In honor of National Hamburger Day, let’s take a mouth-watering journey through pop culture history with these iconic burger scenes.
From patties raining from the sky to superheroes refueling for their next adventure, these burgers might leave you a little hungry.
National Hamburger Day is the perfect excuse to treat yourself and grab a burger from your favorite spot — before watching your favorite fictional burgers on the big screen.
Savor the scenes: Burgers on the big screen
‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ (2009): It’s raining burgers
Swallow Falls has a weather forecast for the ages when Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) successfully builds a machine that converts water into food.
Flint believes his plan has failed when his machine launches into the sky. He is distraught until it starts raining burgers from the sky.
Weather intern Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) put it best: “You’ve seen a meteor shower, but you’ve never seen a shower meatier than this.”
‘I Love Lucy’ (1952): 5-cent hamburgers
In the classic sitcom’s third season, the Ricardos and the Mertzes find themselves in a diner duel.
Both couples try to charm the only customer in the diner to order food from their side of the kitchen.
The rivalry peaks when each couple continues to lower their price. Their competitive pricing drops so low that it results in a five-cent hamburger.
‘Parks and Recreation’ (2011): The burger cook-off
In this classic showdown, two burger ideologies collide.
The burger battle features Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman) championing the traditional beef burger, while Chris Traeger (Rob Lowe) promotes his lean turkey option.
With Ron’s prized City Hall beef burger on the line, the two have a competition that will determine who makes the better burger.
Which burger will win the taste buds of their coworkers?
‘The Terminal’ (2004): Quarters for a burger
After some passport complications, Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), finds himself stranded at JFK airport indefinitely.
Out of money but desperate for food, Viktor begins to collect quarters.
Few moments capture burger joy as well as this, demonstrating that sometimes all you need is a burger.
‘Iron Man’ (2008): Cheeseburger first
The first thing Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) asks for after he is rescued? First a cheeseburger and then a press conference.
This burger turns out to be life changing. Not only for Tony Stark’s tastebuds, but for his company, Stark Industries as well.
While enjoying his burger from the one and only Burger King, Tony announces that Stark Industries will stop producing and selling weapons of war.
‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ (1999): Krabby Patty
The Krabby Patty transcends animation as a culinary masterpiece.
This legendary burger from Bikini Bottom has had fans wanting to dive under the sea for years so they can discover for themselves what secret recipe makes the Krabby Patty so unique.
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018): Peter B. Parker’s diner burger
Even Spider-Man needs to eat and this diner made a super burger fit for a superhero.
Between inter-dimensional battles and saving a few different worlds, Spider-Man’s alter ego Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) refuels with a classic diner burger.
While Peter devours his burger in a less than delicate fashion, an animated burger has never looked so good.
‘The Pink Panther’ (2006): A burger in New York
French Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) ventures to New York City where he is introduced to his first “disgusting American food” — the hamburger.
Unprepared for the impact the classic dish will have on him, Clouseau’s experience with the burger becomes a whimsical, life-changing moment.
Viewers have the privilege of sharing this first time experience with the Inspector in a scene that romanticizes the quintessentially American experience of enjoying a hamburger for the first time.