An unfortunate Wicked movie theater cup design has employees and moviegoers alike doing a double take.
One of the fun things about big tentpole movies hitting theaters is seeing what sort of themed memorabilia the various theater chains sell to help promote the film and encourage people to come see it at their particular venue. With Wicked: For Good, there’s been absolutely no shortage in options. Popcorn buckets, commemorative cups, posters, and more have been rolled out in all their pink and green glory.
An unfortunate Wicked cup design
But a design deployed at some theaters might be sending a different message than originally intended.
The quote “Go on, you’re free,” has been used in several Wicked collabs with various brands. It also appears on a cup being sold at certain movie theaters throughout the U.S. But in the instance of the latter, it’s been driving home how important the need for thoughtful kerning—the space between letters in design—actually is.
“A coworker pointed this out to me and I had to take a picture to post about it,” reads a post in the r/MovieTheaterEmployees subreddit. The picture shows that “Go” and “on” on the Wicked-themed cup are close together enough that it looks as if the message reads “Goon, you’re free,” followed by “Fly, fly!” at the bottom.
The kerning choice arguably worse on a popcorn tin shared to the same subreddit by a Cinemark employee.
Everyone’s making the same joke
It’s pretty much impossible not to poke fun at this design, and people have wasted no time lamenting exactly what these cups and tins might unintentionally be encouraging patrons to do.
Friendly reminder to reserve any and all gooning to Wicked: For Good until it is available for home viewing.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
