13 Things a Movie Theater Employee Won’t Tell You

13 things that are realy annoying:  Having you gray out what I’m looking at on each of the “”13 things that …” in order to tell me I have an outdated browser.  After the first one, two things should be obvious.  First, I got the message.  Second, it doesn’t matter or I wouldn’t be continuing down the list.  You’ve just convinced me to give up on “13 things” because, frankly, they’re nice, but not nice enough to be worth the anoyance.

Who wrote this? If it is supposed to be things they won’t tell you, then #10 doesn’t make any sense.

My brother said the popcorn butter contains coconut oil, which is suprisingly also in those FUZE drinks.

I don’t know about number 13.. I worked in a movie theatre for quite some time and we dumped any leftover popcorn at the end of the night and started fresh when the first customer walked in. But every theatre is different, I suppose.

These are not true and hoenstly you need to research what you are writing poking fun at! 

I worked at a movie theater in high school a few years ago, I’ve never heard of popcorn being kept overnight    we were barely willing to give huge trash bags of the stuff to stray cats let alone actually try to sell it to someone,  I don’t believe 13. But 1-12 is true

I bought a pizza there once.. Never did THAT again.

Absolutley ridiculous article. Must have interviewed those few employees that are definitely disgruntled for being paid minimum wage for very minimal work. Or probably don’t work there anymore because they’ve been fired for lousy performance. This may be the philosophy of small inexpensive theaters, $1 movie houses, etc but I have never seen this type of stuff at major  movie theaters in the 40 + years of going to the movies. (And have family members who actually work their tails off at customer relations, let alone give someone a reason to close a theater for unsafe concession practices) Way to go , llana. 

I work at a movie theater, and I can attest that everything here is 100% true plus some other things I know that you don’t want to know about. such as the roach motels in the concession stand and that fact that some boxed candy is over 1 year old.

Way to spread lies and give movie employees more crabby customers. Jerk.

I work at a theater. All true. And asking for “Fresh” popcorn, is annoying. Luckily, I am now a projectionist. XD

Almost everything is true on this list.  The one about reusing popcorn is very untrue! At the end of the night we put the unsold popcorn in big yellow bags and employees can take it home if they desire to have a ton of popcorn to snack on, or we just throw it in the trash.  Hotdogs are not nasty… they are always freshly cooked and ours are 100% angus beef (they are quite good but not worth 5.50).  We also pop our orville redenbacher corn in oil and top it with coconut oil “buttered flavored” no extra chemicals added.

I worked at a Regal Theater for a year.  Loved every minute of it.  And yes this stuff is all true.

It is good to pay to see a cinema at a commercial theatre instead of sneaking in. One way is to avoid each the same? Money causes the world of cinema theatres to get around. It is one of the ways a studio gets around to getting a cinema at a theatre. A number may rather see a theatre with a screen get animating pictures on it through projectionists activating projectors to getting them on than a building housing them getting a turning into a real estate office.

Not sure where you are getting your “employees,” but my first job was in a drive-in and I owned a walk-in theater for many years and I disagree with nearly all 13 points. #1) NEVER did we add chemicals. You don’t need to … it’s usually the smell of the coconut oil for the popcorn that smells so good. Want to test the theory, pop some with canola and see what you think.#2) You are comparing apples and oranges here. They are two different systems. #3) Define overpriced concessions? The concessions are where theater owners make their money … which pays for the movie, building, utilities, staff, etc.
#4) Semi-true here. We do know all the ways. And if we are any good, we reduce the number as much as possible. However at the end of a run we “might” let you in. Doubt it seriously though, since I’m sure you are going to tell all your friends about it if I let you stay! #5) Probably true at some theater. Remember, these employees and owners eat there too. They care about the quality of product and sanitation procedures. If they didn’t – they wouldn’t stay in business.#6) Really, someone told you this? What a rotten manager that theater has! That is not the norm. If the employee is wrong – no way I’m going to be patting their back! 
#7) This you got right! But that is true for ANY business from the grocery store to a fast food place to an elegant restaurant to a dry cleaner. Most owner/operators will discount items when purchased together.
#8) Okay, really? Regardless of what you call the package … you should still not expect diet food in a theater.
#9) This you got right! Microwaves don’t cook pizza in 30 seconds – anywhere! So, I’m not sure what that statement is doing in this list.#10)  A complete inventory in a theater is a VERY time consuming job. Most owner/operators I know don’t inventory every night … usually just at the end of the week to prepare an order of what will be needed for the next week.
#11) The innuendo is that it remains under the seat – please! Yes we may sweep the carpet or blow the mess to the front, away from patrons, between shows but we used to scrub the floors at the end of the evening and pressure wash concrete each week.#12) Movietimes can be delayed if there are still people in line to purchase a ticket…so they don’t miss the beginning. Ushers clean up when the film is finished, there is time built in to accomplish this between showings.#13) I may have to give you partial credit here. You have two true statements, but they have nothing to do with each other. No theater owners I know use “day-old” popcorn.

Eat before you go or eat later to save money and get a better dinner

I haven’t been to a movie theater in close to a decade. It’s an industry I just cannot bring myself to support.

Make that almost 30 years for me without visiting a movie theater.  I became fed up with
grossly overpriced snacks,  boisterous noisy audiences, sagging seats, dirty smelly rest rooms, rude ushers, ear-busting  audio, too cool or too warm ventilation, etc, etc. Who needs that aggravation when for $4.50 I and several friends can watch the same films on satellite HD TV in the comfort of my Lazy Boy or sofa.  And all with cheap snacks and drinks, comfy heat or A/C, control of audio volume, and best of all no gang of pimply faced juvenile delinquents loudly exchanging obscenities with their buddies seated a couple of rows in front of me.

thank you,  i now know more than i wanted to know  <;0)

For the same price of one theater ticket I can watch 100 movies a month from Netflix. They don’t have new releases, but most Hollywood new releases are crap based on comic books or toys.
Also, in the thousands of movie theaters in the USA, you will not find one piece of food for sale that is not bad for you, with processed sugar, and canola oil on the popcorn is a slow poison. In my opinion, Hollywood and the theater owners are shooting themselves in the foot on full automatic.
In 2008 at Director’s Guild of America’s digital seminar, it was revealed that more people were watching Youtube than all the TV channels combined. Because TV and Movies are mostly loud pointless shoot outs and explosions, your audience has left the building. There are no more $100 million dollar openings, that is now the exclusive domain of video games. In the current business climate, the mantra is “Adapt or Die.” I don’t see the theater owners adapting at all, just showing the same crap in 3-D, just like they did in the 1950′s when they were afraid of Television. I believe there will always be a market for theater viewing, but it is in the process of being pared down greatly to a niche status, where only charismatic Theaters like Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome will survive, but you basic mall multiplex with a dozen theaters will eventually become extinct.

As the manager of a movie theatre, I can tell you that most of the items here are flat out false, or gross exaggerations. And common sense will also tell you this is the case.

For example: Concessions are not over-priced. The price reflects the cost structure of running a movie theatre. Sure you can buy a bag of popcorn and pop it at home for a small fraction of what it costs at the theatre, but that popcorn you pop at home isn’t paying for projection and sound systems that cost as much as luxury cars; it’s not paying for heating/cooling large spaces; it’s not paying the insurance for a public gathering place.

Theatres use several standard sizes for popcorn and soda. The names may change by location, but the sizes are pretty consistent. Popcorn usually comes in a 46oz, 85oz, 130oz, or 170oz bag or tub. Soda usually comes in a 16oz, 20oz, 32oz, or 44oz cup. And most theatres have the sizes on full display for anyone to see.

Theatre food is just as safe as what you get in any restaurant. We are subject to the same food handling laws; we are inspected by the health department; and we are required to have certified food handlers in most states.

Yes, popcorn does stay fresh for a few days. But I think most people can see, hear, and smell the fresh popped corn coming out of those poppers as they come in the doors.

Yes, some theatre employees do sweep the popcorn under the seats, and some managers don’t take customer complaints seriously. As with any business, there will be good employees and managers, and their will be poor ones.

Finally, if you think movie tickets are over-priced, here’s some food for thought. The national average ticket price in 2011 was $7.96. The average ticket price in 1971 was $1.65. Adjusted for inflation, that 1971 ticket would cost you $9.22.

i’ve worked at a movie theater, and actually, the popcorn, candy and drinks are the foods you can trust least. all the “real” food has an expiration time around 2 hours, and a beef hotdog slow cooked for an hour is really tasty! the popcorn can be sitting there all day if no one buys it, the candy near the front (or back, depending on the display set up) sometimes doesn’t get rotated out for months at a time, and the teenagers behind the concession counter do NOT clean the drink spigots nearly as well as they should (can you say thick black mildew?). no, no. better to just bring a large purse and visit the $1 store, first. as long as you don’t flaunt your secret snackage, no one cares. :)

i’ve worked at a movie theater, and actually, the popcorn, candy and drinks are the foods you can trust least. all the “real” food has an expiration time around 2 hours, and a beef hotdog slow cooked for an hour is really tasty! the popcorn can be sitting there all day if no one buys it, the candy near the front (or back, depending on the display set up) sometimes doesn’t get rotated out for months at a time, and the teenagers behind the concession counter do NOT clean the drink spigots nearly as well as they should (can you say thick black mildew?). no, no. better to just bring a large purse and visit the $1 store, first. as long as you don’t flaunt your secret snackage, no one cares. :)

Factory packaged foods are the ONLY SAFE items to purchase and eat in the theater. If BLACK MOLD FOUND IN ICE MACHINES is safe go for it. I wouldn’t drink ice or soda for sure.

Another work of Reader’s Digest Fiction…

1. The popcorn is popped in oil with flavorings. Yes, it has an aroma, but to say there’s “chemicals” in it makes it sound like we’re lacing it with toxic waste. It’s essentially the same popping oil you can buy at the grocery store (the good theatres use coconut oil). Now the butter? That’s not really butter. That’s a flavored oil as well.

3. Depending on where the theatre is & what their prices are, the admission money can go to studios for longer than the first few weeks of a show. It costs a minimum of $300 to rent a movie for a single theatre & those are movies that have been out on video for up to multiple years – the newer the movie and the longer the theatre has it, the more expensive it is. Sometimes the concession money goes to the studios, too… the price we’re charged doesn’t matter how much we take in for admission.

6. That really depends on what the complaint was about. If it was my fault or mess up, I’m getting reamed. If you’re a stupid customer – congratulations: you’re the story of the day & all the employees will hear (and laugh) about you.

7. If you know how to add, you can see if the combo will save you money. Can you add? If not – take the combo & don’t waste my time and hold up the ever growing line that’s forming behind you. If it doesn’t actually save you money, it’s at least no more expensive than buying them separate.

10. This is completely true, but it’s not something we won’t tell you. Either way, complaining about this doesn’t work because we have no control over it – it’s the head office – write to them & tell them to get us bigger courtesy cups. Believe me, we’d rather split up your large into 2 or 3 smalls so you can share because it’d probably prevent some spills and make cleaning up at the end of the night easier.

11. We may not get everything cleaned up between shows, but it will be spotless by the end of the night. There’s just not enough time between shows. That sticky floor? Not us. It was the idiot who spilled their drink and didn’t let us know. We don’t see *every* spill. Letting us know you spilled your soda would allow us to be prepared to clean it up in a timely manner & thusly prevent the stereotypical sticky theatre floor. It’s sad how few have the courtesy to do so.

12. The time listed is the *showtime*. Showtimes include previews (not the advertisements like the slideshow with movie facts or local businesses). If the movie was starting late, the movie would be ending late. ::facepalm::

13. Make sure you go to a theatre where the popcorn is popped fresh daily. Easy as that. I know there are theatres that sneak you day old popcorn because it’s easier, but not all of us do that. The decent theatres will start popping their popcorn either just as the first customers are coming in for the night or about a half hour before the first showing of the night, depending on how busy they plan on being.

I work at a theatre where we don’t have nachos or pretzels or pizzas or even icees. We don’t have IMAX or 3D, and we won’t be digital until at least next year. But we will serve you FRESH popcorn with a smile and do everything we can to ensure you have an enjoyable movie experience. If there’s a wait, we tell you there’s a wait & you can readily see that we’re just as anxious about getting you your food as you (usually our only wait is popcorn if we need to pop another kettle). Our current small popcorn used to be our medium, but that’s not just limited to theatres – it’s something that’s happening all over the US & in other countries, too.

If you want the best movie experience, go to one of the smaller chains. You’ll get better customer service and most likely higher quality snacks (and usually pay less, too – why pay $12 in a mall multiplex when the single screen theatre downtown is showing the same flick for $6?).

I worked at a theatre for years, and this article is straight on, except the manager never actually yelled at me or anyone else in front of a customer. The manager would promise to “talk to” or otherwise discipline an employee, and then later mock the customer with that employee. The serious, caring manager is an act. But then, the indignant customer routine is an act too. 

Go to an independent theater, not a chain theater, and most of these issues go away.

About the cups being inventoried each night- if the count is short, that cup you threw out after the movie probably got washed-out and added to inventory.  Believe me, I’ve done it many times.

This piece is so off base. The source it ” Theater employees” are you kidding me. I am the owner of a local independent theater and the points are gross generalizations and mostly “Urban Legend” type reporting. Chemicals in the popcorn? I guess oil and flavorings are made of chemicals but isn’t everything we eat? Yea we make money on Popcorn and soda but do you have any idea what it costs to build and operate an theater? We get a % of the films revenue but it is a sliding scale with most of the revenue the opening weeks of a film go to the production company. We do better on the better films that continue to attract an audience for several weeks.
If the operator of your theater is not operating a clean facility with good food and service go to another theater. Theaters are going to stick around because the best home theater just isn’t the same experiencing a film in a good theater!

When I grew up in NYC in the 1930′s  Radio City Music Hall gave ya two fresh out of Hollywood movies and a brilliant and  spectacular one hour stage show.The stage would rise on an elevator with musicians like Artie Shaw,Benny Goodman playing .And it was cheap to see even by those low wage days.In 1940 it cost about quarter( 25 cents).By the mid fifties it was still cheap at 50 cents.However the ROCKETTES AND THE STAGE SHOW PEOPLE WERE WORKING for VERY LOW WAGES.Nowadays I hear since I no longer live there that they only have the stage show NO MOVIES and last I heard about five years ago that cost  75 ! What 75 cents ?  NO! SEVENTY FIVE DOLLARS.Oh how I long for the GOOD OLE DAYS  

This list is ridiculous.  Two items noted are true, like a majority of a film’s gross goes to the studio and most theatre chains inventory their cups. However, I would completely disagree with the rest of your list. While I am sure that you can find a few 16 year olds to tell you whatever you want to hear, I know that they are the exception and not the norm.  Others items are just completely untrue and inaccurate. I have worked for movie theatres for over 25 years and I can tell you that going to the movies is better now than it has ever been.  Sure, people like to complain about the prices. But a movie theatre is extremely expensive to operate.  Again, most of the box office goes back to the studios, who spend a $100 million to bring you something you have never seen before for 10 bucks.  And just imagine what the electric bill is each month on a 60,000 square foot building, not to mention $1000 for every projector bulb and all of the other unknown expenses to the public.  Going to the movies is a special occassion and a chance to interact ina group experience that you will never be able to get at home or at the RedBox. It is too easy to criticize something you know nothing about to fill up a page. Do your homework next time RD. And everyone else just get a popcorn and appreciate not knowing all the work and expense that is required for you to escape for a couple of hours.

I work at a movie theater in New Jersey. Some of these are TRUE, but the difference is, is that we will tell our customers these truths if they ask.

I worked in a movie theater through high school.  Some of this is accurate, but the popcorn having nefarious chemicals in it to make it smell better?  The worst thing we did was switch from coconut oil to canola oil.  And while we did reuse popcorn from the day before, we would always pop a fresh batch if requested or if we didn’t think the popcorn tasted right.  I even popped special batches with no added salt for people who requested it.  The same went for the rest of our food… we were actually pretty good about pitching anything that looked overdone or stale and were happy to make things fresh if they were requested.  And, just to be clear, I worked at a chain theater, so it’s not just the indies that pay attention to quality.

Also, they’re dead right about the split… the theater’s take for the first few weeks or month is miniscule as most of that goes to the studio.  That means the concession stand has to pay for the lease, the electricity, the equipment, and the staff.  It’s not ideal, but that’s how the business has been run for decades.

As consumers, we all know this, it’s why many of us quit going to the theaters. I’d rather watch a movie on dvd, at home, with surround sound with people I care about, rather than en masse with filthy, loud crowds. I don’t like to sit in a nasty chair that has food all over it. Dont like to walk on a tacky floor where some retard spilled their cola. Don’t like to hear others on their cell phones or talking amongst themselves. And food is expensive enough without having to pay the premiums for the theater. I’m actually quite surprised theaters still exist today. But there are those that have to see a movie on a screen the size of wall of that building. I agree that is better than my home theater experience. But some movies just aren’t worthy of those gimmicks to make them watchable.

I used to work at a Cinemark and it was their policy to throw away popcorn at the end of the day. Employees were allowed to take it home, but it was NEVER redistributed to the general population for profit.

I worked at a movie theatre when I was in college.  The popcorn cups were picked up off the floor and used again.   The hot dogs that were not sold were put into the refrigerator and offered for sale the next day.  Eating at the theatre is just a habit that can be broken.  Eat before or after.  The food there is just junk anyway.  

Also found the convience of changing to a movie of choice should I find the one of choice boring ,inappropriate for the ones viewing or just plain garbarge or my time frame has to be changed especially when it comes to family schedules and needs.

ALL popcorn now-a-days have chemicals in them. Yes, even at home. Ever wonder why your whole house smells of popcorn when you make a microwavable bag? chemicals. They are in such a tiny amount that it really won’t hurt you

this isnt true. The profit margin on concessions is astronomically higher than it is for tickets, HOWEVER, the actual amount of money taken in my tickets dwarfs the amount made with conessions. studios take anywhere from 40-50% of tickets sales depending on the theater and the film. theaters pay anywhere from 8-15% of the retail concession price. The average concession revenue per customer (this includes customers who dont purchase concessions) averages $3. so even though the margin is less on tickets. clearly 60% of a $10 ticket per customer is much more money than 85% of $3. In fact the concessions typically make up 30% of the overall profit.

Many theatre corps. have gone bankrupt because the only profit is from popcorn, soft drinks and candy. Hollywood, unions, overpaid actors, and producers have driven the cost up to the current levels. That is why you see so many mindless movies targeting teenage boys who consume the most junk food. The article should place the blame to those who have caused the problem in my humble opinion. Cheers

Movie makers go out of Business ??????   Ha!  HA!  HA!  Never happen .

WhenI was a kid the under 12 price was 10Cents and adults 25 centas.

right aftere World War 2 they learned there is no limit to what the public will pay to see a movie.

They may complain about the price of food , housing or medial care ,But movies,Never.

Tienes
razón. Cines sólo van a ponerse fuera del negocio. Con películas está
disponible en DVD mucho antes tras el lanzamiento que solían, menos
gente se molesta con entradas sobrevaluadas, alimentos sobrevaluados y
gente hablando en sus teléfonos.

When I worked at a theater, if you asked for “extra butter” it cost 25 cents more. If you just said “lots of butter” it was free.

I am a movie theater employee and have been for almost 30 years. I don’t know who they talked to or what theater change would allow this to happen but not where I work. There are several inaccurate statements. I remember getting yelled at by a customer one time because the sales tax they paid went up, and it was my fault. Or the time, I had a customer cuse me out because the movie they watched was a horror movie and the movie poster did not promote it as a horror movie. However, she did sit there and watch the whole thing.

Also, one of the comments stated that the theaters will put themselves out of business. That is wrong too. The theater chains are hand-tied due to the studios that produce the movies. The average profit on tickets for a theater is roughly 20% which works out to be about $2.00. The theater chain I work for has actually refused to show certain movies because of how much the studios want of the ticket price. So concession is the only way to make money to pay for the building, utilities, and other overhead expenses. Yes. The studios are shrinking the window from a movies released in a theater to a movie released on DVD. I believe most are down to a 90 day window, but think of this, if the studio only had DVD sales to make profit, then they will jack up the price on the DVD’s. Everything is a balance.

Next time you get upset for paying $7 for popcorn, remember that $10 beer that you got at your last sporting event. You did not mind paying $10 for beer so why would you get upset for paying $7 for popcorn?

You have no idea what you are talking about…no Exibitor pays a studio 80%. Most deals starts at 60/40 (in the studios favor), then 50/50, then 40/60 (in the Theatres favor).

”
Popcorn costs almost nothing to make.”

That’s a secret? Who doesn’t know that? lol

#14:  I am a loser with no marketable skills so I work in a theater.

I happen to work in a movie theater, and what people dont realize that the overpricing is done for a reason. People pirate movies, and movies studios have to re-coperate loses somehow. Concessions is overpriced in order to cover overhead, and sometimes theres little profit leftover. Theres employees to pay, electricity to pay for(One projector uses enough energy to power a small house) companies who supply our concession items need to be paid, and other items such as condiments, toilet paper, seat covers, garbage bags, etc need to be paid for. When we say we cant give you extra cups for inventory purposes, we mean it!  EVERYTHING gets counted at the end of the night. We need to match sales with inventory, if its off even a little bit it throws everything off, especially when it comes to ordering more stock. Thats not cheap. I recieved shipment several times and checked to make sure everything was there and accounted for, and when I saw the invoice I nearly sh*t myself because we were spending anywhere between $5,000 and $10,000 on just one concession shipment from one company alone. We deal with about three different companies for concession items Who know how many other companies we deal with for things like the projectors, bathroom supplies etc. 

This is  TRUE.. and thats why the employees upsell items and thats why there are all those combos. But what is not said that  the higher the prices the less people are going to buy and hence bring outside food in. A trick  is to add a bit more salt to the popcorn  making the customer more thirsty with that salt they will have to come back for another drink. lower the food items  and more variety will allow customers to  not bring in those leftover and buy a popcorn. Also certain movies are not good popcorn movies and some are good ones. Horror movies do not make good  popcorn movies but comedies and dramas do…

Hotdogs and  Pretzels  are placed in the morning.. and rotate all day and into the last shift if no one buys one.  Hotdogs and Pretzels are heavy foods so  hardly anymore will wanna buy them at the midnight shows. The more fatter the less customers wll wanna buy more then one.. thinner dogs and people willy buy more then one

TRUE FACT

I don’t go to movies any more. Waste of time and money. Most of them aren’t worth paying for. We usually just wait until they come out on regular cable. We don’t even think most of them are worth paying for on PPV channels. As for food at the theaters, I used to take a bag of M&Ms for each of us and just go out for ice cream or drinks AFTER the movie.

dvd out soon…pop and popcorn at home…still cheaper and i get to keep what i bought.

Alright, that was a waste of 3 minutes of my life.
Who the hell is Ilana Struass and how did she get a job as a writer?

Lol… Readers Digest.. At least there’s one place for the grannies to hang out

The “go to the movies” business model is totally outdated and inappropriate for contemporary technology. I’ve got a 58″ plasma tv in my studio apartment, and a sound system that compares favorably to the ones in the cinema. Take the real estate costs, the ridiculous concession marketplace and the projector infrastructure out of the picture, and just distribute first-run films via internet on services like Netflix, Hulu and XBox.  There are better places/ways for us to “commune” as a society than in movie theaters — just pointing out that while cinemas may have survived the advent of television, they will not survive the 60″ LED flat panel combined with massive bandwidth, home theater receivers and in-home wireless speaker technology.

Okay, admittedly I haven’t been to the show in years.  But during the 90′s (and before) I went practically every day.  Maybe the new multiplexes have built themselves in such a way as to stop this…but I doubt it.

Look at number 3:  the theater is only making money from the concessions for the first couple of months.  I knew that all along, plus how many pictures last more than a couple of months now?  The studios are eager to get them on dvd.

And then there’s 4:  we know how you sneak in.

Put them together, along with a presumed number 14, the kids running the place couldn’t care less, and what do you have?  A recipe for dividing that exorbitant cost of viewing a film, a way to make your outing a paid-for double feature.  (Or more.)

Go in with a newspaper schedule of the start times, and a watch.  When the first movie (the one you paid for) ends, check which other one is about to begin, and start to amble over there.  But on your way, buy a box of popcorn.  Now you’ve just given back to the theater, you’ve just put money in the kids’ pockets, and they won’t throw you out no matter what.

Nor should they.  That 12 bucks you paid coming in goes right back to the studio; that 3 bucks you paid for the popcorn is what pays their salary.

They’ll never admit this, but as long as you keep buying popcorn and concessions, you should be allowed to see all the films you like.

Would the studios approve of this?  Hell no.  But then, they’re the ones who have manuevered themselves over the years to have this stranglehold on theaters.  And if the theater-owner (and, by default, his employees) happens to want to treat you as a guest and allow you to see some film free of charge, that’s his business.

And all for the price of a box of popcorn.

I go to the movies nearly every Friday. I always insist on my pop corn fresh and hot from the popper.  I am a senior so I get the senior discount,  $5.00.  I also never go when the movie is new,  too many people and too much noise.  There have been time when I have been the only person in the theatre.  most enjoyable that way.

Number 5 cracks me up!!!!

I worked at a movie theater for a couple years in high school.   At the end of the night the popcorn is put in a garbage bag and reheated for the next day. (hence, I would not want to eat that!!!)   The hot dogs are fine, if they don’t sell they are thrown out, it’s the buns that are counted for inventory purposes!  As for the nachos, the chips move so much they don’t sit idle and the cheese is either boiling hot or put in the cold locker at the end of the night…  inventory on them is counted on the trays you receive when you order them.  Same with soft drink cups.

whoever wrote this should actually learn more about the business before pretending to know anything about it.

If you go to the Century movie theaters chain, ask for headphones at the custimer service section to offset the douchebags that talk during the show. It’s free but do the honorable thing and return it.Don’t run off with it.

Sorry all you “movies are too expensive” people, but people LOVE going to the movies. They are not “dying out”. Studios invest millions of dollars in them for a reason: they make money. All the after-market sales like DVDs and rentals and etc more than make up for any lost revenue after a movie is off the screen, so stop acting like you’re going to bring down the industry: your paltry dollars don’t mean much. Look for record numbers of people “not going to the movies” when Batman opens in a couple of weeks.

I have naturally dark brown hair and because i have never smoked and tried to stay out of the sun, I look slightly younger than 60, which is the local theater’s cutoff for senior discounts. The cashier has essentially told me he doesn’t believe me anyway, my husband (who’s mostly bald, has gray hair and is younger than I am) gets embarrassed, and I feel silly asking for so,ething the company’s policy says I can have.

To Jaxsearch, who complained about looking too young to qualify for the 60-plus senior discount at the movies:  The solution to that problem is simple.  At the boxoffice, simply show your driver’s license (or other photo ID that gives your birthdate), and–Bingo!–discount granted!  That also shuts up the wiseguy or wisegal who doesn’t believe you!   :-)

yeah, sorry for the theaters, but with sticky seats and inconsiderate jerkballs on cellphones, i’d rather watch movies at home.  

saving all that cinema cost – i can afford a new really big hi def tv, and bigger still every few years. 

plus, then maybe the people acting in movies who do nothing more than tell other’s stories won’t get the zillions of dollars they demand, paid for by all those theaters (using our $$$$) with their nasty seats and armrests - and kids (or other idiots) will instead idolize people who are truly great and accomplished, and all will be good with the world.  i’m a happy cable camper.

I worked briefly for a large chain theatre.  Go to movies Monday through Thursday. Many have single ticket takers close to the front door on those days, especially from noon to 5pm.  Ours did not even have a ticket taker at those times.  Ours was a multi-winged theatre that only had section ticket takers after 5pm and mainly on weekends.  It means you can theatre hop.  The manager usually doesn’t care as long as you continue to visit the snack bar.  Our popcorn trick was to leave the doors slightly open so that the smells get out better.  But that’s if you always get fresh popcorn.  For a major event such as Twilight fans, we pop up 55-gallon bags full of popcorn early in the week and then warehouse it in our dry storage area.  We might have 10 bags level full of popped corn.  Then on the debut day, we pull it out and fill up the machines all across the complex.  The heat lamps will do the rest of the job.  You can always dump complimentary butter flavored oil on it. Don’t feel bad, sports stadiums pop as many as 100, 55-gallon bags to have for game day.  Yes, we did delight on what you bring into our movie house.  Large boxes of pizza, small cartons of ice cream, Chinese food, your own bag of popcorn in a grocery sack, your own movie sized candy from CVS, and all sorts of drinks.  If you are curious as to why there used to be a big hole in the cup holder,.it was so a can or bottle falls through. You used to hear cans or bottles rolling down to the front aisle.  We fixed the glitch by adding a plastic cross holder so that we could sell you our own bottled drinks at tremendous profits. 
We had what I affectionately call to this day, The Screening Rooms.  You might as well watch the movie at home with a DLP projector.  These theatres had 67 seats.  Its only purpose was to let us keep a marginal movie on the marquee just a few days longer than our competition.  Try to get there before we move it to those rooms.  Its better waiting and then going to a $1 cinema and watching it on their full sized screen. 
Last, we are measuring you, “they are watching”.  That is Nielsen Theatre Market Research.  They report back to the producer early results of trailers.  We randomly pulled out guests who fit a demographic and show them a brief trailer.  Then we give a 5-minute computerized survey.  You can actually do the survey yourself from home but I’ll be nice and not post web pages.  However, search Sony Pictures Survey and it will let you get in from their portal.  Hey, you can win a $5000 Sony system that they give out each week.  One frequent survey is married, Latino, women, 2 kids under 10, and husband not present.  What did they think about the trailer for Madagascar III.  Did the kids understand the plot.  Will they tell their friends to watch it because of their opinion of the trailer.
We got paid up to $15 per survey so that’s a nice spiff.

I worked briefly for a large chain theatre.  Go to movies Monday through Thursday. Many have single ticket takers close to the front door on those days, especially from noon to 5pm.  Ours did not even have a ticket taker at those times.  Ours was a multi-winged theatre that only had section ticket takers after 5pm and mainly on weekends.  It means you can theatre hop.  The manager usually doesn’t care as long as you continue to visit the snack bar.  Our popcorn trick was to leave the doors slightly open so that the smells get out better.  But that’s if you always get fresh popcorn.  For a major event such as Twilight fans, we pop up 55-gallon bags full of popcorn early in the week and then warehouse it in our dry storage area.  We might have 10 bags level full of popped corn.  Then on the debut day, we pull it out and fill up the machines all across the complex.  The heat lamps will do the rest of the job.  You can always dump complimentary butter flavored oil on it. Don’t feel bad, sports stadiums pop as many as 100, 55-gallon bags to have for game day.  Yes, we did delight on what you bring into our movie house.  Large boxes of pizza, small cartons of ice cream, Chinese food, your own bag of popcorn in a grocery sack, your own movie sized candy from CVS, and all sorts of drinks.  If you are curious as to why there used to be a big hole in the cup holder,.it was so a can or bottle falls through. You used to hear cans or bottles rolling down to the front aisle.  We fixed the glitch by adding a plastic cross holder so that we could sell you our own bottled drinks at tremendous profits. 
We had what I affectionately call to this day, The Screening Rooms.  You might as well watch the movie at home with a DLP projector.  These theatres had 67 seats.  Its only purpose was to let us keep a marginal movie on the marquee just a few days longer than our competition.  Try to get there before we move it to those rooms.  Its better waiting and then going to a $1 cinema and watching it on their full sized screen. 
Last, we are measuring you, “they are watching”.  That is Nielsen Theatre Market Research.  They report back to the producer early results of trailers.  We randomly pulled out guests who fit a demographic and show them a brief trailer.  Then we give a 5-minute computerized survey.  You can actually do the survey yourself from home but I’ll be nice and not post web pages.  However, search Sony Pictures Survey and it will let you get in from their portal.  Hey, you can win a $5000 Sony system that they give out each week.  One frequent survey is married, Latino, women, 2 kids under 10, and husband not present.  What did they think about the trailer for Madagascar III.  Did the kids understand the plot.  Will they tell their friends to watch it because of their opinion of the trailer.
We got paid up to $15 per survey so that’s a nice spiff.

With netflix & the redbox, these overpriced movie theaters will go out of business real soon!!!

The “topping” they put on popcorn is not butter or margarine.  It is a soy product.  When I worked at a theater during High School, I once knew a guy who was dared to drink a dixie-cup of the “topping.”  Dude had the runs for days.  Topping is nasty stuff in large doses.

There’s no chemicals in the popcorn.  It’s kernals, corn oil, and popcorn salt.  That’s it.  The butter on the other hand, is polyurethane something… not butter.

“pat me on the back when you leave” is dependent on the demographic of all involved. A guy to a guy employee. Older female to teen male employee. Woman customer, male customer. Young teen customer, to an adult employee. Any customer to an all hispanic  staff, a hispanic customer to an all white staff, a white customer to an all black staff, A black employee with a white superior, A black customer to a white employee and supervisor. ALL these things matter as to whether the employee will be held accountable. White teen boy who gets a black woman complaining to a white older male boss? no fear at all.

This list is stupid and misleading.As a movie theater manager for 15 years Ive told customers most of those things many times.There is no reason to hide any of it, except maybe the sweeping under the seats. I have also eaten all of those foods employees wont touch. So congrats on blowing our secrets out of the water.Oh and the popcorn does not have a chemical in it to fill the theater, freshly popped popcorn in the lobby just smells good, its popped in oil and with buttery flavoring which is what you smell.The corn kernals are simply just that.Oh and look at the cost of doing something other than going to the movies as a alternative entertainment choice the  movie compares favorably as opposed to other choices.Blame the studios for the high prices because they are the ones who cause the high prices with their high demands for ticket price percentages.Alot of this stuff is correct just not state secrets.

As a senior, I can go to the movies here in the Midwest for less then watching a pay movie on DIRECTV. Watching on the big screen in an audience is still a special experience.

I have a feeling that there are 13 more things, (the really disgusting ones) that they will never tell us………

I work at a small-town movie theater – and in an effort to remain community friendly, the owners have made all tickets $3. We show movies in their second wave (about a month or so after they come out). You can get a ticket, large popcorn and drink for about $8. Total.

And for all the love we get for it, I know we’re constantly struggling to meet our overhead. Running  a theater is not just concessions and sweeping. It’s security systems and projectors and sound equipment, not to mention minimum wages for workers such as myself. So while I lament how expensive the movie-going experience has become, I have a better understanding as to why those prices are so high. When you have to send most of your money to a studio, you have to inflate if only to keep yourself afloat.

Pirate everything, pay for nothing.

wow

“Combination deals don’t save you money…” because customers do not have more than a 3rd grade education to add prices.

Wow I didn’t know readers’s digest still existed. I have warm memories of the print version but after reading this article I doubt it will be around much longer at all. Who is the target audience here, some hick in Bugtussle?

Some right and some wrong.

Popcorn at home stinks up the house too.  I worked in theatres for 25 years.  After while popcorn smells awful to you.  I used to say” food should have an aroma, not an ODOR”  I had to shower to get the smell off me after work. 

In fact, theaters count so much on concession stand sales that Sergio Leone’s great Western, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (#2 on IMDB’s “Best Westerns” list – to Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly”) was cut from the (already cut, from 175 minutes) international print length pf 165 minutes in 1969, because the theaters complained that they needed to get in another show each day so they could sell more popcorn.

Some of the scenes cut were vital to understanding the plot.

Haven’t been to a movie in a long time, no real need, I am a patient person and I can wait to see the movies on DVD or “On Demand” from the cable company.   No need to put up with obnoxious people (other theater goers) in the theaters.

Actually as a supervisor in a theater, we all eat the nachos and the hot dogs.  We have pretty good quality Angus beef hot dogs.  They are the best thing on the menu.  Our pretzels and nachos aren’t too shabby either.   Also, our popcorn sizes don’t change all that much.

when u work at a movie theater dont u get free movies

As a former employee I can tell you that we DO get free movie passes whenever we want.  I can also tell you that popcorn is thrown out EVERY NIGHT.

Nice way to get people to participate in your survey…I’ll never read your articles in the future……

I like movie theaters and will keep going to them I get the AAA passes. to save money.

I also go on Tues evenings they have all day matinee price at Revere Cinema in Boston. I always get popcorn with extra butter, to defy the government telling me what to do. If I want extra butter I’ll have extra butter. I wont let the government tell me what is good and what is not good for me. I like the butter. Whatever it has chemicals in it, so does everything else that tastes good. LIVE with it. Just work out and eat healthy the rest of the time and one or two times you go to the m ovie wont kill you. 

The point about movie sales isn’t true. Movie theaters pay a fixed rate to buy the rights to the movie, so for the first month they may not see profits, but there isn’t a contract that makes movie revenue “go to studios” for the first month. 

Two more things:
1) You could have seen this plus 100 more movies at Netflix for le$$.
2) Theater popcorn always uses Canola Oil which is horrible for you.

If you don’t want to buy the popcorn, then don’t buy popcorn. They won’t force you to buy.
If you prefer to watch a movie in theaters then wait for the DVD-copy. They wouldn’t force you either. Simple as that. I you think they it’s not work, then fall for the advertisements. PERIOD.

During the Depression, my father was a grade school kids and his family was in poverty.  He loved the movies, but they cost a dime.  To get the money, he would walk for hours along the roadsides to find errant pop bottles or tin cans that someone discarded (a bottle bottle or two could be sold for a penny and a pound of tin, which cans were actually made of then, could also be sold for a penny or two).  If he was lucky enough to earn the ten cents to go to the theater (forget money to buy popcorn or other concessions), he would get to watch a chapter in each of the serials that were playing that week (to be continued the next week if he could come up with another tens cents from hours of walking the roadsides).

Go ahead.  Gripe about what YOU have to pay to see a movie or buy a concession.

I ALWAYS bring my own food or drink..to h*ll with their thievery disguised as prices…if all the ticket money goes to the studio for the first month or two , sounds like the theater CEO’S aren’t very good at business negotiation..tough noogies….

We NEVER saved popcorn from the previous night.  It’s so cheap to make, why would you? That’s disgusting.

So true on popcorn.  The theater I worked at had a popcorn guy.  He only came in twice a week, worked a few hours, and filled our storeroom with giant trash bags of popcorn.  All we did was put it in the warmer.

13 reasons I haven’t been inside a theatre in about 13 years.  That and rude aduience members who can’t STFU and mothers who bring newborns in so they can pinch them at critical moments of the movie so you can’t hear the dialogue over their screaming baby.

as a single mother of 3  living on a very tight income /an even tighter after being diagnosed woth multiple sclerosis , i always waited for movies  at the dollar theater in north richland hills texas & i always carry a large purse on a dailey basis so no diffrent  id pack soda, candy , pop corn , & hot dogs , chips & pickles  that covers almost every thing they offer ,  i am very serious  i cant afford all the expensive food plus tickets much less at the rave theater ect  saw 1st movie narnia at rave with kids only time ever  all other x only dollar theater    ps i have never been asked whats in my bag !!!!!!!!! for 1 its an invasion of my privacey  if  they did ,  they kids were very satisfied with my  movie goodies never complained wen we got ready for a movie outing they they whay we  would pack to take  another thing if you have a  diabetic child or child with celiacs or other gluten issues youd have to bring your own food items      & now i have a grand daughter will be 2 yrs old in late january ill do the same with her, its called learing to live in tough economic times & to not buy in to the comercialism  in our counrty , from the crap at the cash register waiting in line your kid want thet are tired & hungry & want all the candy they see rt then  same as at movie theater ect  teach them wen young & off better alternatives & eat b4 shopping or seeing a movie helps & bring snacks with you  alot of kids like cracker jax just ideas ive used  with my own kids  my kids were allowed soda & candy just as i was & my gran daughter is nothing wrong with most items with moderation, with a few excetions

hope this helps but id never buy they expensive theater items NEVER NEVER !!!!!!!!

Actually you don’t want to eat the popcorn or drink the soda either.  Inventory and bookkeeping is done via counting cups and bags or containers of popcorn.   I knew a manager who “supplemented” his income by collecting discarded cups and popcorn bags, refunding them out of the register into his pocket and reselling popcorn in soda in the discarded items in order to keep inventory matching receipts.

Well obviously this story is crap. If they wouldnt tell you, why the hell would they tell a reporter and blab it to the world? NO. WHat a movie theatre employee won’t tell you is things like this:

a) It’s not uncommon for the movie theatre employees to have orgies in the theatre late night, and put movies like “Flesh Gordon” on the screen.
b) There IS a special sauce.
c) The theatre doesnt make money on concessions either. Most dont even break even. Kinda begs the question… How do they stay in business? Go back to point (a), and think about energy…
d) Theatres intentionally hire ‘good looking kids’. For a reason. Lust. What a powerful motivator.
e) Image isnt the experience. SOUND is the experience of image. We all have different vision, and it’s actually SOUND that shapes that experience. Movie theatre owners KNOW this. And exploit it
f) How do they exploit it? The ‘digital experience’, you are not watching the same movie as the person next to you.
g) Movies are free. Created as a result of ‘new life’. Distributors abuse this relationship and profit at your expense. All they do is provide a distribution service for what’s already “Floating in the ether”, and ‘time it’ like a machine. THink Matrix. It’s ALL timed. We’re not even supposed to ‘know’ what’s coming out next year, then they invented ‘trailers’ to cut down on ‘probabilistic sensing of the future’… Truth is, all of space and time is available on the ether, there’s a monstrous system around this all that is trying to trap us in it… I say, let it trap us, it’s an interesting experience, is it not?

Iused2 go 2 the  movies when my daughter was growing but now that she’s all growing up I stop to expensive this days I rather buy a dvd n enjoy it  in my home don’t need 2 deal with morons talking on their cellphones …….

Remember you when buy popcorn you are really paying to keep the theater clean, witch is why we always make a point in buying a large popcorn.

Not a very good article.  I spent 7 years working in movie theatres working every position from doorman to senior management.

Numbers correspond to slide numbers:1) Popcorn doesn’t need added chemicals to make its aroma fill the theatre.  I worked at a chain that used popcorn seed, oil, and salt…and our popcorn was plenty aromatic.  Yes, there are products like flavacol that claim to make the popcorn more aromatic, but their use is hardly universal.3) While contracts with movie studies are front-loaded, 100% of the revenue is never going to the studio.  The percentage the studio keeps (known as film rent), which might run around 90% to start, usually drops dramatically after the 2nd weekend a movie has been out.  But yes, it would be correct to say that theatres rely on concession stands to make money.

5) There’s nothing wrong with the pretzels, nachos, or hot dogs from a theatre vs. the food from any fast food restaurant.  Theatres undergo health inspections just like other place that serves food.

6) If a manager is regularly pretending to yell at employees, they have serious issues and would receiving coaching (or an invitation to leave) if they had worked for me.  Seriously, where do the “sources” for this article work?  Does satan run a movie theatre?

8) Sizes really don’t change that often.  And you’ll still save calories if you order a small and eat the whole thing vs. ordering a medium and eating the whole thing.  What was the point?

9) I suppose some chains probably do microwave their frozen pizzas, but any self-respecting non-dollar-theatre is probably using a belt-driven oven or a ‘turbochef’ or equivalent.

10) This actually sounds like something a movie theatre employee _would_ tell you.  In fact, I had to say it many times.  But I have also never been to a movie theatre that didn’t offer smaller ‘courtesy cups’ that weren’t inventoried, such as you might use if a customer asked for water.

12) Movies that start late, end late.  There is no fast-forward button that enables a projectionist to start a movie late but still end it on time for the ushers.  Yes, the advertised start time is actually the start of the previews, but I don’t think anyone who has ever been to a movie doesn’t know that already.

13) Actually, it will keep for a full week, and many, many people (myself included) prefer it a couple of days old vs. fresh from the popper.  I’m just nitpicking though…the overall point made here is correct: customers do not know the difference between fresh and warm.  

makes u think y would thay say that

why buy all the crap food anyway??? whats wrong with going just to see the film????

I work at a movie theater as an usher and concessionist…I love my co-workers about 90% of the 13 things are true. Everyone should be aware of movie and food costs by now, yet I still get, “What!!! That much for popcorn and soda! That’s ridiculous!” Be nice to workers there, we know it’s expensive, but we don’t make the prices. We are there from 5 to 8 hours sweeping up popcorn, throwing away half drunken sodas and barely touched candy boxes and restocking bathroom supplies. When people are nice we as workers will work even harder to get you to where you want to be with a genuine smile and our very best customer service! As for the people who wait in concession lines yesterday for about 30 minutes during the crazy Christmas rush and had their orders ready and a smile on their face I thank you and love you, and hope you enjoyed your movie

Extreme digital is not really lower quality. IMAX is a singular way of shooting film and is not used easily, or economically. IMA’ quality needs to be higher to prject smoothly and clearly on a standard IMAX 6 story screen. Extreme digital is perceived (key word) in the same way, same quality, when shown in a standard digital theater.

I worked at a theater. We would rub i ce cubes on the hit dogs to make them plump up and look juicier.

Most movies are pure crap. Most movies on cable are pure crap. You will be amazed how good the movies are on turner classic movies. Give it a shot.

As for going to the movies it is all to stressful. Why pay $10.00 to watch T.V. ads.  Don’t forget how rude most movie goers are.

I stay home with my 70″ screen and better sound.

Going out to the movies is like riding in the back row of a Greyhound Bus….it can and most always is a bad experience. Dirty floors and seats, overpriced snacks, nasty rude people, and a fuzzy quality picture on the screen. I would rather wait a few weeks and watch any movie on my nice large HD TV in the safety of my home.
In my opinion movie theaters will go the way local newspapers have gone, theaters have not kept up with the times and invested back into high tech equipment, so as the go out of business they can only blame themselves. There is no excuse for any movie theater chain charging extremely high prices and still using the same old projectors they used back in 1960.

Here are some first hand facts …

1. The popcorn has no extra chemicals in it to make it smell better. The theatre receives raw popcorn in 35-50 pound sacks and cook it with popping oil which is purely canola and/or coconut oil.
2. IMAX digital projectors are the exact same projectors used in every movie theatre auditorium regardless of size. The only difference between projectors is the size bulb they can accommodate based on the screen size. The larger the screen, the larger the bulb. Simple math and there is NOTHING special about an IMAX projector.
3. Most studios now charge theatres an aggregate rental based on the movie performance. This means that the percentage rental the theatre pays doesn’t change between the opening and ending date of an engagement. The simple fact is that admission ticket prices would be higher if there weren’t as much profit in concessions as there is. And, by the way, the cost of raw popcorn is skyrocketing because of the midwest drought conditions. The author of this myth should go buy some raw popcorn and do the math before writing irresponsibly.
4. True, most theatres would rather allow you to quietly cheat them by switching auditoriums and watching multiple movies for one price, than upset the rest of their customers by ejecting you.
5. There’s nothing like a good Nathan’s all-beef hotdog.
6. A good manager knows that the customer is the real boss and goes out of his way to make the customer happy. A good manager also goes out of his way to support his employees because he otherwise won’t have any.
7. Yes, some theatres do a better job than others by giving their customers a better deal.
8. Not quite. Popcorn bag sizes haven’t changed in over 15 years.
9. Wow, they got the math right for once.
10. That’s why all theatres have courtesy cups on hand. Yes, they all do inventory, but they also will supply cups on request because that amounts to good customer service.
11. Wrong again. Employees aren’t trained to sweep anything under the seats. One bad employee among thousands does not an industry make.
12. Movies usually start when they’re supposed to. Today isn’t like the old days with projectionists. Movies and preview times are programmed into an Library Main Server and computers rarely make errors.
13. The best popcorn is not that which just came out of the kettle. The fact is that popcorn needs to dry out because freshly popped corn has too much condensation. That’s why most popcorn storage units blow warm air on the corn to remove condensation and give it a crisp taste. If you ever at freshly popped corn, you would know that it is not as crisp as that which has sit for 30 minutes or more. And, popcorn properly heated and then stored is just as good the next day as 30 minutes out of the popper.

The author of this piece should be shot for providing so much misinformation to readers.

Going to the theater today has replaced going to the Drive-In. No reason for anyone past college to go.

I blame the movie houses because they don’t demand a better split from the movie studios. Show us a good foreign flick, charge us less, and make more money in the process.
I blame the movie studios because they are greedy.
I blame the actors because they are overpaid and undertalented (The stunt men and women are the real talents).
And I blame the American public, particularly the younger people who make up the bulk of movie goers, because your patronage keeps the prices sky high. If you did not go to the movies, the actors would have to lower their demands, the movie studios would lower their prices, and the movie houses could lower their prices.

Ticket prices don’t bother me much (although matinee prices should be uniformly 1/2 what an evening ticket costs, and anything before 6 should be a matinee). And I never have issues with movies beginning late. I could do without so many previews, especially the corporate-theatre-produced promotion reels. But concession prices are b.s.. I rarely buy anything to eat or drink in the theatre. Call me peculiar, but I prefer to pay 1/3 as much for twice the snacks at the local dollar store and bring it in. And no theatre can kick me out for it.

Don’t trust the popcorn. I’ve worked in a theater. You know what we did with the old popcorn from the previous day? We put it in trash bags and added it to the next day’s batch. Also, the stainless steel spray cleaner used to clean the popcorn bins is toxic. It was simply sprayed on and wiped away, not washed away, so all that nasty cleaner residue got on the popcorn. Also, the “butter” is nothing but artery-clogging oil.

time to update this article.. if the first comment is from 2 years ago… shouldn’t newest comments be listed first??

hey idiots!!! why is there no option to list newest posts first?? Not much point in showing a 2 year old post first !! What are you trying to hide?? Current, relevant posts? Actual user opinions? Reader’s Digest… what a joke… how about contributing to a real discussion? Keep posting regurgitated garbage, and keep watching your subscriber base leave. Nice work. Internet opinions must not matter to you… that’s why Reader’s Digest doesn’t matter to us. Are you listening, or just ignoring posts that don’t fit in your current marketing paradigm? Fix it, or see your subscriber base dwindle to ZERO !!

Pass the word, ‘moderator’.

I work for a theater exhibitor company. Believe me when I say there is a lot of misunderstanding about what it actually takes to get a movie on screen. First of all the producers and directors don’t make movies for your living room, they make them for the big screen. When Sony, Fox and others were talking about doing premium video on demand 30-45 days after release in theaters for $30 through Direct TV, the theater companies were not the only ones that fought that. James Cameron and many other directors fought against that as well. Because James Cameron and the others all said, “We do not make movies for the TV screen. No matter what you tell yourself or think you know, unless you have about $50,000 or more to drop on creating your own personal big screen auditorium, nothing on the market comes even close to duplicating the presentation and sound on the BIG SCREEN. Yeah your DVD may be $1 at Redbox however how much did you spend to get that big screen tv and surround sound system trying to mimick a movie theater. Many times several thousands of dollars. Theaters are constantly upgrading projectors, sound and technology to blow the doors off of any home system on the market. A lot of research goes in to every aspect of the auditorium from the curtains and sound folding on the walls to the projectors and sound systems designed to envelope you into the movie. The current digital projectors have been capable of over 4000 dpi long before the first 4k TV’s came on to the market. And some of these projectors are capable of no less then 35 trillion colors at 4k resolution on a screens as big as 50′ high by 75′ wide or bigger. The sound systems or nothing to mock either because like I said unless you have a lot of money you have to try to compete with a sound system at times capable of over 60,000 watts of power or more.

Technically the Theaters do get about 50% of the ticket sales however most of that goes right back in to fees charged the theaters to show these movies on their screens. only 1% to, if your lucky, 3% of that 50% is profit. A very small margin. In order to keep up with the times and pay bills and employees it comes out of concession. There are many many good ways to save $ at the theater if you know where to look. Many theaters companies provide coupons or special deals on concession through their websites. Also try to see movies during matinee times and some chains even have Early Bird Specials that apply to the first matinee showtime of each film title and even have discount days. Check with your local theater for money saving information. I of all people understand how expensive concession can be but it is no difference than if you went to a game at a stadium or a concert. They are seriously inflated there as well. If you sneak or bring your own food and drinks in, you are making it harder for theaters to operate and in order to keep up with demand, they unfortunately have to increase prices. In a nut shell, stealing. You are affecting my way of life and your overall movie going experience. Because, we can’t take care of the customer effectively if we can’t pay the employees. It is a lot harder to monitor 10 or more auditoriums. You can’t just place an employee in the auditorium for the duration of the movie. We try to have a dedicated usher or 2 to roam through the theaters performing checks to quell distrubances such as cell phones but unfortunately we can’t be everywhere at the same time.

I also remember when you could buy a ticket and stay in the movie all day!

#4 is half way true. we do care, but sometimes it will cause too much of a disturbance to kick them out. We care about our customers. This is based off of 10 years of being a theater mgr. #5 not true. we ensure everything food is acceptable to the consumer, if we won’t eat it, we won’t sell it. #6- that’s a situational base statement, as with any business some supervisors care and some don’t. #7- just do the math yourself. #8- product size does change, but obviously a small at any point in time will be less calories than a medium. #9- who microwaves pizza???? yuck. cinemark doesn’t. they use a pizza oven. #10 is true and if you ask an employee for an extra cup that’s exactly what they’ll tell you. #11- some employees may do that if they are really behind, but at the end of the night it all gets cleaned by custodial workers who have all night to clean. #12- movies don’t start late. The posted newspaper/ internet time is the time the previews start. you just have to be aware of that.

About 45 years ago I worked for a short period of time at a drive-in concession stand. At the end of the night we emptied the unsold pop-corn boxes into a clean trash can and the next day we re-boxed it and sold it first before the fresh pop-corn for the night.

i see a lot of movies for free, by going to screenings…the only thing they cost is your time(which can be a few hours if it’s a big movie)….if i really want to see something on the big screen, that missed a screening for, then i just do cheap day specials….they’re not hard to find, just do a bit of internet digging ;0)
as for the cost of concessions, i used to work in a theatre, so i know what companies will charge just for the “privilege” of showing their movies (g. lucas was the worst!)…it sux, n i would still bring in snacks of my own, but i at least have a better understanding of the prices….a cinema just isn’t going to make it on ticket sales alone :0/

1. We get bored and shoot lobby patrons in the head with popcorn kernels through the vents upstairs in projection. But we can’t unless we have McDonald’s vintage huge milkshake straws.

2. Our boss makes us collect extra popcorn buckets so he can add them to inventory and keep the overage (inventory is tracked to containers). He also likes to work the box office occasionally, and I guess there’s an angle there too.

3. We hate our owners because they pay us beans compared to what they rake in. So if you want to smuggle food and drinks in, be our guest. We don’t get paid based on what you buy.

4. Of course we cannot ‘clean’ theaters between shows. We simply sweep the aisle trash and popcorn to the seats, where it isn’t visible. Maybe we will pick up the popcorn containers though, since our boss gives us extra money for them.

5. Yes, we save the day’s last popcorn and mix it in with tomorrow’s batch for the ‘cheap’ matinee crowd. Like the owners say, you get what you pay for. I should know, they don’t pay me sh**.

As a matter of fact I work at a movie theatre (Regal) and most of the things in the slideshow are correct, expect for the fact that we do not cooked frozen pizzas in the microwave (they are made in an oven immediately after being ordered so they don’t sit around). Also, popcorn is NEVER kept around for the next day, all the popcorn made from the day is thrown out at the end of the night, and there are definitely more than just, drinks, popcorn and candy you can trust, nachos are very safe considering they are prepackaged when given to you. People need to stop complaining about prices to us, we can’t do anything about it!! Sure, us employees get 2 free tickets a day but we still pay the same for concessions as everyone else does. We honestly are very underpaid, people who have been working there for 4 years + don’t even make it to $8.00. If you don’t like our prices, than don’t come to the theatre, easy as that.

We know food at the concession is overpriced. We obviously don’t care, because unlike you, $10 is not two years income.

We know the manager is only agreeing with us to calm us down, and will probably never reprimand you. We don’t care, because at the end of the day, you’re still at the bottom of the food chain working for scraps.

We’ve known since the beginning of time that movies start late. News flash – some of us like watching the previews.

It always seems like the most stupid people are always the ones who think they’re the smartest. News flash kid, we’re not morons. We know how the theaters operate, to an equal or greater extent then the guy who is sweeping the floors and pouring popcorn into buckets.

chemicals in the popcorn??? Great- and we wonder why so many people have cancer!!

I used to work at a theater when I was 19. Biggest tip to give you guys is this!
Do not wear dockers to the movies at all! I see men wearing dockers and then I know money will fall out. 20 years ago I found a wad of money bigger than a paychecks worth and nobody claimed it and honestly I did not touch it for 3 weeks.

After nobody came looking for it then it was mine! Just like the law says. Finders keepers LOOSERS WEEPERS! So no baggy pants yall! or the money is mine mine mine!

14. All the reasons why I wont go to a movie anymore.