Burger King, which has embarked on a multi-year comeback effort<\/a> \u2014 the struggling chain recently updated its Whopper \u2014 has looked to tie-in programs as a way to attract families. Netflix recently jumped onto the trend, rolling out big collaborations with McDonald\u2019s this year. <\/p>\n It\u2019s the latest chapter in the decades-long love affair between Hollywood and the fast-food industry. The partnership has survived seismic shifts in how people watch movies and recovered<\/a> from a high-profile temporary breakup<\/a> between two of the largest players \u2014 McDonald\u2019s and Disney \u2014 in 2006.<\/p>\n Burger King\u2019s \u201cStar Wars\u201d-themed menu for \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d includes cheddar ranch tots, left, a blue cookie shake, a BBQ Bounty Whopper, garlic chicken fries and garlic dip, and a Grogu souvenir cup.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a symbiotic relationship between the studios and these restaurants,\u201d said critic Matt Singer, who has reviewed tie-in menus for the film website ScreenCrush for more than a decade. \u201cThe movies get free or licensed promotion for their movie, and fans of the property are drawn to the fast-food place or the restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 1970s, major fast-food chains began to target kids in response to changing demographics and the rise of dual-income households, said University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill communication professor Avi Santo, who studies how entertainment franchises expand into consumer products and other merchandise. Collaborations with popular movies and TV shows were a crucial part of that strategy.<\/p>\n The now-defunct restaurant chain Burger Chef is credited with the invention of the kids\u2019 meal<\/a>. The chain bundled food<\/a> with items like character buttons, wooden nickels, hand puppets and drinking glasses.<\/p>\n McDonald\u2019s soon followed<\/a>, launching in 1979 its Happy Meal, which came with a free circus animal trinket \u2014 a lion, elephant, hippo or bear. That year, McDonald\u2019s worked with Paramount to promote \u201cStar Trek: The Motion Picture,\u201d another space adventure that would grow into a massive franchise, with a Happy Meal.<\/p>\n Burger King was among the earliest chains to feast on movie tie-ins when it promoted the original \u201cStar Wars\u201d in 1977. (Burger Chef also advertised the movie, running commercials<\/a> with C-3PO and R2-D2 and giving out movie posters with the purchase of a 49-cent large soda.)<\/p>\n That \u201cstoried legacy\u201d was why Disney tapped Burger King to promote its latest \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie, Lylle Breier, Disney\u2019s executive vice president of partnerships, promotions and events, said in an emailed statement. <\/p>\n The menu, which was rolled out May 4 \u2014 a.k.a. Star Wars Day \u2014 marked the chain\u2019s first collaboration with Disney in more than 20 years. Offerings include a BBQ Bounty Whopper packaged in a clamshell box shaped like the Mandalorian helmet and a blue cookie milkshake \u2014 a nod to Grogu\u2019s favorite snack.<\/p>\n The goal with movie tie-ins is to \u201ccreate an experience for [guests] that elevates their day \u2026 and their connection to Burger King,\u201d said Joel Yashinsky, the fast-food chain\u2019s chief marketing officer.<\/p>\n \u201cRestaurants are a place people come together \u2014 just like a movie theater for a great film,\u201d Breier said. \u201cThat is why, for major event films like \u2018The Mandalorian and Grogu,\u2019 when done right, a fully integrated global marketing partnership program \u2014 like our campaign with Burger King \u2014 can create enormous cultural impact.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked how many food tie-in deals Disney aims to strike per year, Breier said the company focuses on quality over quantity. \u201cWe prioritize collaborations that are culturally relevant and creatively driven,\u201d Breier said.<\/p>\n Garlic chicken fries from the \u201cBounty Bundle\u201d at Burger King. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The BBQ Bounty Whopper from Burger King\u2018s latest \u201cStar Wars\u201d movie tie-in.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Commercials are an important aspect of movie tie-in deals. One Burger King ad shows Grogu (also known as Baby Yoda) and his adoptive father, the Mandalorian, walking into a cantina<\/a>, where a Burger King employee is showing off a tray of food. A hungry Grogu uses the Force to steal cheddar ranch tots, garlic chicken fries, a Whopper burger and a blue milkshake.<\/p>\n Yashinsky said the chain, which once ran about two or three movie tie-in promos annually, had scaled back to just one annually in recent years. Since he joined the company last year, he has overhauled marketing strategy, including \u201cfiring\u201d its King mascot in a commercial that aired during the Oscars<\/a>, and moved to return to two to three campaigns per year, not counting kids meals.<\/p>\n The chain saw success working with Paramount Pictures on a SpongeBob menu<\/a> released in December, featuring items like a Krabby Whopper with a bright yellow bun and a Patrick Star-themed strawberry shortcake pie. On a February earnings call, Joshua Kobza, chief executive of Restaurant Brands International, Burger King\u2019s parent company, said the campaign \u201cdrove strong guest engagement and brought families back.\u201d The menu helped beef up repeat visits at Burger King in January even after the promotion ended, Kobza said.<\/p>\n Burger King\u2019s partnership with Disney for \u201cThe Mandalorian and Grogu\u201d was \u201cmutually beneficial,\u201d Yashinsky said, and did not involve royalties or other direct payments. Breier declined to comment on Disney\u2019s financial arrangement with Burger King.<\/p>\n Fast-food partnerships endure as Hollywood evolves<\/p>\n Hollywood has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last few decades. Despite the rise of streaming, the industry\u2019s appetite for fast-food partnerships remains unchanged. <\/p>\n Even Netflix, the world\u2019s largest streaming service, sees old-school fast-food tie-ins as a way to reach a wider audience and deliver a stronger message.<\/p>\n \u201c[McDonald\u2019s has] their own following, their own place and culture, their own ability to speak to audiences in their own voice,\u201d said Magno Herran, Netflix\u2018s vice president of global brand marketing and partnerships. \u201cWhen you marry that with Netflix and our fandoms and our ability, that\u2019s just a multiplier to what we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n The streaming behemoth, which has already worked with Kentucky Fried Chicken in the U.S. and Burger King across Latin America, earlier this month launched its largest-ever fast-food collaboration in terms of global reach with McDonald\u2019s: a Happy Meal to promote \u201cTales From \u201985,\u201d the \u201cStranger Things\u201d animated spinoff, Herran said.<\/p>\n Following the explosive success of the Oscar-winning animated film \u201cKPop Demon Hunters,\u201d many brands reached out to Netflix in the hopes of getting in on the action.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were really cautious about who we brought into that fold, because we wanted to maintain that authenticity for the fans,\u201d Herran said.<\/p>\n He said the decision to work with McDonald\u2019s on \u201cKPop Demon Hunters\u201d meals boiled down to the chain\u2019s massive following, cultural influence and willingness to co-develop creative elements, including commercials<\/a> voiced by the original actors.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779459012_680_.jpeg\")
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