# BYO Movie Snacks and Drinks-A Do or a Don't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809 "2015-01-25T01:17:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/61 "2015-01-26T17:44:34Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Yes it is. By smuggling stuff in you’re effecting their bottom line. No, I’m not. Whether I bring something in with me has no effect on whether I buy concessions at typical chain-multiplex theaters. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/62 "2015-01-26T18:08:01Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > No, I’m not. Whether I bring something in with me has no effect on whether I buy concessions at typical chain-multiplex theaters. Yes it does. If you have no food or drinks with you and you decide you want some you will pay for them there. If you have food and drinks with you and you decide you want some you will not buy them there. It is pretty simple. If you do not have food or drinks with you and you decide you want some but are not willing to pay the inflated price they charge then that is perfectly acceptable behavior, and nobody will argue against that. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/63 "2015-01-26T18:22:12Z")
I voted other, cuz I never seem to think of it at the time. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/64 "2015-01-26T18:22:50Z")
I smuggle in candy, simply because I tend to prefer things not always available at theatres and I think most theatres charge exorbitant prices for candy. I’ll generally buy soda there (especially if they have a freestyle machine) and popcorn on the off chance I want any. The “they make all their money on concessions” argument held more weight for me ten years ago when ticket prices were half what they are at the nearest cineplex. ---
**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/65 "2015-01-26T18:28:07Z")
I take several sugar free cough drops in but I look at that as being polite to other theater patrons. Other then that I’m not eating or drinking anything for that 2-3 hours. When I was a kid in the late fifties early sixties my parents would pack the back of the Vista Cruiser with pillows and blankets, a big brown grocery bag of homemade popcorn stained with darker spots from melted butter and a gallon picnic jug of cool ade, and five kids. Then off to the Big Sky Drive In. Still remember those trips every time I see Goldfinger. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/66 "2015-01-26T18:29:33Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > All this “Why should I subsidize their terrible business model?” is ridiculous. If you go to movie theaters, you clearly _want_ movie theaters to exist. If you get your wish that these establishments with these terrible business models go out of business, the result is you no longer have something that _you wanted_! That I want them to exist is true but there’s only so much I’m willing to pay for the experience. I haven’t had any objection to the ticket prices but I haven’t bought popcorn, soda, or other concessions at the theater for years because I believe them to be grossly overpriced. A few years back I decided I was going to get some popcorn and a Coke and told myself not to look at the price and just order. I looked up at the menu. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $12 on a popcorn and a Coke. It’s not that I don’t have the money I just don’t value popcorn and a Coke at $12. But I don’t smuggle my own food and drink in. I’m more than happy to abide by the rules. But I don’t feel the least bit bad about not buying concessions. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/67 "2015-01-26T18:34:34Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > You support your claim by appealing to the “basis of free market capitalism” and a reference to “socialist-style subsidies.” This is WAY off the mark. A socialist-style subsidy would be something compelled by some external actor, such as the state. If the government were forcing you to buy candy from the movie theater, you’d have a point, but it’s not, so you don’t. I disagree. If the government was forcing you to buy candy it would be a _socialist_ subsidy. If some other force, like public opinion, is pressuring you to do the same thing then it’s a _socialist-style_ subsidy. It’s the same act as far as you’re concerned - you’re being pressured to buy an over-priced product in order to prop up a business. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/68 "2015-01-26T18:38:06Z")
I bring in my own snacks. Usually a mix of pecans, cashews, pistachios and raisins. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/69 "2015-01-26T18:52:22Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > And your suggestion that they change their model is a laughable one when you consider it’s a model that’s worked for decades. In a recent thread on capitalism, I wrote about how some people have a faith in capitalism that’s similar to biblical inerrancy. Even though these people supposedly acknowledge how capitalism works in theory, they can’t apply it. If you suggest to one of these people that a company is doing something stupid, they’ll be shocked. And they’ll say, _“It can’t be stupid. It’s a big company. Big companies don’t do stupid things. If it looks stupid to us, it’s because we’re little people and we don’t understand the wisdom of what the big company is doing.”_ It’s like they’re talking about God. And what they’re saying is nonsense. Of course big companies do stupid things. That’s the whole point of free market capitalism. Some companies do stupid things and some companies do smart things. The smart companies prosper and the stupid companies fail. So you can kneel down before the movie theater business and bow your head before their wisdom, sure that they’re doing the right thing. Meanwhile, I’ll look at a business that can’t make a profit selling its only product because it’s pricing itself out of the market and note that it’s no wonder fewer people go to the movies every year and so many movie theaters have closed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/70 "2015-01-26T18:59:07Z")
I have asked my local theatre for a caffeine-free diet soda option. They have Diet Coke and Coke Zero, and Coke makes a great Diet Lemon-ade, not to mention others. But no. So, yes, I bring that in, since they cantor wont sell it to me. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/71 "2015-01-26T19:00:39Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Yes it is. By smuggling stuff in you’re effecting their bottom line. They don’t make those rules for the sole purpose of pissing overly self entitled people off. Those rules exist so they can make a reasonable profit. I never eat or drink in a theater, so I neither buy anything nor sneak in anything. That conflicts with their business model and affects their bottom line. Am I stealing? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/72 "2015-01-26T19:01:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have asked my local theatre for a caffeine-free diet soda option. They have Diet Coke and Coke Zero, and Coke makes a great Diet Lemon-ade, not to mention others. But no. So, yes, I bring that in, since they cantor wont sell it to me. Kinda hard to get an Iced Tea also. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/73 "2015-01-26T19:06:08Z")
There’s a movie theater at the mall in town – it’s on the third floor of the mall. About 80 feet away is a tiny little candy store with a big selection, including things like nuts and dried fruit, and regular candy store prices (you pay by the pound). They also sell popcorn and bottled drinks. I’m sure this is not coincidence (and I wonder how much the theater management has raised hell over it with the mall management) – they’ve both been there for at least 5 years. My wife and I occasionally buy things like pistachios or dried mangos and put them in her purse before the movie (the theater has no healthy snacks!). But when we buy popcorn, we buy it at the theater (my wife says it’s better at the theater anyway). Are we misbehaving? Perhaps a little. I pretend we bought the pistachios and dried fruit to take home, and I’m just having a few bites while we wait for the movie to end. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/74 "2015-01-26T19:44:41Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I disagree. If the government was forcing you to buy candy it would be a _socialist_ subsidy. If some other force, like public opinion, is pressuring you to do the same thing then it’s a _socialist-style_ subsidy. It’s the same act as far as you’re concerned - you’re being pressured to buy an over-priced product in order to prop up a business. Words mean things, and not just what you want them to mean. And it’s not “public opinion” that is prohibiting you from bringing your own snacks; it is the theater’s own rules, which you agree on when you buy the ticket. I notice that you conveniently avoided my discussion of the notion of contract as it relates to capitalist ideology. I guess when the facts aren’t convenient to your personal desires, they should be ignored. Your most recent post again demonstrates a misunderstanding of capitalism. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Of course big companies do stupid things. That’s the whole point of free market capitalism. Some companies do stupid things and some companies do smart things. The smart companies prosper and the stupid companies fail. > > So you can kneel down before the movie theater business and bow your head before their wisdom, sure that they’re doing the right thing. Meanwhile, I’ll look at a business that can’t make a profit selling its only product because it’s pricing itself out of the market and note that it’s no wonder fewer people go to the movies every year and so many movie theaters have closed. It’s not a matter of being “sure that they’re doing the right thing.” In fact, assessing their rules in terms of “right” or “wrong” is completely irrelevant to the discussion. The issue here is that you, as a free individual, make a contract of sorts with the theater company when you buy its ticket, and one of the terms of that contract might be that you are not to bring in outside food. If enough people decide that they don’t like the contract, they have a very clear choice: stop buying tickets at movie theaters that don’t allow you to bring in your own snacks. As you correctly suggest, if enough people do this, those theaters might have to change their contract terms or risk going out of business. I’m not defending the theaters’ policies, or even the capitalist system for that matter. I consider myself a Social Democrat, an advocate of a mixed economy with some sectors relying of free-market capitalism and others subject to government regulation and even control. I’m just pointing out that your whining about the capitalist system demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of what it is and how it works. You argued earlier that the “entire basis of free market capitalism is allowing unsound businesses to suffer the consequences of their bad decisions.” That is true, but another basis of the capitalist system is the idea of contract. If you think the business makes bad decisions, and you don’t want to support the business model, the way to do that is to refuse to enter into a contract with the business. But if you voluntarily agree to a contract on one set of terms, and then violate the terms because you don’t like them, you look like a hypocrite when you make self-interested appeals to the capitalist system to support your argument. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/75 "2015-01-26T19:52:01Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > False equivalence. The minibar in a hotel room is not anywhere close to being its primary profit center. Despite the [high prices](http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2013/04/hotel-minibars), many hotels consider them a [loss leader](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904537404576554441363020606) and are getting rid of them. Comparing hotel room minibars with cinema snack bars is not anywhere close to reality. Why not? Hotel room: they are renting you a place to sleep and park your stuff, but they also have overpriced food you can buy, or not. Movie: They are showing you some entertainment and giving you a place to park your butt for a couple of hours, but they also have overpriced food you an buy, or not. Anyway what I was doing was giving two examples of not stealing. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/76 "2015-01-26T20:39:53Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I never eat or drink in a theater, so I neither buy anything nor sneak in anything. That conflicts with their business model and affects their bottom line. Am I stealing? Of course not. I already covered this. People like you are an expected part of their business plan. Let’s just say for example it’s expected that 10% of movie patrons will not buy concessions. What’s NOT expected is an additional 10% of customers sneaking in with their own food and avoiding the concession stand. So now their business model just went from the projected 10% to 20%. Because the only reason those extra 10% aren’t buying popcorn is because they brought their own food with them. Someone up thread mentioned mentioned what their doing isn’t actually stealing under the letter of the law. Well yes, that’s right of course. But what would you call it when a company doesn’t make all the profit it would have because the customer didn’t follow the rules like they were supposed to? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/77 "2015-01-26T21:03:20Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > But I do buy nachos with cheese. Nachos are my movie snack. It’s kind of hard to sneak them in too so I buy them. But I have no qualms about sneaking candy in. > [@Shakes](#): > > But what would you call it when a company doesn’t make all the profit it would have because the customer didn’t follow the rules like they were supposed to? I would call it, “A business that needs to adjust it’s business model to expect 20%.” ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/78 "2015-01-26T21:14:47Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Of course not. I already covered this. People like you are an expected part of their business plan. > > Let’s just say for example it’s expected that 10% of movie patrons will not buy concessions. > What’s NOT expected is an additional 10% of customers sneaking in with their own food and avoiding the concession stand. > > So now their business model just went from the projected 10% to 20%. Because the only reason those extra 10% aren’t buying popcorn is because they brought their own food with them. Why does the reason matter? Since when are customers obliged to conform their behavior to a business’s “expectations” or its “business model”? For example, say that Michelle Obama’s health kick catches on, and 100% of moviegoers suddenly decide that they are not going to eat any snacks at all in the theater. The theaters’ income from candy and popcorn and nachos suddenly dives to zero. Are those people stealing from the theaters? They are, after all, failing to conform the the theaters’ expected behavior, and failing to satisfy the theaters’ business plan. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/79 "2015-01-26T21:17:49Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Nachos are my movie snack. It’s kind of hard to sneak them in too so I buy them. But I have no qualms about sneaking candy in. I should add that, at movie theatres that don’t sell coffee, I do not _smuggle_ in coffee. I simply carry it in openly. Generally I get away with it. My sister J claims that that’s because I look like a thug and walk like a psychopath but I feel she is simply bitter. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809/80 "2015-01-26T21:31:59Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Why does the reason matter? Since when are customers obliged to conform their behavior to a business’s “expectations” or its “business model”? > > For example, say that Michelle Obama’s health kick catches on, and 100% of moviegoers suddenly decide that they are not going to eat any snacks at all in the theater. The theaters’ income from candy and popcorn and nachos suddenly dives to zero. Are those people stealing from the theaters? They are, after all, failing to conform the the theaters’ expected behavior, and failing to satisfy the theaters’ business plan. Or, suppose we all buy 90% of the time and sneak in food the other 10%? Would we all be stealing? Suppose we all buy 90% of a large popcorn and bring in the other 10% ourselves? Okay, now I’m getting silly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/byo-movie-snacks-and-drinks-a-do-or-a-dont/710809.md?page=5)