# Is Popcorn Sold At Movie Theaters Worldwide? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182 "2011-06-20T18:13:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/21 "2011-06-21T04:18:52Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Any “exotic” movie snacks Dopers have had in foreign locales? In Panama, there’s nothing sold in movie theaters that wouldn’t also be found in the US. However, at baseball games they go around selling little cups of ceviche (fish pickled in lemon juice). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/22 "2011-06-21T04:29:19Z")
Come to think of it, this is probably better suited to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/23 "2011-06-21T04:36:48Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > They also have crispy squid and shrimp snacks and other treats at Thai cinemas, but we always pass on those. They’re not bad, but we’re purists and just want our popcorn. Some chains do experiment with different flavors sometimes, but we like regular or cheese, or even a mix of the two. You can get beer too, but I don’t want to chance having to run off and take a leak, thereby missing some of the film. > [@Colibri](#): > > In Panama, there’s nothing sold in movie theaters that wouldn’t also be found in the US. However, at baseball games they go around selling little cups of ceviche (fish pickled in lemon juice). Both of those would be something that I would try out, if given the chance… I would love to hear about other similar offerings at various countries’ theaters, sporting events and other popular gatherings, if any other Dopers feel like chiming in. (Also, thanks for moving the thread, as Cafe Society makes the most sense for this topic) ---
**Author:** ![gloriacollins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@gloriacollins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gloriacollins)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/24 "2011-06-21T05:05:43Z")
yeah i think its its there all over the world…🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/25 "2011-06-21T05:57:03Z")
Standard in South Africa. Normal popcorn, with shakers of different flavourings to add your own. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/26 "2011-06-21T07:10:54Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I really was hoping to find out of different countries also sold movie snacks specific to their specific culture and tastes Ice cream (usually the pre-packaged on-a-stick variety) is quite popular in every European movie theatre I’ve been to. (They usually show ads for it before the trailers.) This surprises me, given the tendency for ice cream to melt, and for the tendency of movie theatres to have carpets and upholstered seats, though truth be told I’ve never seen any stains on the seats. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/27 "2011-06-21T07:54:42Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I was watching a PBS documentary last night, and it showed a woman sweeping up popcorn in a theater in Tel Aviv, and it got me wondering if popcorn is THE movie theater snack worldwide, even in cultures where popcorn may not be otherwise widely eaten. Did they happen to mention which theater it was? I’m just curious. Anyway, Israeli popcorn is made on the premises and is almost never buttered or flavored. Theaters have also recently started selling nachos, but I don’t know how popular they are. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/28 "2011-06-21T12:51:05Z")
Don’t know if it is still the case but when I lived there in the mid-90s, it was pretty common in Hawaii to mix [arare](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arare_(food)) in with your popcorn. At least around the Bay Area, kettle corn made on site is pretty standard for the Century theater chain (though it isn’t very good kettle corn). ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/29 "2011-06-22T16:18:24Z")
I was in Singapore years back, and they sold both salted & sweet popcorn. I wouldn’t call the sweet kind “caramel” but it was probably closer to kettle corn. It was common to ask for the two mixed. Eons and eons ago, back in the stone ages, I worked in a movie theater in California. It was located in a shopping mall, and we didn’t have our own popper. We got these huge, maybe 3-foot-long bags of prepop that we just heated up in a “fake” popper display. It was already yellow-colored, and we offered “butter flavoring,” i.e. partially hydrogenated soybean oil to squirt on top. Ick. The next place I worked we popped our own, as is more common. The upside is that we didn’t have to keep prepop bags in the storeroom and worry about rat infiltration! 🙂 Some theater chains here in California offer both salted (with self-serve “butter” optional) and kettle corn, both popped onsite. One of the biggest local chains sells small shakers of “flavors” that you can buy at WalMart for a fraction of the price. Still, another, offers a complimentary flavor bar with shakers of the powder. From my understanding, if it weren’t for the the innovation of popcorn at movie theaters the cinema industry would have gone bankrupt. I used to do it myself, but still can’t believe the “kids” behind the counter can keep a straight face when selling a $5 bottle of water or fountain soda. :o ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/30 "2011-06-22T19:10:10Z")
It’s standard in the newer theaters in Viet Nam, and there’s always the choice between sweet and salty, but no butter. The older theaters don’t have concession stands at all, but usually there’s some sort of pushcart vendor right outside. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/31 "2011-06-22T19:23:47Z")
I have read that cinemas in Japan offer cups of snails to slurp during movies. It’s second-hand so feel free to discount it, but I think my source is a very old thread on … The Straight Dope! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/32 "2011-06-22T19:24:50Z")
> [@Pitchmeister](#): > > Another Yes for Berlin - although we Germans are generally undecided between sweet and salty popcorn. As I understand it, salty is pretty much the only way to go in American theaters, right? Yeah, this threw me for a loop the first time I had popcorn in a German cinema. It sure as hell _looked_ like normal, salty popcorn, but when I popped it in my mouth, there were a few seconds of extreme confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/33 "2011-06-22T21:44:28Z")
I read somewhere that big-bottomed ants are sold as a movie house snack in Colombia. That doesn’t mean they don’t sell popcorn too. I also read somewhere that diggings at the Globe Theater show that in Shakespeare’s time, chestnuts were the reigning show snack. They found the shells all over. Slobs. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/34 "2011-06-23T03:42:51Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > …I also read somewhere that diggings at the Globe Theater show that in Shakespeare’s time, chestnuts were the reigning show snack. They found the shells all over. Slobs. Weren’t oysters a really popular (even for the common folk) snack food back then too? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/35 "2011-06-23T03:46:05Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > I was in Singapore years back, and they sold both salted & sweet popcorn. I wouldn’t call the sweet kind “caramel” but it was probably closer to kettle corn. It was common to ask for the two mixed. > > From my understanding, if it weren’t for the the innovation of popcorn at movie theaters the cinema industry would have gone bankrupt. I used to do it myself, but still can’t believe the “kids” behind the counter can keep a straight face when selling a $5 bottle of water or fountain soda. :o > [@Greg\_Charles](#): > > It’s standard in the newer theaters in Viet Nam, and there’s always the choice between sweet and salty, but no butter. The older theaters don’t have concession stands at all, but usually there’s some sort of pushcart vendor right outside. Yes, most cinemas in Thailand will offer sweet also. Similar to something a shop back in Texas sold as KarmelKorn. But they always offer strawberry-flavored sweet popcorn come Valentine’s Day. This is mainly the local chains like Major and EGV; the smaller outfits like Apex and House just offer salty. And yes, my understanding has always been that cinemas’ profit comes almost exclusively from the snack concessions, the Hollywood studio or distributor getting almost all of the ticket proceeds. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182/36 "2011-06-23T04:09:51Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Weren’t oysters a really popular (even for the common folk) snack food back then too? Yes, they were. Don’t know if they sold those at the theaters then though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-popcorn-sold-at-movie-theaters-worldwide/586182.md?page=1)