McDonald's is bringing back a Halloween collectible. Are they dipping too heavily into nostalgia or is their new model working?

Vawn HimmelsbachTue, October 20, 2026 at 10:10 AM UTC

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Some might see McDonald’s most recent collaboration with Disney as a pretty Mickey Mouse venture. But since the fast food chain is celebrating 40 years of boo buckets it seemed like a Maleficent idea at the time.

The new buckets will feature the aforementioned Sleeping Beauty villainess, as well as Cruella de Vil, Jafar, Scar and Ursula.

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But not everyone is fanboying over the collab. The Independent reported that social media has been afire with people questioning the seasonal relevance of Disney villains, especially since Hades and Dr. Facilier have been excluded.

“There’s nothing cool about them at all, not even Halloween themed,” one person commented on the Happy Meal Instagram post. “So disappointing. @officialhappymeal do better and give us boo buckets with lids or McNugget buddies!”

But what is the actual driving force behind the collaboration? For that you have to look into the restaurant’s McDonald’s > NEXT strategy, which has them investing in menu innovation, technology, efficiency and customer experience.

Analysts predict that restaurant industry sales will hit $1.54 trillion in 2026, which represents a baseline growth of 4.3%, according to the Bank of America. Americans spent $3,945 on average eating out in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Two economic Americas

A year ago, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told CNBC that the company’s value menu then was a response to a “two-tier economy”. Consumers were divided between a top tier of free-spending upper-income households and a bottom tier of lower- and middle-income consumers tightening their belts.

A lot has changed since then, triggering the company to release a statement on its website about its strategic shift. That’s not to say McDonald’s is giving up on its existing business model. They are merely building on what already works while setting new goals like gaining 1.5 percentage points of the market share in both chicken and beverages by 2030

“McDonald’s has the unmatched scale, customer insights, brand loyalty and operational capabilities to not only adapt to the next wave of change in our industry, but to turn it into an advantage,” Kempczinski said. “We are confident that executing across the key components of NEXT will unlock stronger restaurant economics, generate attractive returns for the company, our franchisees and shareholders, and increase capacity to keep investing in growth.”

On top of that, is the focus on not forgetting the human element, or “People > NEXT”. Lower- and middle-income families, however, are doing all they can to cut back. That includes skipping the fries with their meals.

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Analysts with the UBS financial group said dining brands are operating in a “difficult macro environment in which consumers are managing visits.”

The two-tier dynamic is playing out far beyond the restaurant industry, with troubling signs for the larger economy.

Read More: Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind?

Warning signs ahead?

According to the Federal Reserve, the wealthiest 10% of Americans own about two-thirds of the nation’s wealth — including 87% of the value of equities and mutual funds. By comparison, the bottom 50% own just 2% of the nation’s wealth.

The rich continue to get richer. As of mid-October, the S&P500, the NASDAQ and the Dow were seeing increases, providing enormous returns to the wealthiest investors.

Unfortunately, the unemployment rate has dropped only 0.2% since September 2025. That is affecting working-class people. Unemployment and inflation are among the reasons why low-income consumers are struggling with much higher levels of credit-card debt than in 2019.

On the upside, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reports that credit card delinquencies hit 2.85% in Q2 2026. It’s illustrates how Americans are tightening their purse strings in the advent of inflation, increased gas prices and stagnating wages.

While wealthier Americans aren’t feeling the financial stress that lower-income earners are, that could change. Morning Consult Chief Economist John Leer told CNBC that if weakness in the jobs market persists, financial stress could “trickle up” to higher-income consumers.

If that’s the case, we could see even more American consumers running in fear from McDonald’s boo buckets.

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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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Source: “AOL Money”