# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/101 "2009-10-18T18:12:45Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > I’m a little surprised to see that hardly anyone here has a problem breaking the theater’s rules. In my case, the theater simply does not offer anything I would eat/drink. I don’t eat candy. Or popcorn. Or sugary fizzy drinks. So if I want something to eat/drink I have no choice but to bring my own. Usually a burger and a couple beers. If they sold those at the theater, I’d buy 'em there but they don’t. So…shrug. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/102 "2009-10-18T18:35:29Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Having just come from the “how do people get so fat” thread, I find this discusion a little eyebrow-raising. … Funny that no one has mentioned sneaking in a bag of carrot sticks.😃 Not carrot sticks, but I have brought in trail mix. I guess thats still high in fat, but it’s got some protein and a couple stray vitamins in there too. Anyway, I don’t find it an undue hardship to go a couple of hours without food, but say I had an early lunch and I’m going to a “twilight” show (tickets are often a couple of dollars cheaper). That may end up meaning seven or eight hours between meals, so if it’s convenient for me to grab a granola bar on the way out of the house and stick it in my pocket, I have no qualms about doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/103 "2009-10-18T22:32:11Z")
> [@](#): > > Funny that no one has mentioned sneaking in a bag of carrot sticks. Carrot or celery sticks would make too much noise. Not that it would be noticed amongst all the other patron noise at most theaters… I would totally bring in some pumpkin seeds, but they are messy to eat (I eat the kind with shells on, and I don’t eat the shells). As I said earlier, I like movie popcorn, but most of the candy is stale, and I shouldn’t eat that much candy anyway. It’s OK for me to have some popcorn, though, as long as I don’t get the “lasts a family of five for a week” bucket and try to finish it off myself. ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/104 "2009-10-18T23:56:13Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Carrot or celery sticks would make too much noise. Good point. 😛 Still, gotta marvel at the slick marketing that has made people think they _need_ to be eating something, preferably very high-calorie, at movies in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/105 "2009-10-19T01:48:20Z")
I’m sure you, Dripping, only go to the movies because you _need_ to. The rest of us go for fun. The rest of us do lots of things just for fun. ---
**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 19, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/106 "2009-10-19T03:01:54Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > Good point. 😛 > > Still, gotta marvel at the slick marketing that has made people think they _need_ to be eating something, preferably very high-calorie, at movies in the first place. So a burger and a couple beers are healthy then? ---
**Author:** ![Dripping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d2c977/32.png) [@Dripping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dripping)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/107 "2009-10-19T03:23:42Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > So a burger and a couple beers are healthy then? LOL, no and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. 😛 I’m single and go to the movies quite often. And sometimes I take my dinner with me, which can, for instance, be a homemade gourmet burger and yeah, a bottle or two of a nice microbrew. This is the same dinner I would eat at home that night, I just packed I up and took with with me. I don’t know too many folks who would have a half-gallon of buttered popcorn, a giant-sized candy bar and a quart of pepsi for dinner. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/108 "2009-10-19T03:48:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know too many folks who would have a half-gallon of buttered popcorn, a giant-sized candy bar and a quart of pepsi for dinner. My husband and his brothers, when they were teens. Each. And this after eating a buffet completely out of food. They were eventually asked by one buffet restaurant to please take their business elsewhere, as they were eating far more than was the norm. And they were cleaning their plates each time, too. Of course teenage boys are well known for their hollow legs, but my husband and his brothers were all encouraged to get restaurant jobs as soon as they were legally permitted to work. My husband fondly remembers his job at a pizza parlor…he arrived just after the lunch buffet was over, so his first task was to remove all the leftover pie from the tables, he’d put all the slices on one huge pan, put it on top of the oven, and he’d snack on slices whenever he had a spare moment or two. He was a hard worker, too. Then, he’d be entitled to a free meal at the end of each shift, and he’d usually choose a large platter of pasta. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/109 "2009-10-19T13:30:30Z")
On a related note, I was at a friend’s bar to see a band once. He (the owner) asked me to keep an eye on a woman who looked very drunk and had tried to go onstage. Turned out I knew her. I stood by her and stopped her from doing anything too stupid. She was drinking from a bottle of water she had brought in with her. When she offered me a drink, I took a slug. . .of grain alcohol. She had snuck alcohol into a bar, something I’d never considered. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/110 "2009-10-19T13:42:53Z")
I used to, all the time. I would go to the old St. Francis Theater on Market St. here in SF. A total roach-motel dive theater, full of snoring homeless. I’d hit Taco Bell and bring a 40 or two, in my backpack, and just eat and get drunk watching the el-cheapo double features. Joe ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/111 "2009-10-19T15:26:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I have seen signs in theatres saying that use of a recording device is against the law. Since you’re arguing that taking food in is similar, I would first like to know if AMC Theatres _really do_ have a “no outside food” policy. Everything I’ve been reading online says they don’t, but I can’t find any info from the company themselves. Is this posted anywhere in their theatres? One can hardly go against their policy if they don’t have one forbidding the behavior in the first place. No, AMC explicitly **allows** patrons to bring in outside food and drinks - but they don’t advertise that fact. People assume they forbid it because AMC’s competitors forbid it - like the annoying Cinemark chain, which asks to look in your bag. We respect this by being very careful to eat noiselessly. AMC’s policy was made clear during “Trilogy Tuesday”, the day “Return of the King” opened, and we lucky few were able to watch the extended versions of “The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Two Towers” before the main film. We got laminated passes to allow in and out as well as employee pricing on popcorn, soda and hot dogs. And the theater manager addressed the theater, and asked that we just not bring back from the breaks between movies “anything really smelly”. My wife and I always have our “theater going” backpacks, with coolers for bottles of soda and low-carb snacks, and no AMC employee has ever asked to look in them. This is a principal reason why 90% or more of our considerable movie viewing happens at an AMC, so they make quite a bit of money off of us. ---
**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 19, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/112 "2009-10-19T15:36:21Z")
I just went to the movies last night. There are 2 theaters close to me, that are my usuals. The AMC, and the MJR. Me and my buddy went to grab a bite a Taco Bell, I got a refill on my pop after, and we went straight to the MJR theater down the block. I made zero attempt to hide the fact I was holding a medium sized soft drink. I purchased my ticked, went straight through the ticket ripper, and found my seat. No one even gave me the weird eyeball about it. I even set my drink _right on the counter_ as I was buying my ticket. He barely even noticed. Although, my friend did remark on my confidence about being so open with the outside drink (he left his refill in the car). I said, if anyone stops me, I’ll just throw it away… _shrug_. Ahhh… watching a movie while drinking a Baja Blast. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/113 "2009-10-19T16:22:53Z")
I justify it because all I really do bring in is seltzer, and they don’t have seltzer at the counter, and if they did, it would cost $5. I open the cans during the previews and then just drink them quietly. Sometimes we’ll buy a popcorn and soda but I, who loves popcorn, even have trouble eating those things. As for noise, I get no noise or very little when I go to theatres. How? I never, ever, ever go to a movie in its first month of playing. And I deliberately try and pick the latest shows I can. We saw District 9 at the 10 PM showing more than two months after it released and there were maybe 5 people in the theatre and it was bliss. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/114 "2009-10-19T16:44:14Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I used to, all the time. I would go to the old St. Francis Theater on Market St. here in SF. A total roach-motel dive theater, full of snoring homeless. I’d hit Taco Bell and bring a 40 or two, in my backpack, and just eat and get drunk watching the el-cheapo double features. > > Joe :sniff: I remember that theater well–saw _Demolition Man_ there for $0.99. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/115 "2009-10-19T16:52:55Z")
I’ll buy popcorn or soda, sometimes, but I never buy the candy, since it seems to have the highest markup. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/116 "2009-10-19T16:56:16Z")
I voted ‘every damn time’ because it’s not illegal and I would be an idiot to pay the elevated prices inside the cinema when I could just go to the nearby shop. Judging by the flood of people in the shop just before a screening I guess I’m not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/117 "2009-10-19T17:37:10Z")
> [@](#): > > I made zero attempt to hide the fact I was holding a medium sized soft drink. I purchased my ticked, went straight through the ticket ripper, and found my seat. No one even gave me the weird eyeball about it. Most of the employees don’t give a shit if you bring in outside food or drink, even if the theater has policies against it. The workers are getting paid minimum wage (and might be getting subminimum if they’re teens), no overtime, and it’s just a lot easier on them if they ignore the people who bring in stuff…until the management notices that a lot of customers are bringing in outside snacks. When I was working in a theater, management got a commission off of the concession sales, so the managers were very anxious to sell as much food as possible. The biggest cost of drinks and popcorn was the labor to fill up the cup or bucket, and that’s why the largest size is only a little more expensive than smaller sizes. The concession workers were told to try to sell the one large bucket to couples and groups, rather than individual buckets. Sodas and popcorn had an even bigger markup than the overpriced candy back then. I don’t know about today. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/118 "2009-10-19T18:22:37Z")
I bring in a soda sometimes, or a regular sized candy bar. Not often, I typically don’t want anything during the movie, but sometimes. It’s not so much the markup that bothers me as the fact that I can’t get anything reasonably sized at the theater. The last time I bought a soda at the theater, I paid almost $4 for a small–which was 32 oz. I don’t want a Big Gulp, I won’t drink all of a Big Gulp, and if I _do_ drink the Big Gulp I’ll either miss part of the movie or be totally miserable. I’d rather be thirsty than spend the last 1/3 of the movie with my knees clenched together desperate for it to end, you know? Likewise, I don’t want a drum of popcorn. One of the little carton/bags they used to have that were about the size of a raisin canister, sure. The ones they sell now? A small would have me and my husband both gorged with plenty left over. It’s absolute insanity. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/119 "2009-10-19T22:15:54Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > Likewise, I don’t want a drum of popcorn. One of the little carton/bags they used to have that were about the size of a raisin canister, sure. The ones they sell now? A small would have me and my husband both gorged with plenty left over. It’s absolute insanity. I bet part of the gigantism of movie snacks is first that they’re cheap, but second it’s an attempt to blow one’s price-gauging fuse. “$8 for popcorn! $6 for pop!” “But look _how much_ you get!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2009, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049/120 "2009-10-24T10:54:28Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Then they shouldn’t watch that second movie. Watching a particular movie not some unalienable right. Neither is eating in a theater, but nobody seems to care about that one, either. My main thing is to find out whether the rules allow it, and whether that rule is enforced. If neither, then I do it. Otherwise I don’t. I know I will feel really, really guilty at some point. It’s just how I am. It’s best not to get started. It’s far easier just to not eat or drink anything. But I’m so poor I’ve only seen one movie in the theater in the past 5 years (Star Trek, a birthday gift for my Trekkie Dad). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/moviegoers-do-you-sneak-snacks-into-the-theatre-given-the-opportunity/514049.md?page=7)