Back in the early 1990s, one of the most spectacular failures in the American movie theater business since Smell-O-Vision took place. A couple of the largest theater chains, responding to what they thought was a drive among the public to consume less saturated fat, began making their popcorn with vegetable oil instead of traditional coconut or palm oils.

The response was overwhelmingly negative. Theaters that offered both kinds of popcorn saw bags and bags full of popped corn go to waste. Theaters that converted wholly to vegetable oil dealt with legions of angry customers wanting to know why their cherished movie treat suddenly tasted like packing peanuts.

The lesson learned, at great expense, was that we don't mind the occasional sacrifice of a few grams of saturated fat here and there in the interest of health, but if you mess with our $8 bucket of movie popcorn we're going to do a "villagers and torches" routine that would dwarf any Frankenstein remake ever made.

It wasn't long after that debacle that the golden age of microwave popcorn began. What had been a fairly pedestrian bag of faintly butter-flavored toastiness suddenly took on flavors ranging from cheddar to sour cream and onion to bizarre herbal combinations.

Also appearing during this time was microwave pork rinds. But the less said about them the better.

While most of the flavors have gone by the wayside -- it turns out we really prefer our sour cream and onion on our potato chips -- one that has held on is the "movie theater butter" or "super-duper-artery-greasing-butter" flavor. But how well do they actually stack up? Will any of them have you trying to smuggle a sack of freshly-nuiked popcorn into the theater?

In this test, we looked at five different brands, four national names and one store brand, to see if any of them would make you leave the cineplex behind and devote yourself to a lifetime of Netflix and comfy chairs.

Five hardy souls sampled each popcorn, each cooked in the same microwave and handled identically after cooking. They rated each one based on buttery flavor, taste, evenness of seasoning and overall impression. Each tester was allowed to award up to 20 points per entry, for a possible perfect score of 100.

Nutritional information is also provided, for those of you who like reading the bad news first. The serving size is 4 cups of popped corn, about one-third of a bag, although we all know how rarely you share your bag of popcorn.

Pop Secret Movie Theater Butter: 160 calories, 12 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 20 grams carbs.

This one provided a great example of uneven seasoning. Cooked exactly the same way as the others, there was a wad of dry, unbuttered kernels at the top of the bag. The butter didn't appear until a third of the way through the bag. Once we got to the buttered kernels, they were quite tasty, without too much greasiness and with great crunch. Final score: 83.

Orville Redenbacher Movie Theater Butter: 120 calories, 10 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 220 mg sodium, 16 grams carbs.

Once upon a time, Orville's was the top of the class in popcorn. Either the standards have fallen around the factory or the market has passed the brand by, but this dry, very lightly buttered corn didn't impress the testers at all. Poured into a bowl, it barely even looked buttered. The only real flavor was salt, which wasn't overpowering. Final score: 63.

Jolly Time Blast O'Butter Movie Theater Style: 170 calories, 12 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 260 mg sodium, 20 grams carbs.

Here's what you do: Sew a pouch into the inside of your roomiest shirt, add some padding above and below, then tuck the bag of Jolly Time in the pouch and go to the theater as a fatter person than you are. With incredibly even buttering from the top to the bottom of the bag, a perfect touch of salt and great crunch, this popcorn was the only one of the test to truly challenge movie theater 'corn. Final score: 96.

Act II Butter Lovers: 120 calories, 8 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 240 mg sodium, 16 grams carbs.

Act II originally hit the market as one of the more reasonably priced popcorns, and it still fits that role. It was quite tasty, with an even butter that left just a few dry spots and nice saltiness. There was a larger than expected number of unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bag. Final score: 85.

Lowe's Foods Extra Butter: 160 calories, 11 grams fat, 0 cholesterol, 240 mg sodium, 16 grams carbs.

The temptation with any house brand product is to relate its taste to a known national brand. In this case, there was a clear comparison to the Act II popcorn, although the Lowe's had a bit of a greasy edge in spots where the butter was more dense. The kernels that didn't get a dose of butter were a bit rubbery, but overall the impression was favorable. Final score: 82.

The Jolly Time was only a few cents more expensive per bag than the house brand, and it was miles ahead of any of the other competitors in taste and overall quality. It wins both for total score and as the best buy for the test.