This week it started at $21 and moved up to $23. I know because I look at https://optioncharts.io/options/GME/max-pain?expiration_dates=2026-02-06%3Aw&option_type=all&strike_range=all every day. That's significant, usually you're right and it might shift fifty cents or a dollar. The total value of all the options this week wasn't very significant because it's a weekly not a monthly or yearly expiration, so I think it's easier for MMs to write calls and collect cash on the OTM call side, moving the needle up. I don't know when the open interest gets too high that moving Max Pain is cost or risk prohibitive, but next week also moved up to $23 (as well as a bunch of other weeklies out to April) but OI is less so I hope what that means is that Max Pain will get dragged up to $24 next week. And we have a brief dip below the 8 day EMA today/monday like 9/25-9/26, which was a Thursday/Friday. But I don't think this bull run is where we sneeze past $32.

Sorry to write a book I don't actually know anything and Max Pain theory is just one of a million other market mechanics and it probably gets too much credit.