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Nothing will ever replace popcorn and coke from the concession stand but I'm starting to feel a bit priced out the market. Today I stopped by the drug store and got a 16oz coke and a bag of jelly beans before heading off to see a flic. total cost - a little over $2.

I stuck the 16 oz up my baggy sleeve and the jelly beans in the pocket. The coke was the only thing that could be the giveaway as it has a distinctive fixed shape.

Walking in there is one trick that I'll share. Just in case someone gets wise and thinks about you for more than one sec, walk straight to the concession stand. Wait there about 30 seconds and then you can walk off. That way if they are thinking "Does that guy have a drink up his sleeve" they will drop the thought when they see you walking up to the line.

Once you get past the ticket ripper you are home free. As soon as you take your 2nd step past him/her turn around and ask him/her if he/she said right or left. Do this with the side of your body away from him/her, your profile hiding your goods.

Of course if you have a woman along the purse is the ticket. You can probably get a turkey and two bottles of wine in.

So does anyone else do this and what are your methods? What snack food is the best for movies?
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I used to think taking my own food was a good idea until a friend of mine that is an accountant for a movie theater explained that they have to pay such a high cost for the rights to show the films that they do not make any money off the tickets until it has shown for at least 3 weeks. If the film does not do well enough to hold over, they not only do not make anything but the 3 week clock starts over again.

I have, however, smuggled dinner in if I did not have time to eat first. If the theater served hot dogs or sandwiches, I would not have to.
quote:
Originally posted by FLO50:
Thanks for that little piece of info Ronnie. Especially since I work there, I will have to keep an I out for you. Like you said it shouldnt be hard to spot. See you at the Movies.


You'll never catch me and besides if I ever do get caught I'm out $2 in sugar.

I know they make their money off the concessions but I think they could sell more at a lower cost and until they figure that out they won't get my money anymore.
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I carry snacks & a drink in my bag for hubby & I. I don't see what it hurts since we don't throw our wrappings in the floor. I can't see how they don't make anything off of the movie. At $8.50 a ticket, I say thay make plenty.
If we go on a Tuesday, with coke & popcorn only a dollar, we go for that.


Actually Hollywood pockets almost all the ticket price. They actually make their money off the concessions.

They could sell 1000 popcorn and cokes at $6 but instead prefer to sell 100 at $11. (just a example)
I rarely go to the movies because the tickets are so expensive. If I do go, I don't buy their snacks because they are even higher. If I had to buy the snacks I couldn't go at all. I don't consider taking my bottle of water as thievery, since I'm not going to buy theirs anyway. I think their prices are thievery and I don't want to be an enabler to a thief.
quote:
Originally posted by Lawrence Black:
I have no respect for a dirty lowdown act like this


which act, the act of bringing our own food in or the act of "stealing"? when ever i go to the movies i always bring candy in my wifes purse. you can go to any dollar store or gas station and buy the movie box candy for a dollar and they have better selections than the theater, even the exact ones you can buy at the theater. i dont see see what it hurts.
quote:
Originally posted by FLO50:
Thanks for that little piece of info Ronnie. Especially since I work there, I will have to keep an I out for you. Like you said it shouldnt be hard to spot. See you at the Movies.


im not too scared. how is a zit faced teenager gonna punish me for this? if you have nothing better to do than play "rent-a-cop" then i feel sorry for you.
one night i walked into a theater holding a starbucks coffee in plain sight, and the guy never said anything, of course this was Monaco at Bridgestreet so maybe they're not as strict. i carry something in everytime i go now, whether it be a couple of 20 ounce cokes or candy. heck once i saw a couple eating taco bell in there. i would definitely rather carry in my own snacks then get jewed even more by the entertainment industry.
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Originally posted by F350:
If the property has a policy restricting consumption of snacks to those they offer, that policy should be honored. If they allow you to provide your own that is fine. Just don't sneak stuff in. That is just plainly dishonest.


My church has a sign that says "No food or drinks in the Sanctuary" but you have kids with sippy cups and the preacher with a bottled water while he's preaching. Does that mean we are going to hell?
Flo -- why don't they have better snacks and at a reasonable price? I could see buying a large coke, a popcorn and some candy if it didn't cost me $10 to do so...that's just as dishonest as someone sneaking something in. You can get the big box of Junior Mints at Walmart for less than $2. Popcorn at the basketball game is less than $2 and you can get a 32oz coke from McDonalds for $1...I guess I don't get the "justification" of outrageous prices...
Yeah, I know Dixie. I don't agree with the prices myself. I think they are way to high, but the ones that control the prices are at the home office in another state. They are set and all theaters in this chain are like that and if I am not mistaken any other theater chain you go to has similar pricing. There is a notice on the doors about "no outside food or drinks" and that is company policy so it has to be enforced when noticed. The theater's only operating money comes from concessions, the theater get zero money from ticket sales. All that money goes to the studios that make the movies. Like I said I also believe they are high priced but you have to follow rules. To everyone who "sneaks" in food & drinks from outside, no we don't go hunting you down, but if we do see it when you come in we ask that you throw it away or return it to your car. Just doing the job as required, sorry.
quote:
Originally posted by MartinJ1:
quote:
Originally posted by F350:
If the property has a policy restricting consumption of snacks to those they offer, that policy should be honored. If they allow you to provide your own that is fine. Just don't sneak stuff in. That is just plainly dishonest.


yea like you've never done it.
Confused Frowner Mad
It's probably ok, if you don't get caught by that one girl that works there, she scares me.
quote:
Originally posted by MartinJ1:
quote:
Originally posted by F350:
If the property has a policy restricting consumption of snacks to those they offer, that policy should be honored. If they allow you to provide your own that is fine. Just don't sneak stuff in. That is just plainly dishonest.


yea like you've never done it.


Nope, never done it. I've definitely done worse however.

For the sake of argument though if I had done it how would that affect the accuracy of what I had stated?
I have a hard time believing theaters only make their profit off of concessions. The movie studios need theaters to show their films. Therefore, you can't sit there with a straight face and say it takes 3 weeks for a theater to recoup the licensing costs. Maybe in Florence, Alabama it may take that long. But no business person in their right mind would spend the money to build a theater if they were relying solely on concessions to make money. Personally there's not a movie out that I can't watch just as well on my HDTV and home theater system.
Let me clarify..the money from the concessions at each individual theater go to that particular theaters operating cost. After six weeks if the theater still has a certain movie still playing then it starts getting a certain % of the profit. Not sure how much but some. But even that profit goes to the company not the individual theater. Of course Carmike owns a lot of theaters so I am sure the profit there is huge. Sorry about not being clear earlier.
Is there some kind of "obligation" for me to purchase my food from the Theater?
I've already bought (2) tickets from them at a price 30 times inflated from what I will pay when the movie comes out on DVD.
Then...at home...I can watch/pause/pop pocorn...etc...
In an environmnent...much more casual, than a public movie.
If I chose to spend money...by going to the Theater...then what I have on "my person" is not subject to...contraband.
If I ever have a need to sneak food or drink into the movies, I will enlist the assistance of my wife, the proven expert.

A couple of years ago, she boarded a cross-country flight on a commercial airliner after passing theough inspection with a full HALF GALLON of soy milk in a carry-on bag. That is SIXTEEN TIMES the volume of liquid allowed to be carried on in any one container!

How she did this, I still don't know, but I remain in awe of my little wife's competence as a SMUGGLER. For her, sneaking a little popcorn and soda into the multiplex would hardly be any challenge at all!

I remember growing up in Nashville and going to the movies with friends, all of us toting bags of Krystal burgers and donuts, which we consumed during the double features we mostly attended in the downtown theaters (Paramount, Knickerbocker, Tennessee Theaters). There was no rule against it. We filled the atmosphere with that sweet aroma that only heavily-onioned-up Krystal burgers can emanate and we left a big pile of paper bags and food wrappers for the cleanup crew to take care of. Those were the days!
Last edited by beternU
The ticket prices pays for the production of the movie. Hollywood keeps most of that money.

The concession prices pay for the building and the employees to play the movie and clean the theater. The local theater keeps most of that money.

If everyone brought their own snacks in, eventually there would be no theater to go to.

I rarely go to the theater for movies, when I do I simply buy a medium coke with no ice. I'll bring in my own snack. That way I save money and the theater makes a little profit off my being there.

By the way, the key to the trick is "no ice". The coke is still cold but it doesn't get watered down and you'll get about 25% more.
There is an interesting article in the current Smart Money magazine about movie theaters. One point is that the average theater makes about 25% of its money from concessions. Why do they get away with charging so much? For many people popcorn, candy etc are an important part of the moviegoing experience and of course the concession stand is a monopoly. Speaking of monopolies whatever happened to the plans to build a theater on the south side of the river?
Bottom line: we need a competitive theater in the Shoals area. I really miss Hickory Hills. With 3 kids, it's really hard to budget a movie for all of us. Snacks/popcorn on top of that is just out of the question. It would be nice if they had some sort of a discount night/day at Carmike. Seems like in the long run, they would get a lot of people out to the movies like us who do other things with their entertainment money.

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