5 Big Booms

2025Video / catchphrase / exploitable green-screen templateactive

Also known as: Aw We're So Sorry To Hear That Your Brother Passed Away · Five Boom Salute

5 Big Booms is a January 2025 green-screen exploitable from TikTok duo Costco Guys (A.J. and Big Justice), who used their "Boom Meter" to rate a viewer's deceased brother, sparking viral ironic remixes pairing fictional deaths with workplace humor.

5 Big Booms is a meme from the Costco Guys, a father-and-son TikTok duo known as A.J. and Big Justice, who used their signature "Boom Meter" rating system to pay respects to a viewer whose brother had died. The clip went viral in early January 2025 after viewers reacted with a mix of disbelief and laughter at the pair essentially "emoting" on someone's death. It quickly spread as a green-screen template and remix format across TikTok, inspiring edits paired with fictional death scenes and workplace humor.

tiktok memesfather son memesabsurdist humor memestonal whiplash memesexploitable templates

Overview

The Costco Guys are a popular TikTok duo consisting of A.J. and his father Big Justice. Their content revolves around rating Costco products on a "Boom Meter," where the highest score is five booms, delivered with theatrical enthusiasm1. The 5 Big Booms meme comes from a specific moment during one of their TikTok Lives. A viewer shared that their brother had passed away, and A.J. responded: "Aw we're so sorry to hear that your brother passed away, he gets five big booms," followed by both of them shouting "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"3.

The comedy lies in the tonal collision between a sincere condolence and a product-review catchphrase. Viewers described the duo as having "emoted on bro," treating a death the same way they'd treat a particularly good rotisserie chicken3. The five booms function as a symbolic gesture of love and respect, but the delivery through an over-the-top rating system creates an absurdity that audiences found irresistible2.

TikToker @absoluteexplorer posted the earliest known clip of A.J. and Big Justice giving someone "five big booms" as a tribute during a TikTok Live session3. In the video, A.J. acknowledges the viewer's loss before seamlessly transitioning into their signature loud, energetic boom countdown. The video pulled in over 31 million views and 4 million likes on TikTok3. Tana Mongeau was among the first notable figures to react, commenting "oh my god" on the original post3. She later stitched the video with the caption "the internet is a hilarious place," picking up over 100,000 likes in four days3.

The booms were originally meant as a genuine, if unusual, expression of condolence. A.J. and Big Justice used them as a "powerful expression of love and respect" toward the viewer's deceased brother, creating a connection between the living and the dead through their existing format2.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok (TikTok Live clip), TikTok (viral spread)
Key People
A.J., Big Justice, @absoluteexplorer
Date
2025

TikToker @absoluteexplorer posted the earliest known clip of A.J. and Big Justice giving someone "five big booms" as a tribute during a TikTok Live session. In the video, A.J. acknowledges the viewer's loss before seamlessly transitioning into their signature loud, energetic boom countdown. The video pulled in over 31 million views and 4 million likes on TikTok. Tana Mongeau was among the first notable figures to react, commenting "oh my god" on the original post. She later stitched the video with the caption "the internet is a hilarious place," picking up over 100,000 likes in four days.

The booms were originally meant as a genuine, if unusual, expression of condolence. A.J. and Big Justice used them as a "powerful expression of love and respect" toward the viewer's deceased brother, creating a connection between the living and the dead through their existing format.

How It Spread

The clip took off in the first week of January 2025. On January 5th, TikToker @twilightlounge303 posted a hopeless-core edit featuring the 5 Big Booms video, which hit over 500,000 plays and 63,000 likes within three days.

The next day, January 6th, saw two significant developments. TikToker @karma_cy created an edit syncing the booms with the death of Tadashi from *Big Hero 6*, showing him dying in a fiery explosion. That video crossed 1 million plays and 300,000 likes in just two days. On the same day, the clip became a CapCut green-screen template. TikToker jessayetv used the template to joke about how HR and management react when you request bereavement leave, racking up over 3 million plays and 300,000 likes in two days.

By January 7th, TikToker @rottingsk1nsuit applied the format to clips from the animated show *Arcane*, pulling 97,000 plays and 31,000 likes in a single day.

The format's flexibility made it easy to adapt. People applied 5 Big Booms to fictional character deaths, workplace scenarios, and emotional movie scenes. The green-screen template let anyone place A.J. and Big Justice into their own context, and the clip's short, punchy structure made it ideal for the rapid-fire remix culture of TikTok.

How to Use This Meme

The 5 Big Booms meme typically works in one of two ways:

1

Green-screen edit: Use the CapCut green-screen template of A.J. and Big Justice delivering the booms. Place them over footage of a fictional character dying, a dramatic movie scene, or a relatable real-life scenario (like getting rejected or losing at a video game). The joke comes from the mismatch between the serious subject and the enthusiastic rating-system tribute.

2

Text caption format: Add the quote "Aw we're so sorry to hear that your brother passed away, he gets five big booms" as a caption over unrelated content where someone or something is being destroyed, eliminated, or suffering a loss.

Cultural Impact

The 5 Big Booms meme taps into a specific dynamic of the Costco Guys' broader content strategy. Their rating system already had built-in psychological hooks: anticipation (viewers wait for the rating), emotional permission (the exaggeration makes it safe to engage playfully), and social proof (a loud declaration feels authoritative). Applying that same system to death created a moment of cognitive dissonance that proved extremely shareable.

The format also plugs into what the Content Creator Institute calls the "reaction economy," where content is designed not just to be watched but to be stitched, dueted, and debated. The phrase "five big booms" is short enough to quote, absurd enough to be funny, and structured enough to apply across different niches. People started using "big booms" in everyday conversation as a way to rate things or acknowledge events, pushing the phrase past meme status into casual slang.

The Costco Guys' existing brand around Costco's culture of abundance and excess made the format land even harder. Their over-the-top energy already matched the spectacle of bulk shopping, and turning that same energy toward grief created a joke that felt both wrong and perfect.

Fun Facts

Tana Mongeau's stitch of the original video got over 100,000 likes in just four days, helping push the clip beyond the Costco Guys' existing audience.

The original clip pulled 31 million views, making it one of the Costco Guys' most-viewed moments.

The phrase "emoted on bro" became a popular comment under the original video, referencing how the duo treated a real person's death like a video game celebration.

The Costco Guys' rating system was already a proven engagement tool before this moment. The 5 Big Booms clip just applied that formula to the most unexpected possible subject.

Derivatives & Variations

Hopeless-core edits:

Pairing the 5 Big Booms clip with melancholic or emotionally heavy content, creating an ironic contrast between the upbeat booms and sad visuals. First popularized by @twilightlounge303 on January 5th, 2025[3].

Fictional death scene edits:

Syncing the booms with character deaths from animated films and shows, including *Big Hero 6* and *Arcane*[3].

Workplace humor edits:

Using the green-screen template to comment on corporate responses to employee grief, as in jessayetv's HR/management joke[3].

CapCut green-screen template:

A standalone template that lets creators place A.J. and Big Justice into any video background[3].

Frequently Asked Questions

5 Big Booms

2025Video / catchphrase / exploitable green-screen templateactive

Also known as: Aw We're So Sorry To Hear That Your Brother Passed Away · Five Boom Salute

5 Big Booms is a January 2025 green-screen exploitable from TikTok duo Costco Guys (A.J. and Big Justice), who used their "Boom Meter" to rate a viewer's deceased brother, sparking viral ironic remixes pairing fictional deaths with workplace humor.

5 Big Booms is a meme from the Costco Guys, a father-and-son TikTok duo known as A.J. and Big Justice, who used their signature "Boom Meter" rating system to pay respects to a viewer whose brother had died. The clip went viral in early January 2025 after viewers reacted with a mix of disbelief and laughter at the pair essentially "emoting" on someone's death. It quickly spread as a green-screen template and remix format across TikTok, inspiring edits paired with fictional death scenes and workplace humor.

tiktok memes father son memes absurdist humor memes tonal whiplash memes exploitable templates

Overview

The Costco Guys are a popular TikTok duo consisting of A.J. and his father Big Justice. Their content revolves around rating Costco products on a "Boom Meter," where the highest score is five booms, delivered with theatrical enthusiasm. The 5 Big Booms meme comes from a specific moment during one of their TikTok Lives. A viewer shared that their brother had passed away, and A.J. responded: "Aw we're so sorry to hear that your brother passed away, he gets five big booms," followed by both of them shouting "Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!".

The comedy lies in the tonal collision between a sincere condolence and a product-review catchphrase. Viewers described the duo as having "emoted on bro," treating a death the same way they'd treat a particularly good rotisserie chicken. The five booms function as a symbolic gesture of love and respect, but the delivery through an over-the-top rating system creates an absurdity that audiences found irresistible.

TikToker @absoluteexplorer posted the earliest known clip of A.J. and Big Justice giving someone "five big booms" as a tribute during a TikTok Live session. In the video, A.J. acknowledges the viewer's loss before seamlessly transitioning into their signature loud, energetic boom countdown. The video pulled in over 31 million views and 4 million likes on TikTok. Tana Mongeau was among the first notable figures to react, commenting "oh my god" on the original post. She later stitched the video with the caption "the internet is a hilarious place," picking up over 100,000 likes in four days.

The booms were originally meant as a genuine, if unusual, expression of condolence. A.J. and Big Justice used them as a "powerful expression of love and respect" toward the viewer's deceased brother, creating a connection between the living and the dead through their existing format.

Origin & Background

Platform
TikTok (TikTok Live clip), TikTok (viral spread)
Key People
A.J., Big Justice, @absoluteexplorer
Date
2025

TikToker @absoluteexplorer posted the earliest known clip of A.J. and Big Justice giving someone "five big booms" as a tribute during a TikTok Live session. In the video, A.J. acknowledges the viewer's loss before seamlessly transitioning into their signature loud, energetic boom countdown. The video pulled in over 31 million views and 4 million likes on TikTok. Tana Mongeau was among the first notable figures to react, commenting "oh my god" on the original post. She later stitched the video with the caption "the internet is a hilarious place," picking up over 100,000 likes in four days.

The booms were originally meant as a genuine, if unusual, expression of condolence. A.J. and Big Justice used them as a "powerful expression of love and respect" toward the viewer's deceased brother, creating a connection between the living and the dead through their existing format.

How It Spread

The clip took off in the first week of January 2025. On January 5th, TikToker @twilightlounge303 posted a hopeless-core edit featuring the 5 Big Booms video, which hit over 500,000 plays and 63,000 likes within three days.

The next day, January 6th, saw two significant developments. TikToker @karma_cy created an edit syncing the booms with the death of Tadashi from *Big Hero 6*, showing him dying in a fiery explosion. That video crossed 1 million plays and 300,000 likes in just two days. On the same day, the clip became a CapCut green-screen template. TikToker jessayetv used the template to joke about how HR and management react when you request bereavement leave, racking up over 3 million plays and 300,000 likes in two days.

By January 7th, TikToker @rottingsk1nsuit applied the format to clips from the animated show *Arcane*, pulling 97,000 plays and 31,000 likes in a single day.

The format's flexibility made it easy to adapt. People applied 5 Big Booms to fictional character deaths, workplace scenarios, and emotional movie scenes. The green-screen template let anyone place A.J. and Big Justice into their own context, and the clip's short, punchy structure made it ideal for the rapid-fire remix culture of TikTok.

How to Use This Meme

The 5 Big Booms meme typically works in one of two ways:

1

Green-screen edit: Use the CapCut green-screen template of A.J. and Big Justice delivering the booms. Place them over footage of a fictional character dying, a dramatic movie scene, or a relatable real-life scenario (like getting rejected or losing at a video game). The joke comes from the mismatch between the serious subject and the enthusiastic rating-system tribute.

2

Text caption format: Add the quote "Aw we're so sorry to hear that your brother passed away, he gets five big booms" as a caption over unrelated content where someone or something is being destroyed, eliminated, or suffering a loss.

Cultural Impact

The 5 Big Booms meme taps into a specific dynamic of the Costco Guys' broader content strategy. Their rating system already had built-in psychological hooks: anticipation (viewers wait for the rating), emotional permission (the exaggeration makes it safe to engage playfully), and social proof (a loud declaration feels authoritative). Applying that same system to death created a moment of cognitive dissonance that proved extremely shareable.

The format also plugs into what the Content Creator Institute calls the "reaction economy," where content is designed not just to be watched but to be stitched, dueted, and debated. The phrase "five big booms" is short enough to quote, absurd enough to be funny, and structured enough to apply across different niches. People started using "big booms" in everyday conversation as a way to rate things or acknowledge events, pushing the phrase past meme status into casual slang.

The Costco Guys' existing brand around Costco's culture of abundance and excess made the format land even harder. Their over-the-top energy already matched the spectacle of bulk shopping, and turning that same energy toward grief created a joke that felt both wrong and perfect.

Fun Facts

Tana Mongeau's stitch of the original video got over 100,000 likes in just four days, helping push the clip beyond the Costco Guys' existing audience.

The original clip pulled 31 million views, making it one of the Costco Guys' most-viewed moments.

The phrase "emoted on bro" became a popular comment under the original video, referencing how the duo treated a real person's death like a video game celebration.

The Costco Guys' rating system was already a proven engagement tool before this moment. The 5 Big Booms clip just applied that formula to the most unexpected possible subject.

Derivatives & Variations

Hopeless-core edits:

Pairing the 5 Big Booms clip with melancholic or emotionally heavy content, creating an ironic contrast between the upbeat booms and sad visuals. First popularized by @twilightlounge303 on January 5th, 2025[3].

Fictional death scene edits:

Syncing the booms with character deaths from animated films and shows, including *Big Hero 6* and *Arcane*[3].

Workplace humor edits:

Using the green-screen template to comment on corporate responses to employee grief, as in jessayetv's HR/management joke[3].

CapCut green-screen template:

A standalone template that lets creators place A.J. and Big Justice into any video background[3].

Frequently Asked Questions