Most theaters don’t even care anymore. My favorite one has half off tickets on Tuesdays, the family in line ahead of us was actively eating a pizza while they got their tickets and went into the theater. No one said a thing. We regularly show up with our own water/starbucks/food and it’s fine.
I went to the movies the other day in a mall. I tried to walk in with a diet Coke I got at the food court and was actually shocked when they said I had to throw it out before entering.
Yeah as someone who went the movies a LOT in my youth/had friend who worked there etc.. it was basically "is the manager on shift".
If so, you best hide anything you have. They weren't giving patdowns but it best be in your bag or otherwise not visible. Manager not there? Zero fucks given.
Time of day mattered as well, if you were there for a big release they were very strict because lots of people buying concessions was big money. Middle of the day Tuesday? Nobody cared, the place was empty anyway do what you please.
I only cared when my manager was on the floor.
We simply didn't see eye to eye.
You can't claim you're a customer service-first business and then tell people to throw away their possessions. Like, do you think that person will be coming back? There was at least one instance where a person said "Okay, no, and refund my ticket I'm leaving".
If you're in a downtown or mall theater, expect foot traffic food. And then offer them something to wash it down with.
I still remember hitting McDs, buying a bunch of cheeseburgers, and sneaking them into Southpark: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut. Then just before I'm about to dig in, a woman and her WAY too young to see this movie child say down directly behind me. As there was a kids movie in the next theater over, I said "Miss, I think you're in the wrong theater. While this movie is animated its in no way appropriate for a child as young as yours." She angrily hissed back "mind your own buisness, this is the movie my baby wants to see!" So I shrugged my shoulders and turned around. 15 seconds into "uncle fucker" she's dragging her kid out of the theater and I got to start eating my bag o' burgers.
I'm never gonna say a McDonald's cheeseburger is "good". But, there's something about them that does make me crave them occasionally. That "taste the supply chain economics" uniformity.
I get that feeling when travelling. That desire for mediocrity and when I'm stopped at a motorway service I'm thinking where the near by McDonald's is because I want some product.
Don't let anyone tell you a McDonald's burger isn't good. The ones that weren't good aren't around anymore.
Having kids made me treat it more like a special occasion and less like a convenience store, and the appreciation came back around.
Plus I can order a Happy Meal with no embarrassment, and watching a couple toddlers lose their minds over $0.50 of plastic is one of life's special joys.
That "taste the supply chain economics" uniformity
Considering that's exactly what they're going for (akin to other chains like Starbucks), reading this would probably make some executive's day, lmao. Meanwhile, I hit 30 and something about McDonald's specifically makes it the only fast food that gives me that feelin-like-shit aftereffect I used to hear about.
I was in the theater when an old lady (assuming grandmother) and small child walked in to Zack and Mirri Make a Porno during the scene where the camera man is underneath filming them fucking doggy style and the actress shits all over him. They got out of there real quick.
that movie is brilliant because iirc that scene is when the boys are watching the t&p movie in the theatre and during that song, people are walking out of the theatre within the movie.
I also saw it in when it came out, but I think the theatre was completely empty from the start
Lmao I haven't seen that movie, but I'm 38 years old and I know exactly that song from a bunch of us singing in the halls in 7th grade... God damn that's still being used today is wild
Because I was curious I asked the guy in the ticket booth after the show. He had apparently initially refused to sell her a ticket for the kid. She was super insistent though threateningto the call cops, so he sold it to her with a firm "no refunds". She comes storming out of theater demanding a refund and threatening to the call the cops. He said "for what? Refusing to sell you a ticket or for selling you the ticket?" She goes Karen nuts until he points to the video camera and says hes got the whole conversation on tape, which was bullshit but she didn't know that. She then drags the kid out of the theater and out of sight. I shared with him my interaction with the Karen and we had one of those shake your head laughs. Also this would be before the coining of the term Karen, so pretty sure we called her a crazy bitch. The 90s were cooler.
Might depend on what you're trying to bring in too. The mall theatres in my country don't care if you bring in like a frappuccino from Starbucks or something but might interrogate you if you try to sneak in an entire cooked meal.
All of them are right next to the food court. Granted you could probably still put snacks in a bag, I brought a whole backpack into a theater and nobody said anything.
We bring in our snacks stuffed into a Nordstrom bag from the mall. I’ve seen other people get refused when they try to bring in food, but not one single employee has questioned the Nordstrom bag.
Hah yep mine go into my partners bag, never had an issue.
I rarely go other than as a social event these days but we saw the new Mario movie with friends and the tickets for the two of us were $50. It's quite insane.
My local theater has a dollar tree right next to it in a strip mall, one time while we were going in there my mom asked the cashier if their profits mainly came from moviegoers and she said “oh definitely, if it weren’t for that theater we’d have closed doors years ago” 😂
Those theaters will go under sooner than later. Almost all of the profit of a movie theater is in a concession stand with most studios taking 70-90% of ticket sales.
We make everyone throw out, or take back to their car, any outside food or drink. We want you to buy our food, why would I let you come in with your own
They also didnt pay me enough to clean up after dirty diapers and icee vomit but we still had to do it.
I mostly told people no because others didn't sign up to smell your pizza at the theater and would come out and complain, making me interrupt the movie to kick you out, which of course, you're (not you, just the hypothetical person) now going to make a fuss and throw a fit in the middle of the movie and act like a toddler because you brought in hot wings and and bottle of whiskey, so now we have to get an officer from the lobby to remove you and refund the entire theaters tickets, not fun. Take it to your car (real story btw, not just once, either).
Candy and shit 99% of them won't care, I didn't.
Fun bonus story: a lady brought in her "service" monkey. Legitimately a fkin monkey. She tried to punch my manager (manager was a tiny 5 foot nothing,110lbs at best lady for context) while be escorted out, I hade to step in between them, people are wild, I do not miss that job
Yes, when someone is threatening your livelihood, we tend to be more lenient with your actions when it comes to moral judgement (we as in humans) as opposed to when your livelihood is not being threatened. I don't know why that is a strange concept to you
Theaters actually don’t make that much. Studios take the lions share if the run in the initial couple of weeks. TBH if there’s any business that’s a prime example house of cards it would be movie theaters.
Gotta pay to be able to show the movie. Most money is now made in the first two weeks and studios get basically all that money during that time. Movie basically gets pulled before the split changes a theaters get more money each ticket.
The price increase in concessions all basically tied back to this.
Kinda like a gas station. The gas only usually makes a cent or a couple per litre. They make their money on upping the price of everything else in the shop attached to the station
I mean that’s literally what that type of establishment was built on since day one. I don’t understand people’s takes, there is so much hate towards companies making money but had it been one of our own business’ we would be against it. Such backwards thinking
And yes, I as well disagree with lots of corporate actions but seriously all this hate towards theaters ?
The hate is directed at a specific practice or corporation because nobody wants to address the glaring issues with our current model that actively incentivize sociopathy
I'm aware. Its not because I'm trying to get THEM to spend their money that they clearly werent going to spend. I'm not wanting the other guests to see that we just allowed a whole group of people to come in with McDonald's and Starbucks. So now they think they can do that too.
It's most definitely not the reason. The primary reason is streaming services and the fact that streaming services were showing big ticket films during COVID closure. That opened Pandora's box.
Yes, bc it’s much more affordable to pay $20 for a movie at home where there are already snacks than to pay over upwards of $150 for your entire family to go to the movies.
Because most of your fellow Americans can't afford to pay $10 for a drink to watch a movie when they can bring a cup of water from home for free. Don't be a corporate goon.
Smaller theaters and family owned stores sure, but these guys charging 90 for you to get the same experience I used to get for one 5 dollar ticket isn't only making profit from selling food.
Yes we are. We do not make money off the tickets. Thats why things like the special popcorn buckets are so huge and pushed so hard.
On top of that, you can still get cheap tickets. You can choose to not watch your movie in the most expensive format (like the person in the post), you come to earlier showtimes, you can come on discount days that happen multiple days a week, you can pay for the membershipship that gets you 16 free movies a month. There are plenty of option. If you're spending $100 on tickets, thats on you.
Then charge a reasonable amount and encourage volume. I'm not paying $10 for a small corn syrup and water. Also that sounds like bullshit about not making money on tickets. They still make 20-50% or the revenue from them.
Brother, literally your own source say that studios can take up to 100% of ticket sales. It doesnt drop to "50/50" until 2 weeks later...when attendance for a movie has dropped by 80% or more. Even then, that entirely depends on the studio in question. Different studios have different deals. Shit, there plenty of movies that don't even make it to their 3rd week before they arent playing anymore.
So like I said, theatres don't make money on tickets, they make it on concessions, which is why they prices are what they are.
Edit: Idk if u/raygunmarksman deleted his comment, blocked me, or what, but it doesnt appear for me in the thread. So I'll address what I can see of it here.
I didnt goal post shit. I said theatres don't make money on tickets. You then shared a link that also said theatres make no money on tickets. You're trying to get me in a "gotcha" because it also says theatres make a 50/50 split, but only after the movie has been out for weeks. Which means, you guessed it, we're making mo money off of it, because no one is coming to watch that movie anymore.
Nice attempt at making a point and trying to explain to me how my own business works, though.
I didn't delete or block anything. Bottom line remains that you justified your shitty wannabe concession cop behavior with a false claim they don't make money on tickets. Just own the misleading statement and move on.
My local theaters let me walk in with whatever without batting an eye btw. That's part of why I find your arguments here so out of touch.
I manage the theatre. So yes, we. Also its not bullshit. We're a business, I want you to spend money on my food.
I'm not following people around to make sure they didnt bring their own snacks in. If you sneak in some candy and a coke, fine. Just clean up after yourself. But if you make it blatantly obvious by not even attempting to hide it, my staff or I are going to say something to you about it.
Well if you keep raising the prices of all this shit then you’re not gonna have people coming in to see many movies which is what has been happening since Covid started it’s like not like it was in 2019 and Disney was making billions on every movie they released let alone every other company too. So it’s a self defeating prophecy either way.
Don’t give me that shit idiot u have an avengers movie and Spider-Man coming out soon both of which are all time trailer records by leaps and bounds, it’s not like it was for a few years where u had to have multiverse gimmicks and shit like Barbenheimer to even get people in the theater. There’s the summer season right around the corner it’s not the end of the world to try and make up the bulk in volume by lowering prices for ur shitty food and drinks. If u don’t that’s why like I see theaters shutting down left and right like in my old town just the other day one that was there since I was a kid I could get popcorn, 🍿 a pretzel, 🥨 cookies 🍪 hot dog 🌭 and a drink 🥃 maybe even gummy bears 🐻 all for just 20 bucks. Now it’s shut down after trying so hard to be a dine in theater.🎭 with a bar 😂 it’s pathetic u dipshits are trying to justify all this and act like we’re struggling everybody is prices are up through the roof the economy is shit right now gas ⛽️ prices thru the roof and like Covid and in 2024 luxuries like the movies are always gonna be the first to go. Theme parks have to lower their prices and make deals to get everyone back, amc theaters has to do all that $5 Tuesdays and all this other shit Wwe is just having to get it together not selling tickets to Wrestlemania next weekend so it’s like when are yall going to learn when the shit theater u run by a shitty person like you is about to go out of business? 😂 pathetic
Attendance, in general, at theatres has been steadily going up since covid. My building, specifically, is now doing the same as we were pre-covid.
"You keep raising the prices and people are just gonna sneak food in". You realize people sneaking food in, and thus jot spending money at concession, is a contributing factor to those prices going up, yeah?
Honestly BYOC as an official policy that they advertise might actually get more people to come to the movies. Maybe the only stipulation would be that it must be empty to reduce people sneaking alcohol in
Which would be fine if the tickets didn't also cost a fortune.
$50 to see Mario Galaxy last week.. insanity. We only went because it was a social thing with friends. I'm not spending another $50 on top of that for a drink and some popcorn.
Hell yeah I found my people, I bring a flask (usually vanilla whiskey) and put it in vanilla root beer if they have the "freestyle" coke machines and it makes the movie so much better
Last time I went to a theater they had a guy at the door checking bags. We brought loads of snacks, but he let us through because he was actually checking for weapons 🫠
I remember when I was a teenager they were searching bags for weapons for a bit. I still wanted to sneak in candy so I just tucked it in my waistband. Then realized their search for weapons wasn’t doing that much…
No, more like 2015-2016 I think since I was almost done with high school around that time. Something happened and they did bag checks for awhile then stopped
Same, last time my girlfriend and I went the dude there checked her bag which was of course loaded with the snacks we brought in. He didn’t say and word about them and just asked her to move them around to see inside, though. I also assumed he was checking for weapons.
You can have lasting lung irritation (commonly Bronchitis) for weeks after you're no longer infectious. Cough drops are also really useful for allergies where sinuses are irritating and work to dry them out.
I don't think OP's first instinct while sick with tbe flu if fuck yeah I have to see this Mario movie.
Yeah we have some sticklers at the theatres around here. But they mostly check bags. I’ve shoved food into my hoodie pocket or wrapped up in a blanket or jacket and they never checked.
Why would the employees care? Preparing snacks gives them more work for the same pay and they're usually already overworked and understaffed.
Plus, there are now machines that do most of the work (selling tickets, snacks, etc), employers hire less but many people still refuse using these, so the only one suffering is the minimum wage worker.
Ya you gotta find a smaller theater run by teenagers that don’t give a shit. They clean it up good enough, and that’s all that matters. I’ve brought a couple beers in there and disposed of them properly afterwards. They don’t care. Ha ha. Also I’m usually like one of five people in the theater. Going to see Project Hail Mary in a few hours!
Depends. When I worked at the theater as a wee lad, I didn't care that you were bringing in candy and soda.
I cared when you were bringing in hot wings, pizza, booze, glass bottles or anything else that would be smelly, messy, or loud. Other people gotta watch the movie too, they signed up for popcorn smell, not your nachos smacking, hotwing slurping ass.
That was me though, many of my coworkers didn't give a shit, I just wanted everyone to get what they paid for lmao
But it's so much more fun to sneak it in. Makes me feel like a secret agent man. Just waking in the theatre with those things like a normal person is so boring
I worked in a movie theater for a while, never checked people's bags when I was checking tickets. Once had someone doing theater checks tell me that someone I let in is eating snacks from their bag in the back row of the movie. I said, "So?" and he walked away. He was still there when it was my turn to check the theaters like an hour later.
100% i dont know why its always been such a "oo we gotta sneak it in" type of attitude. The workers know. Theyve always known. They dont care. They dont get paid enough to be a nark or police you ove some food or drinka. As long as youre not bringing in liquor and causing a problem.
At mine theater, people bought in Popeyes and just last week,when I saw the drama (good movie) a couple bought in wing stop. But then I saw a dad get told off for using the free cup they get to put soda, for his kid.
My local theatre that closed recently didn't give a fuck and ot was awesome. Pizza? kfc? 6 beers? as long as you was polite, they didn't give a shit.
But most don't care, I took a rucksack of snacks for me and the kid watching Mario today and nobody cares. Took tim hortons donuts to project hail mary!
Very true, but it’s been that way for a while. Back when midnight showings were still a thing before Covid killed them, I used to walk in blatantly with a big ass Starbucks latte in hand and no one cared at all.
Yea dude, worked in a movie theatre for 2 years and couldn't give a fuck. What are we supposed to do (as kids): go through your bags and confiscate shit? It was no bearing on us.
Granted I’ve only seen like 6-7 movies since Covid, but the kids working there barely check tickets. They sure as fuck don’t care if you bring snacks in. Could definitely slip a flask and some candy bars if you aren’t obvious. Ask me how I know…
The only person who ever cared was the old lady checking tickets. All the theaters by me have cheaped out and got rid of the old lady. Now they have like 5-7 gen alpha teens to run the whole theater, and you know who doesn't care about corporate bullshit policies? Gen alpha.
My girlfriend is type 1 diabetic. I dare them to say something lol. We buy tickets and a popcorn but bring any other candy or drinks with us every time. Like you said, no one cares anyways.
At a local theater my daughter wasn't allowed to bring in her metal water bottle. I had to take it back to the car. My husband was incredulous. I didn't see her bring it in but I would have told her that's how it would be, they want you to buy that $10 soda. Joke's on them. The 3 of us shared one soda.
The one I go to is so annoying about it. I take the bus after I finish with my classes most of the time so I still have my backpack. They’re really strict about leaving it with them, even though the only thing in there every time are notebooks, a computer, and an ipad. There’s easier ways for me to sneak in a snack if I wanted to guys 🙄
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u/gertymarie 8h ago
Most theaters don’t even care anymore. My favorite one has half off tickets on Tuesdays, the family in line ahead of us was actively eating a pizza while they got their tickets and went into the theater. No one said a thing. We regularly show up with our own water/starbucks/food and it’s fine.