Off-Topic

Is it not insane that food stuffs that are normally inexpensive are sold for an exorbitant amount at the concession stand of a movie theatre? Why should a mug of rooted beer and a vessel of popped corn cost more then the price of a ticket for a moving picture show? Preposterous, I say! Even the confectioneries such as malted mothballs and gummified bear fetuses are over priced. These robber barons who own motion picture viewing houses are making quite the profit on consumables. For one knows you can't enjoy the works of a master thespian such as Sam Worthington without a Royal Crown Cola and some warmed soft pretzeled bread.

Movie theatres barely make money any ticket prices, but they make a lot, I mean a lot of money off concession. For every $1 you spend on food & beverages there, a theatre usually makes 85 cents in profit.

Lucky for me, my favorite Dollar Theater has a Soda special, At the begining of the year if you buy one Large soda at $6.50, you keep the cup and all refills are only $3 for the rest of the year, As for Popcorn one large bucket is $7 with one free refil, I don't know if the deal is any good but I appreciate it!

@the_referee said:

Lucky for me, my favorite Dollar Theater has a Soda special, At the begining of the year if you buy one Large soda at $6.50, you keep the cup and all refills are only $3 for the rest of the year, As for Popcorn one large bucket is $7 with one free refil, I don't know if the deal is any good but I appreciate it!

Anyone that actually takes up a theater on the free refill of what amounts to a trough of popped corn drizzled in artificial butter flavored topping deserves to be dragged out into the public square by several burly men and horse whipped for their gluttonous misdeeds.

@Ghost_of_GhostDad said:

@the_referee said:

Lucky for me, my favorite Dollar Theater has a Soda special, At the begining of the year if you buy one Large soda at $6.50, you keep the cup and all refills are only $3 for the rest of the year, As for Popcorn one large bucket is $7 with one free refil, I don't know if the deal is any good but I appreciate it!

Anyone that actually takes up a theater on the free refill of what amounts to a trough of popped corn drizzled in artificial butter flavored topping deserves to be dragged out into the public square by several burly men and horse whipped for their gluttonous misdeeds.

For one I may agree, but when a group of friend plan to spend an evening at the theater, usual the four of us, two buckets of Popcorn is considered the norm.

Personally speaking, I can't remember the last time I actually bought food or drink in the cinema - the prices are kinda crazy most of the time. In the US are you able to bring in stuff bought from outside the theatre or would they stop you from doing so?

@skidd: They tell you that you can't bring any food or water in, but I haven't seen it enforced before.

@Acura_Max: Ah right. I can see why they do it, being their primary source of income and all that. They tried to introduce that rule over here a while back, but most of the staff really don't care at all and just let you pass on through even if you're not being discreet. I guess it just depends on the cinema and its management.

It's the only way they make money and if that's the case them I'm ok with spending a little extra cash on some cheap popcorn to keep local theaters alive. Especially those independent rarities that exist in a few cities.

Sarcasm does not translate to blog post apparently. I think I will drown my sorrows in a stein of rooted beer and some gummified bear fetuses.

@Ghost_of_GhostDad: Maybe if you actually typed properly people would understand your sarcasm.

I think I will drown my sorrows in a stein of rooted beer and some gummified bear fetuses.

Yea very clever...

I actually am glad at the high prices because it keeps the prices of the tickets (relatively) low. I think it is like 60% of the income theaters get on concessions--if they started actually making their cash off the tickets, it would hurt us screened users the most, as we see movies most often. That is why I also strongly believe it is wrong to smuggle your own food in--the concession stands are where they make their money and thus keep ticket costs down.

@the_referee:

I hate theatres that don't have the soda machines out in the public. I don't mind paying exorbitant rates for the soda, but I think a free refill isn't too much to ask.

Just sneak food in! I bring pretzels and sometimes chicken nuggets from Mickey D's. I have been caught once and all that was asked of was to eat it quietly.

@RockinKemosabe said:

they make a lot, I mean a lot of money off concession.

This. Popcorn doesn't cost much of anything. I used to deliver Coca-cola and a bag of syrup cost like $16-$20 depending on how much a customer buys. You can make hundred of 20 ounce Cokes from one bag. The markup is insane. It's why Quicktrip can afford to sell like a 50 ounce fountain drink for 59 cents and still turn a profit.

The theater would probably make more money by letting you in for free as long as you promise to buy some food than their current model.

I'm aware that prices vary from state to state here in the US. Being in southern California, the average ticket price is $12.50, while it jumps up to $18.50 for IMAX. A small drink is about $8 (keep in mind, however, that small in movie theaters here is about 32 ounces), while candy is somewhere around $6.50-7.50 and popcorn is $8-10 depending on size. It's just sickening. So for 3 people to see a film in IMAX, to each get a drink and share a popcorn and candy, you're looking at a cost of about $100. That's just complete insanity. Or all three of those people can wait 6 months and each get the film as a Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy, then they can each buy some popcorn, a 12 pack of soda, and some candy and invite some friends or family over to watch it with them, and still end up having a few extra dollars left over. I imagine that has a lot to do with why movie theaters are struggling. Plus there's the whole issue of being trapped sardines if someone should decide to go on a shooting spree. Just sayin'.