popcorn movie

English

Etymology

Named after popcorn, a popular accompaniment to movies.

Noun

popcorn movie (plural popcorn movies)

  1. (film, idiomatic) A motion picture without serious dramatic content, a weighty message, or intellectual depth, which serves simply as enjoyable entertainment.
    • 1994 Dec. 9, "Review: Drop Zone Unbelievable, Unpretentious and Great Fun," News Tribune (retrieved 29 Oct 2011):
      Ah well, it's a pure popcorn movie, so what do you expect? Drop Zone doesn't tax many brain cells, but it does keep the pulse pounding right to the end.
    • 1999, Stephen J. Dubner, "Steven the Good," New York Times (retrieved 29 Oct 2011):
      Spielberg calls Minority Report the most cynical film he will have made—but yes, it has a happy ending, he says, and yes, it's a popcorn movie, "but a gourmet popcorn movie."
    • 2004 May 17, Lev Grossman, "Hollywood's Global Warming," Time:
      As a movie, The Day After Tomorrow is your classic computer-generated cinematic confection, only the bad guy isn't an alien or a giant lizard, it's global warming. That gives Tomorrow a lot more political heft than your average popcorn movie.

See also

References
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