Burger King sees success with limited-time Whoppers inspired by Hollywood

Fast Company

21-05-2025

Hollywood loves a sequel. And it turns out, Burger King loves them too.
For the third consecutive year, the fast-food operator is debuting a limited-time menu tied to a big box film, this time How to Train Your Dragon, ahead of the live-action film based on Universal Pictures film that will be released in June.
Beginning May 27, Burger King will start selling a new red-and-orange marble colored Whopper and Dragon -inspired mozzarella fries, strawberry lemonade, and a chocolate sundae, all taking inspiration from a franchise that has grossed more than $1.6 billion at the global box office and earned four Academy Award nominations.
Burger King says the partnership extends a family-focused marketing strategy that kicked off in 2023 with Spider-Man and 2024's tie-in with The Addams Family. Both led to larger orders and over-indexed in popularity with younger audiences and families.
'What we've seen is that we're starting again to grow with families,' says Tom Curtis, president of Burger King, during an interview with Fast Company.
The Whopper plays itself
Since Curtis joined Burger King in 2021, after a long career at rival restaurant operator Domino's, he has helped spearhead nine unique Whopper limited-time offers.
The red-bun Whopper was connected to the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and last year's purple-bun evoked the popular Addams Family character Wednesday, who has an ongoing live-action TV show on Netflix.
Those Hollywood-inspired Whoppers were the strongest selling LTOs that Curtis launched, doubling the AUV, or average unit volume sold at each restaurant location, versus the LTOs that weren't connected to a film.
Spider-Man and The Addams Family, in particular, are decades-old intellectual properties that have spanned film, television, video games, and comics. That gives Burger King the ability to market cross-generationally, luring younger children who are newer fans of the more recent film and TV releases, but also appealing to parents and older diners who may have fond memories of these properties from their childhood.
Even How to Train Your Dragon, initially based on a novel released in 2003, is now over two decades old and has inspired multiple hit films and a TV series.
'When you really associate yourself with a powerful property, especially one that's appealing not only to kids, but has a nostalgic element of it as well, then those can be really big movers of the business,' says Curtis.
Spider-Man was a driver that helped U.S. comparable sales at Burger King restaurants open at least 13 months increase 7.5% in 2023. The growth slowed to a more modest 1.2% last year and dipped 1.1% in the U.S. for the first quarter of 2025 compared to prior-year levels.
Burger King says it was encouraged by the steady traffic and market-share gains it has achieved compared to other fast-food chains even amid the more recent sales softness.
'We're in an industry that's going to have ebbs and flows,' says Curtis. 'As long as we're outgrowing the competition on a fairly consistent basis, then we know we're winning the game.'
Investing in the future
Burger King and the brand's parent company, Restaurant Brands, have jolted sales in part thanks to a $400 million 'Reclaim the Flame' investment unveiled in 2022 that pumped millions into advertising, restaurant remodels, and new kitchen equipment.
Touchscreen kiosks were added to more locations to ease the workload for staff at the counter, new seat formats were designed to be more family friendly for larger groups, and Burger King reemphasized adding playgrounds for kids.
Curtis says before he joined, traffic had been decelerating and restaurants weren't operated to their full potential. The chain needed to reinvest to entice diners.
'You can't invite a family with parents who love their kids to a dirty restaurant where they're not going to be treated in a friendly way, and in a restaurant that, frankly, is in some cases, [falling down around them],' says Curtis.
Fast food faces growing consumer caution
This year, Burger King will need to contend with softer consumer sentiment, as diners fret that a trade war and tariffs will result in higher inflation. Already, data has shown that traffic at quick-service restaurants has been slowing, and brands including McDonald's and Chipotle have reported softer sales.
Burger King has offered menu deals, including a $5 duo and $7 trio offer that allowed diners to select two or three items from a list that included a Whopper Junior, fries, and chicken sandwiches.
Curtis acknowledges that when budgets get tighter, Burger King may be inclined to lean on the combination of menu innovations with value pricing, meaning promos. But he says that Burger King does benefit from the fact that it doesn't sell consumer discretionary goods.
'People have to eat,' says Curtis. 'If you can give them great value and a great menu, you can be an option in all economic environments.'