# Moviegoers: Do you sneak snacks into the theatre, given the opportunity? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049 "2009-10-16T16:55:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2009, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/41 "2009-10-16T23:50:46Z")
No, and I don’t buy anything either, 99% of the time. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/42 "2009-10-17T00:01:14Z")
You folks who don’t buy anything _and_ don’t sneak anything in. . .y’all are just freaks, y’know? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/43 "2009-10-17T00:29:33Z")
You left out “No, because I don’t eat anything when I go to the cinema.” ---
**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:** [October 17, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/44 "2009-10-17T01:04:24Z")
Re: Beer. Beer is routinely sold in Thai cinemas. However, and unbelievably for many, this is the one place **Siam Sam** does not consume it. Shock! But I don’t want to have to be running off to the pisser and miss any of the film. I did use to sneak it in back in the US for special midnight shows like Rocky Horror, though. As for ticket prices, we’ll be seeing _New York, I Love You_ later today (Saturday) at a ticket price of 100 baht (US$3) each in a beautiful old art-deco cinema. The popcorn will cost us the equivalent of 90 cents apiece. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![firstname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@firstname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firstname)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/45 "2009-10-17T01:12:10Z")
I’m not sure how common/uncommon this is, but around here they don’t care too much about cold/sealed snacks, cold drinks can be poured into movie cups and then allowed in, hot drinks are officially not allowed, but no one really minds, hot food is not allowed. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/46 "2009-10-17T01:29:27Z")
> [@firstname](#): > > I’m not sure how common/uncommon this is, but around here they don’t care too much about cold/sealed snacks, cold drinks can be poured into movie cups and then allowed in, hot drinks are officially not allowed, but no one really minds, hot food is not allowed. When we lived in western Maryland, our local movie theater was in a mall, and apparently it was a _requirement_ of their lease that they allow _other mall merchandise_ into their theater. Obviously, they didn’t advertise this, but my middle daughter dated one of the theater employees for a while. . . Anyway, after that, we would blatantly bring in bags from Wal Mart and drinks from Auntie Anne’s! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/47 "2009-10-17T01:30:10Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Sometimes, in my movie purse, there’s a mini-waterbottle that’s got some vanilla vodka in it, in case we want to spike the soda, too! 😉 I like the way you think. I have a capacious (is that a word?) purse, and put it to good use on the rare times we go to the movies. My husband spends $20 or so on concession food; I think it’s insane. ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/48 "2009-10-17T03:13:36Z")
As a theater employee, we have a policy against outside food or drink, but it’s only enforced if you’re dumb enough to blatantly carry it in. We know that anyone carrying a small Target bag into a theater is smuggling in candy, but we don’t really care that much. Personally, I smuggle in candy to competitor’s theaters. My theater gives me free popcorn, so it’s not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/49 "2009-10-17T03:14:12Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > I have wondered many times why more movie theaters don’t sell alcohol. Seems like it would be a pretty high profit-margin item (especially things like draft beer), and I’m betting it would sell well. > > Another business model I’d like to see emulated more for movie theaters: ones that sell _real_ food, like with a waiter and everything. Hubby and I went to one when we were in North Carolina (Raleigh area) for a long weekend. The theater showed second-run movies (I understand why movies don’t do _that_ any more; it’s because the time between theatrical release and DVD release has gotten almost laughably short), and they had little restaurant-style tables set up on the balcony. It was casual food (pizza, broiled chicken and fish, etc) but it was real food. A meal. With the movie. Nice. There’s a theater like that here. They have waiters serving beer and food, very comfortable chairs, and they show first run movies. My tactical carbine class went there to see Blackhawk Down, which is known for its realistic sound effects, so we appreciated the good sound system. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/50 "2009-10-17T03:40:45Z")
I once snuck in a couple cans of Pepsi to a movie when going to see it with a friend. He didn’t know I had them on me, so I waited for the first really silent, immersive scene of the film… and… \*KRACK!_FIZZZZzzz_ We had a good laugh. And I handed him his own can. Next movie, we meet up find our seats, and the film starts rolling. Now it was his turn to _KRACK_ one on me, only this time it was beer. Even funnier, and tastier. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/51 "2009-10-17T04:01:43Z")
I take snacks in if I remember to AND I also movie hop–going into a second movie after the first one is over. Actually, it’s all kind of a moot point since I probably only go to a movie theater once a year now since I’m a big Netflix fan. The DVDs arrive in the mail and I can watch them when I want and eat what I want. : ) ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/52 "2009-10-17T05:00:59Z")
I should point out that, while the vast majority of movie theaters have policies against outside food and drink, the vast majority of movie theater \*employees \*absolutely don’t give a shit, so you really don’t have to go to any great lengths to hide it. As the poster above explained, walking in with a flimsy plastic bag filled with soda bottles and noisy boxes of candy is almost never going to raise any eyebrows. Also, it’s absolutely true that theaters make the bulk of their money from concessions. As of a few years ago, the standard split on ticket income was 80/20 in favor of the studios. I remember a kerfuffle some years back when some huge sequel (Spider-Man 2?) was coming out and the studio mandated that any theaters wishing to carry it would have to give **90** % of the gross ticket sales to the studio. They got their wish. In college, I had some friends who worked at the movie theater closest to campus. They had no problem getting friends in to see movies for free whenever they wanted, but free refreshments were absolutely verboten – management counted the cups, popcorn bags, etc. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/53 "2009-10-17T05:04:56Z")
I’m a little surprised to see that hardly anyone here has a problem breaking the theater’s rules. Certainly many of the people who are avowed snack-sneakers would have an ethical objection to, for instance, downloading copyrighted music for free. If you’re one of those people, how do you explain the incongruity? Why is it ok to violate the terms that come with a movie ticket but not ok to violate the terms that come with a digital music file? ETA: For the record, I sneak food into theaters and download free music, both on a rather small scale. I’m somewhat ambivalent about both. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2009, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/54 "2009-10-17T05:19:25Z")
Popcorn and drink are included when calculating the cost of the movie. I’ll buy a fountain drink for my kid. I will smuggle in a Mountain Dew, cause the theater sells Coke products only. Also I only need 12 ounces, not 100 ounces which seems to be the smallest size they sell. Can anyone make it all the way through a movie if they drink that much? I sure can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/55 "2009-10-17T05:22:23Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > I’m a little surprised to see that hardly anyone here has a problem breaking the theater’s rules. Certainly many of the people who are avowed snack-sneakers would have an ethical objection to, for instance, downloading copyrighted music for free. If you’re one of those people, how do you explain the incongruity? Why is it ok to violate the terms that come with a movie ticket but not ok to violate the terms that come with a digital music file? > > ETA: For the record, I sneak food into theaters and download free music, both on a rather small scale. I’m somewhat ambivalent about both. 1. I don’t have a problem with downloading music. 2. Buying a movie ticket in no way means you must buy concessions. No way in hell would I ever spend $6 on a hot dog or $5 for a soda at the movies. Whether or not I bring in something, I still will not buy their food. They’re not losing any of my money because it was \*\*never \*\*going to be theirs in the first place. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2009, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/56 "2009-10-17T05:22:39Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > I’m a little surprised to see that hardly anyone here has a problem breaking the theater’s rules. Certainly many of the people who are avowed snack-sneakers would have an ethical objection to, for instance, downloading copyrighted music for free. If you’re one of those people, how do you explain the incongruity? Why is it ok to violate the terms that come with a movie ticket but not ok to violate the terms that come with a digital music file? > > ETA: For the record, I sneak food into theaters and download free music, both on a rather small scale. I’m somewhat ambivalent about both. What the hell, you are not stealing anything from the theater if you smuggle in your own stuff. They don’t like it, and I could see this rule violation being serious if you’re taking your own food into a restaurant. But the point of the theater is to show you a movie, not to feed you. There are a couple where I live where the point is to feed you while showing you a movie. I wouldn’t bring outside food into those. If the theaters are going to get all het up about it and start checking purses, well, I can wait until it comes out on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/57 "2009-10-17T05:44:35Z")
I have a movie purse that I use when I think about it. The biggest reason: most theatres don’t carry much in the line of diabetic friendly snacks. I’ve been known to pack a couple of cans of diet soft drinks, cheese, jerky or something else with a bit of protein, a zippy of veggies or some sugar free candy. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/58 "2009-10-17T06:03:54Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > What the hell, you are not stealing anything from the theater if you smuggle in your own stuff. Nor are you stealing anything from a record company if you buy a CD and then share it with a thousand people online. I don’t have a big problem with that, and I have even less of a problem with sneaking food into a theater. I’m just saying that if someone does have a big problem with one but not the other, it seems inconsistent. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/59 "2009-10-17T07:12:27Z")
Their limited choices, extortionate prices, and the fact I cannot stand popcorn, mean if I want snacks, I bring my own in. I don’t go to the movies much, partly for this reason, and when I do I tend to forget to want snacks, anyway, so effectively my decision doesn’t impact anybody much. When I was a kid, there’d be a few snacks I’d always choose, at every movie I’d go to. When I moved to Australia, they didn’t have the same snacks here. And now I hear they are [no longer available in NZ either](http://blogs.nzherald.co.nz/blog/your-views/2008/9/19/sparkles-snifters-tangy-fruits-lollies-stop-production-are-you-upset/). Most disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/60 "2009-10-17T07:17:50Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > Nor are you stealing anything from a record company if you buy a CD and then share it with a thousand people online. I don’t have a big problem with that, and I have even less of a problem with sneaking food into a theater. I’m just saying that if someone does have a big problem with one but not the other, it seems inconsistent. You’re comparing apples to oranges. When I purchase a movie ticket, I am not required to also purchase their concessions. It’s the _movie_ I’m paying to see, I don’t go there for their appalingly overpriced soda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049.md?page=4)