About

The Popcorn Guy, also known as the Popcorn King, refers to a movie theater employee named Jason Grosboll who went viral on TikTok for a video of him serving popcorn to a customer in which he's flipping, spinning and buttering the bucket of popcorn in a stylistic and flashy manner. After the video went viral in December 2022, Jason was idolized by many who made jokes about unskilled workers being skilled. Jason was later interviewed by news channels and appeared on talk shows like Jimmy Kimmell Live! as his video went viral on Twitter, Instagram and elsewhere.

Origin

On December 26th, 2022, TikToker^[1] oanderle posted a video that he took at his local movie theater in Corpus Christi, Texas, when seeing Avatar: The Way of Water. He filmed an employee at the theater named Jason Grosboll (nicknamed "The Popcorn Guy") who was prepping his popcorn in a flashy manner. Over the course ten days, the video received roughly 6.1 million plays and 928,700 likes (shown below, left). A few days later, on December 29th, TikToker^[2] oanderle reposted the video with no music as per popular demand, gaining roughly 14.5 million plays and 1 million likes in one week (shown below, right).

Spread

The virality of the videos led to multiple duets from creators that complimented the Popcorn Guy. For instance, on December 30th, 2022, TikToker^[3] carreraloves posted a duet that proclaimed, "Take pride in your job," gaining roughly 71,000 plays and 4,100 likes in six days (shown below, left). After gaining virality, Jason Grosboll posted his own TikTok^[4] on December 28th, 2022 that revealed himself and his new channel (@thepopcornguy210), gaining roughly 39,800 plays and 3,800 likes in eight days (shown below, right).

The Popcorn Guy TikTok video started to spread elsewhere. For instance, on January 1st, 2023, the Twitter^[5] account UnionDrip tweeted the video, captioning it, "No such thing as unskilled labor in 2023. You're crushing it, Jason," gaining roughly 10.2 million views and 452,200 likes in four days (shown below).

No such thing as unskilled labor in 2023. You're crushing it, Jason. pic.twitter.com/k2hf48J2vA

— Dripped Out Trade Unionists (@UnionDrip) January 1, 2023

Interviews and Talk Show Appearances

The cross-platform virality then earned the interest of local news networks and talk show hosts. For instance, on December 28th, 2022, TikToker^[6] shawn15991 posted a video that showed local Texas news channel CCTX interviewing Jason, gaining roughly 311,200 plays and 20,900 likes in eight days (shown below, left). On January 4th, 2023, the offical TikTok^[7] account of Jimmy Kimmell Live! posted a video of their coverage of Jason the Popcorn Guy, gaining roughly 131,400 plays and 12,100 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References