Matinee Popcorn Machine - 8oz Popper with Stainless-Steel Kettle, Reject Kernel Tray, Warming Light, and Accessories by Great Northern Popcorn (Black)

I have been using this machine almost daily for three years. My goal has been to achieve the quintessential movie theater popcorn taste. This machine is brilliant. It does exactly what it should and I have never had any trouble with it. There are a few tricks to get the right result, which I describe below. I am so hooked on real genuine movie theater butter popcorn, I couldn't live without this machine. If you follow these directions, you will have it. You will need kernels, coconut oil, and Flavacol seasoning. I have found that white kernels are the best. There doesn't seem to be any difference in the taste, but the yellow comes out more chewy and tough. The white pops more light and tender. The coconut oil can be white or yellow. Every brand and color I have tried tastes the same. If you use non-coconut oil, your popcorn will taste okay but not the same as the theater. Flavacol is key. You can get close without it, but your popcorn will always be a little off. If you add the right amount of Flavacol to the batch, you will not need salt at all. I get all these ingredients from Amazon. The machine seems to have a brief break-in period. Out of the box, the kettle heated too hot and always smoked and scorched a little. After about two weeks of frequent use, the kettle temperature stopped being quite so hot, but operates at the perfect temperature. I didn't change anything. 1. Turn on all three switches and add 1/3 cup oil and just three kernels of corn to the kettle. Wait for the kettle to heat up (takes one to two minutes). 2. While waiting for the kettle to heat, measure out one cup of kernels. Add one teaspoon of Flavacol directly to the cup of kernels. 3. When the kernels in the kettle start to pop, immediately add the cup of kernels with the Flavacol to the kettle and close the lid and the glass door. 4. When the popping reaches its peak and you notice it slowing down, turn off the kettle heat switch, but leave the other two on. Let it continue to pop. 5. When the popping slows to less than one pop per second, dump the kettle out. While it's turned upside down, give the stirrer a spin with your fingers to knock out any stuck pieces of corn. Return the kettle to upright and turn off the stirrer switch. That's it, it's ready to eat. Keep the heat lamp on to keep the popcorn warm until you empty it out. - For more salty popcorn, use a slightly heaping teaspoon of Flavacol in step 2. - For a smaller batch, the procedure is exactly the same, but use exactly half the ingredient portions I listed above. I host a lot of guests in my home theater and the popcorn I make is famous among my friends. I absolutely love this machine. If I ever had a problem with it, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

I looked and looked at these forever. This one happened to drop on my radar with a fast shipping and a great price point. I would comment on the assembly but I didn't do it. I was fast asleep when my teenage daughter decided to put it together. She didn't seem to have any issues. We have popped dozens of bags of popcorn and I suggest the premeasured ones here on Amazon. If you are looking for that true movie theater popcorn, the pre-measured 8oz packs made by the same brand are awesome! I have tried other brands and this is by far my favorite. If you wanna play chemist, you will need seeds, coconut oil, and Flavacol. It is this combo that makes the true movie theater popcorn, skipping the Flavacol will miss the mark by quite a bit. Cleaning this is a little bit of a chore but I bought a $30 mini-shop vac here on Amazon that I use for cleaning out the machine as well as the area around it. (dedicate one attachment for the inside of the machine, pretty gross to use the same one you clean the floor with.) Haven't read this from anyone yet but, check the floors behind a concession stand at the theater and you will not find it without popcorn on it. Prepare for a tiny sample of that. The inside of this machine makes packing a bucket or bag prohibitive due to it's interior size so you will be scooping and filling up just outside the machine or over the ramp. You will 100% without a doubt, drop some popcorn. I have my little vac but you may want a broom and a scoop depending on the occasion and I even have a little wastebasket below the opening to minimize this. Another suggestion, just buy disposable popcorn bags, they are easier to load, more convenient to clean up after, and they are cheap. The plastic cups accumulate oil and if you happen to be watching a days worth of football and refill the cup a few times, it gets pretty gross with oil and your hands will too. This is going to sound pretty obvious, for popcorn flavoring, do not add it to the kettle, it does not work that way and will burn.... so I hear.... If you are still reading this, you have likely made up your mind but were just looking for a little motivation to pull the trigger. Just do it. My family loves it! My guests have loved it! Hot fresh popcorn blasts chips and dips any day and is so much cooler. When you get adventurous, you can start a collection of the flavor toppings to take it to the next level.

READ BEFORE BUYING ‼️ The machine is absolutely fantastic! It is extremely easy to use, works super fast, and makes the absolute best popcorn on the planet. Cons are the instructions to make popcorn are awful lol but don’t worry, SCREENSHOT THIS FOR EXACT measurements and instructions and throw theirs out of the window. First : you NEED Golden barrel butter flavored coconut oil and flavacol seasoning (this is what they use at the movies for color and taste) Measurements are : 1/3 cup of the oil 1/2 teaspoon of flavacol (slightly more or less depending on your personal taste) 2 scoops of kernels (they provide a small white scooper and that is the limit you can pop at one time) Instructions: don’t follow the instructions they say as it’s way too complicated, simply add all the contents to a COLD pot, turn on all 3 switches at once, then tip your pot when you start to hear 2-3 seconds in between pops and the kernels slow down popping. IMMEDIATELY turn off all switches except warming light, I sometimes cut the warming light on first so I can see better but make sure it’s only the warming light in the beginning and you add the contents to a cold pan. Let the popcorn rest for about 5-7 mins as it will be still a tiny bit moist and chewy when freshly popped then scoop into your bowl and enjoy. They have the measurements all wrong, the instructions will have you burning the oil and smoking your house out, or feeling overly rushed because it’s such a fast process. Disclaimer: even if you do it this way it will be a little bit of smoke, not bad though just make sure you aren’t in a tiny room with door closed. This machine and these perfected measurements made the best popcorn my wife and I ever had! If you can tell we love popcorn and perfecting things. I did much research on how to make the perfect movie theater popcorn and I tested maybe 5 batches to dial it in on this machine so trust me on this. Oh and be sure to look at the small groove on the hinges when installing the glass door, I almost broke it installing it wrong 😅. This popcorn machine was part of a surprise for the wife bringing her childhood dreams to life.

We LOVE this popcorn machine. It took a little experimenting to get the flavacol and coconut oil levels just right but I think we have popcorn that is pretty close to movie theater flavor. This machine is fairly easy to clean, it looks great, works fast and has great features. I have some minor complants... I wish there was a little more space between the kettle and the floor as it makes it a little hard to get in there for scooping and cleaning. There are some small gaps around the door and we have had some stray kernals fly out from time to time. Also, it does tend to release some unpopped kernals to the floor but not too bad. The included scooper is nice but the measuring scoops are useless since I don't know what size or ratios to use. The worst was the included popcorn buckets. After the first use, my hands had all kinds of red on them from the printing coming off. The second use was even worse. Overall, I would buy this again and we have enjoyed it immensely. Very close to being a perfect popcorn machine.

So far and overall, this machine works very well and as I’d expect. It was very easy to assemble, took only about 10 minutes, plus 5-10 more taking my time to wipe everything clean. Everything comes mostly assembled, you just have to apply the kettle, the glass door, and the little kernel drawer at the bottom. It’s exciting to watching the popping process. We’re movie and popcorn lovers, and plan to host movie nights with friends and family. This machine will make providing popcorn for bigger groups more exciting and more efficient. I’ll update when we host our first movie party. It pops very well, and quickly! In my photo you can see quite a few kernels in the mix. I think it’s because I didn’t know that you should let the oil heat for about 3 min before adding kernels. I just dumped everything in once the oil melted. I got the Great Northern brand popcorn packs, it gives authentic movie theatre popcorn flavor in combination with the machine. I plan to experiment with my own recipes as well, including kettle corn (white sugar) and caramel popcorn (brown sugar). There are just a few features that could use a little bit more quality improvement. The glass door is a tad offset, but if you lift it up on the hinge a bit at a slight angle, it’s aligned. Also the little opener at the bottom opens easily but squeaks as you close it, and it tends to pop out of place easily which is just kind of annoying. However, these aren’t dealbreakers for me, and it’s a beautiful appliance. I chose the black and silver since I have black accents in my farmhouse kitchen and stainless steel appliances. It matches very well! It also fits on my Amazon Basics narrow shelving perfectly.

works great

For our family of five this machine is the perfect size. My husband and I both used to work in the bar industry where a popcorn machine is a staple. We find this machine works well for daily use, and the popcorn stays fresh for w long time with the heat lamp. We have been using it for months and have had no issues and it looks like it it’ll be easy for us to maintain it ourselves. We also love the fact that it came in black as most others don’t have any variation in color from red. It’s super fun for adults and kids alike.

UPDATE! I have found that when you close the door for the machine to pop and pull the scooping door out flush with the bottom part of the glass it substantially reduces the amount of hot kernels and popcorn escaping during popping. It doesn't remove it entirely because it opens a bigger gap on the right side of the machine (when you are facing it) however it takes care of the biggest problem area which was the gap between the door and the serving tray where corn and kernels would hit the glass and slide down and out. Just a tip for any owners or future buyers. This machine can make some pretty awesome popcorn, but it has a few flaws that keeps it from getting a perfect rating. 1. The door has a pretty wide gap all the way around it. This lets very hot kernels and whole pieces of popped corn escape during the cooking process. There is some oil splatter outside the unit as well, but that is actually quite negligible, some people are complaining about the splatter pretty fierce, and if you put this on a surface that cannot take that kind of splatter I can see the complaint, but to me it isn't a big issue. The hot kernels are a bigger problem. The first time I used the machine I caught a few hot pops from the kettle, but after just one use my dogs now stare at the machine waiting for it to feed them any kind of morsel it will drop so clean up isn't really a big problem in that regard. 2. The metal tray used for serving will not stay in place when it comes time for scooping out corn. It doesn't move around too bad when the machine is full of popcorn, but when it is getting low that metal serving tray lays flat if you look at it funny. This and the door seems like a design flaw. 3. Avoid, avoid, avoid the pre-made bags of popcorn kernel, seasoning, and oil combo. It seems like a good idea and a cheaper way to go about it, but buying the kernels, some flavocal, and popcorn coconut oil is actually cheaper, but that isn't the reason I am telling you to avoid the pre-measured bags. Avoid them because the inner space of this unit has very little play room. Getting the quite bulky bag of oz. pre-mixed stuff inside and over the pot is more than a little cumbersome, but dropping 1/3 cup of coconut oil and 1 cup of popcorn with a two tablespoons of flavocal makes the pot easier to load up. I got the bags and I will finish using them at some point, but they are NOT convenient. Tasty? yes, I am not knocking their flavor at all, but they do taste the same as what I listed, so that is an alternative for you folks. Now on to the positives. 1. The pot works well and wipes down easy. It was a bit trick loading the pot into the machine the first time. The brackets holding it in place are a little narrow and you have to push out on one just a little bit (not hard at all) to open it up enough to sit the pot inside. Once there, it is ready to go, no fuss and it runs quite well. The stirrer is solid and does a good job of moving the corn around without scraping the bottom of the pot, it sit barely above the surface stirring all the corn wonderfully while keeping the bottom of the pot free from any lingering kernels. 2. Easy to clean. Some people complain about this, and it becomes easy to tell who has worked around popcorn machines and who hasn't. They want to scrub the pot super clean each time after use. That is madness. A popcorn machines pot is like a cast iron skillet. It has to work its way to making awesome popcorn instead of doing it right out the gate. So, how do you clean it? Wipe it down with a damp rag or paper towel. Only apply a lot of elbow grease and anything else if you are putting the machine in storage for an extended period of time. The cleaner you would use for such a storage would be water and vinegar and never layer pour water directly into the pot or submerge it. It has electronics that will be fried if you do. Vinegar and water can be used to cut the grease and clean the inside of the box as well. Don't use anything harsher as this is something is used to prepare food after all. You wouldn't coat your silverware with formula 409 would you? 3. Counter top friendly. This machine, unlike its bigger brothers the Lincoln and the Roosevelt is small enough to fit on most counter tops under cabinets and do its job fine. Running off a standard (American) outlet for every feature is also a nice plus. 4. This machine looks stylish. It really is a good conversation piece as well an easy way to make a quick snack for unexpected guests to munch on. I had a group of five people over who tore into this machine with ravenous hunger. We didn't even make it halfway through the second drop. It makes a bunch of corn and keeps the house smelling wonderful. 5. It cooks fast. First, about cooking, despite what those pre-made packs say, never dump the corn, oil, and seasonings in all at the same time. That is madness and leads to super chewy popcorn with no crunchy, instead you add the oil and then you have some choices as to what to do next. Add a kernel and wait for it to pop, watch the pot and wait for the oil to start to bubble slightly, or wait for the oil to start steaming. Either way you got about two minutes to three minutes to wait. I just wait for steam and my popcorn comes out fine, but any of these methods work fine so pick the one you like, the result is the same. ADD CORN TO HOT OIL. When the corn is added to the hot oil it will pop the whole pot in about three minutes. Give the size of this unit it can only hold about two drops. I wouldn't risk anything more because of the door gap I mentioned earlier allowing the corn to spill out and two puts it butting heads with the metal tray. 6. Ease of use. It isn't hard to make popcorn at all. I have given you some pointers and while it may seem like a lot information but it isn't. Just do the following. Turn on the warmer and the kettle heat (but not he stirrer), add the oil, wait for the oil to warm, turn on the stirrer, add the corn and the seasoning, when it stops popping turn off the kettle heat and stirrer, dump the kettle and repeat if you want some more. 7. The built in warmer keeps popcorn fresh and hot for hours. It just mellows in its own littler world, not quite as hot when it first came out of the pot, but still darn fine and very tasty. On the whole, I like this machine, I love the popcorn it makes, and I recommend it for others. It has some design flaws keeping it from being perfect and it might not be for everyone given those flaws. A two year old watching the machine pop popcorn and catching a hot kernel to the face is quite the problem, so just know the problems before you get the machine. If you want a good pile of popcorn though? This does the trick.