4 ms·

I know there are lots of people who do it, but I can't wrap my head about why any normal person pays for drinks and food at the cinema. It might not be the bigg

I know there are lots of people who do it, but I can't wrap my head about why any normal person pays for drinks and food at the cinema. It might not be the biggest ripoff I can think of, but it's probably the most blatant one. The markups are huge, for items everyone knows the cost of.

jsbg 3y ago
> I know there are lots of people who do it, but I can't wrap my head about why any normal person pays for drinks and food at the cinema. What's the alternative?
- Fargren 3y ago
  Watch a movie without food or drinks is what I did most of my life. Same with almost everyone I know, I don't feel like this is a weird choice to make. Where I live now it's illegal for cinemas to stop you from bringing food in, so I occasionally might bring my own snack, but that might be like one out ten times. Mostly just watch the movie and eat before or after. (Spain if you want to know)
  - jaclaz 3y ago
    Same here (Italy) when going to the cinema was popular, years ago. You could maybe get some sweets or chips or peanuts or similar (small snacks) but not the giant popcorn or sandwiches/hotdogs/etc., but the general idea was to go out and have (say) a pizza and a beer and later go to the cinema or - more seldom - go to the cinema and later go to the pizzeria or restaurant. I always thought that the eating and drinking in the cinema was a US only thing, France and Germany (AFAICR) had also none of that years ago, but that maybe has changed. Curious if in other EU countries it has ever been a thing.
    - Levitz 3y ago
      Here in Spain it's a similar deal, chips and candy or other easy to eat snacks is the usual. You technically can go ahead and have a cheeseburger in there, but it's rather unheard of. In Spain you usually just buy the stuff, then go to the theater though, after some legal kerfuffles the current state of things is that an establishment can't sell you chips AND prevent you take your own chips, so we are free from absurd prices. I'm not sure that's the norm elsewhere.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- fnfjfk 3y ago
  Movies are ~2 hours, so don’t eat anything, it’s 2 hours.
- mywittyname 3y ago
  When I was younger, we used to sneak food in. It wasn't like anyone checked if someone's purse or pockets had snacks in it. Granted, this might be different in various parts of the country, but I grew up going to movies every week and never had an issue with bringing food into a theater, so long as you made an attempt to hide it. We even snuck in things like burritos and tacos.
- ihateyouall123 3y ago
  [flagged]
OJFord 3y ago
I worked at an ~independent (the owner had three fairly spread out and independently managed 'local' cinemas) cinema as a teenager, tickets were dirt cheap and almost entirely went to the distributor. Food & drink was 'a rip off', yes, but a lot of people would be happy to to 'support' the local cinema, was pretty much exactly where it made money. I imagine even mega chains charging literally up to 10x our ticket prices couldn't survive on tickets alone, the distributors still take the majority of admission, as I understood it. There was a fair amount of distributor-driven quirks/'politics' that to a customer is a weird cinema decision - something else I recall is having to show a certain film, or for a certain length of time, even if it's not selling ('why don't they just stop showing it') under threat of not getting the upcoming blockbuster that definitely will. Sometimes it wasn't even that it wasn't doing well, manager would know in advance (by local demographics) that a film wouldn't do at all well, but basically not have a choice.
- ihateyouall123 3y ago
  Sounds like they deserve to fail
  - OJFord 3y ago
    I don't really understand how you got there, but sorry to disappoint - my experience was 10+ years ago and they're thriving.
    - ihateyouall123 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - OJFord 3y ago
        I mentioned one in particular saying nothing of the general market. (The big boy in town is absolutely not thriving, because where do you think locals go - the cheap independent that cares about stuff, or the expensive mega-chain with gormless staff with no reason to care at all?)
- 3y ago
lotsoweiners 3y ago
If my wife and I go by ourselves we will never get any food or drink. Maybe a couple beers if they have a bar, most of the ones nowadays. If we're taking the kids though I consider it the cost of seeing the latest Marvel movie etc on day 1. If I keep a kids pack of popcorn and Icees on their lap, I know they will sit there and keep quiet instead of dancing in the aisle. Of course I bring candy in my wife's purse as well, I'm not the kind of monster who pays $7 for Red Vines.

jsbg 3y ago

> I know there are lots of people who do it, but I can't wrap my head about why any normal person pays for drinks and food at the cinema. What's the alternative?

Fargren 3y ago
Watch a movie without food or drinks is what I did most of my life. Same with almost everyone I know, I don't feel like this is a weird choice to make. Where I live now it's illegal for cinemas to stop you from bringing food in, so I occasionally might bring my own snack, but that might be like one out ten times. Mostly just watch the movie and eat before or after. (Spain if you want to know)
- jaclaz 3y ago
  Same here (Italy) when going to the cinema was popular, years ago. You could maybe get some sweets or chips or peanuts or similar (small snacks) but not the giant popcorn or sandwiches/hotdogs/etc., but the general idea was to go out and have (say) a pizza and a beer and later go to the cinema or - more seldom - go to the cinema and later go to the pizzeria or restaurant. I always thought that the eating and drinking in the cinema was a US only thing, France and Germany (AFAICR) had also none of that years ago, but that maybe has changed. Curious if in other EU countries it has ever been a thing.
  - Levitz 3y ago
    Here in Spain it's a similar deal, chips and candy or other easy to eat snacks is the usual. You technically can go ahead and have a cheeseburger in there, but it's rather unheard of. In Spain you usually just buy the stuff, then go to the theater though, after some legal kerfuffles the current state of things is that an establishment can't sell you chips AND prevent you take your own chips, so we are free from absurd prices. I'm not sure that's the norm elsewhere.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
fnfjfk 3y ago
Movies are ~2 hours, so don’t eat anything, it’s 2 hours.
mywittyname 3y ago
When I was younger, we used to sneak food in. It wasn't like anyone checked if someone's purse or pockets had snacks in it. Granted, this might be different in various parts of the country, but I grew up going to movies every week and never had an issue with bringing food into a theater, so long as you made an attempt to hide it. We even snuck in things like burritos and tacos.
ihateyouall123 3y ago
[flagged]

OJFord 3y ago

I worked at an ~independent (the owner had three fairly spread out and independently managed 'local' cinemas) cinema as a teenager, tickets were dirt cheap and almost entirely went to the distributor. Food & drink was 'a rip off', yes, but a lot of people would be happy to to 'support' the local cinema, was pretty much exactly where it made money. I imagine even mega chains charging literally up to 10x our ticket prices couldn't survive on tickets alone, the distributors still take the majority of admission, as I understood it. There was a fair amount of distributor-driven quirks/'politics' that to a customer is a weird cinema decision - something else I recall is having to show a certain film, or for a certain length of time, even if it's not selling ('why don't they just stop showing it') under threat of not getting the upcoming blockbuster that definitely will. Sometimes it wasn't even that it wasn't doing well, manager would know in advance (by local demographics) that a film wouldn't do at all well, but basically not have a choice.

ihateyouall123 3y ago
Sounds like they deserve to fail
- OJFord 3y ago
  I don't really understand how you got there, but sorry to disappoint - my experience was 10+ years ago and they're thriving.
  - ihateyouall123 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - OJFord 3y ago
      I mentioned one in particular saying nothing of the general market. (The big boy in town is absolutely not thriving, because where do you think locals go - the cheap independent that cares about stuff, or the expensive mega-chain with gormless staff with no reason to care at all?)
3y ago

lotsoweiners 3y ago

If my wife and I go by ourselves we will never get any food or drink. Maybe a couple beers if they have a bar, most of the ones nowadays. If we're taking the kids though I consider it the cost of seeing the latest Marvel movie etc on day 1. If I keep a kids pack of popcorn and Icees on their lap, I know they will sit there and keep quiet instead of dancing in the aisle. Of course I bring candy in my wife's purse as well, I'm not the kind of monster who pays $7 for Red Vines.