AMC has long been a leading purveyor of the snack, selling them since at least 2004. It even owns the trademark on the name MovieNachos, which AMC once told Variety, "is the first branded nacho product available in the theater industry."

Originally, the round tortilla chips were supplied by Tostitos, and a salsa cup joined the one filled with nacho cheese. Today, the tortilla chip supplier is Ricos, and it does an admirable job with its crispy and salty rounds.

One of the best aspects of MovieNachos, beyond the taste, is how ready-made of an option it is. No aspect of it needs preparation at the counter (unless you ask for complimentary jalapeños), which is perfect for those looking to grab something quick and dash off right to their seats.

Mozzarella Sticks

I've never previously thought of ordering mozzarella sticks at the movies, but after coming across AMC's delectable version of them, I would highly consider them a viable option going forward. Since at least 2013, AMC has been serving up eight flaky sticks to an order, and pairing them with a cup of marinara sauce. If one cup of sauce isn't enough, extra ones are free for the asking.

These mozzarella sticks are cooked in a deep fryer and can be made to order for those who like them a little bit more well-done. As they were served to me, they were a snack well done as-is. While a little grease is often when the inside of a mozzarella stick is breached, this batch was free of it, making it a mostly clean snack to eat in peace at a theater seat.

Chicken Tenders

According to the manager of the AMC where our taste tests were being performed, the chicken fingers are one of their most popular hot food items. Just a single bite of a tender will confirm why, as they are simply delicious.

The outside of the tenders have a flaky shell, in a way that resembles the batter coating of fish & chips. The skin's thickness also helps to keep the juicy white meat on the inside retain a semblance of warmth, which serves it well for longevity.

Four pieces come to an order, and for a single eater, it would make for a filling meal. Don't forget to ask for a dip cup or two, or even three, as it's hard to choose between honey mustard, BBQ, ranch, hot buffalo, and even marinara.

(Tie) Bavarian Legend Pretzel - Salted Or Unsalted With Cheese

Before I start expounding how great the Bavarian Legend Pretzel is, let's talk about the elephant in the room — its nutritional values. With a side cup of cheese and one of brown mustard, the salted pretzel comes in at a whopping 1,940 calories and contains 7,610 milligrams of sodium. Just reading those numbers alone calls for an extra large icy soda to wash away that news.

Forget those numbers, as you're at the movies to enjoy yourself, not to think about healthy eating. The Bavarian Legend Pretzel, which is as awesome as it is mammoth, is a guilty pleasure well worth tearing apart. While the salted version is certainly the one to order, the unsalted one is just as good an option. This is not only the best concession item at AMC, it's actually one of the best soft pretzels I have ever had. Legend-ary indeed!

Read the original article on Daily Meal.