Reader Digest Version Global

13 Things a Movie Theater Employee Won’t Tell You

Find out behind the scenes info about your favorite place to see the next blockbuster.

By Ilana Strauss
Loading
© Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Thinkstock
  • 1 of 14

1. Why does it smell so good? The popcorn has chemicals in it to make its aroma fill the theater.

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock
  • 2 of 14

2. “Extreme Digital” is actually lower quality than IMAX digital. We use it because it’s easier to maintain.

© Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Thinkstock
  • 3 of 14

3. For the first month or two of screening, money from ticket sales goes to movie studios. Theaters rely on concession stands to make money. That’s why concessions are overpriced. Popcorn costs almost nothing to make.

© Michael Blann/Digital Vision/Thinkstock
  • 4 of 14

4. I know all the methods you use to sneak in. I just don’t always care enough to kick you out for it.

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock
  • 5 of 14

5. The only foods I trust are the popcorn, drinks, and boxed candy. I wouldn’t eat the pretzels, hot dogs, or nachos.

© Ryan McVay/Photodisc/Thinkstock
  • 6 of 14

6. Chances are, if you complain to the manager and he sides with you, he’s just putting on a show to calm you down. The manager might pretend to yell at me for a minute, but he’ll pat me on the back the moment you’re out of sight.

© Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock
  • 7 of 14

7. Combination deals don’t save you money at some theaters. You’d pay the same price if you purchased the items separately.

© Creatas/Thinkstock
  • 8 of 14

8. Think you’re saving calories by ordering a small popcorn? That “small” popcorn could have been a medium last month.

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock
  • 9 of 14

9. Stop getting angry that your food isn't ready. Microwaves can't cook frozen pizzas in 30 seconds!

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock
  • 10 of 14

10. No, I can’t give you extra cups. Everything is inventoried at the end of the night.

© Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Thinkstock
  • 11 of 14

11. Your suspicions are correct. Sometimes I sweep excess food under the seats. Movies often end every few minutes. Sometimes, three or more screenings end at the same time. I don’t always have time to clean everything up.

© Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Thinkstock
  • 12 of 14

12 Yes, movies start late. But they almost always end on time – otherwise, the ushers wouldn’t know when to clean up. Theaters tell you to come in early so you have time to watch commercials and previews.

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock
  • 13 of 14

13. Popcorn keeps for a day or two. Many customers confuse warm with fresh.

Sources: Movie theater employees in California, Illinois, and Indiana

Sponsored Links

Your Comments

  • JScout

    Costumers?  Nice job, Editors!

  • Pam

    I LOVE the previews!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6U2TZHR7RQWPLSUFPRT35JWBTY Luna

    I rarely go to the movies anymore, TOO TOO EXPENSIVE…. My kids are teens now, but when they were younger, I used to take them with another mother who used to bring a big bag-filled with drinks and snacks- only one theater around us would question whether we have crap in her bag, so she starter buying a drink. After a while, after I was totally BROKE (on SSI for disability), I started doing the same thing.. I would buy one drink and a large OVER PRICED POPCORN…. I really hated when all the theaters got the candy by the pound and those stupid Crane machines… my kids learned how to win on most of the crane machines -except the light ones with the ipods… other mothers would give us dirty looks like we had an ‘in’. NO, and my kids normally gave extras away, still did not help… so glad they are older

  • Rick Steward

    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.

  • IJ

    I work at (relatively small) theater. I agree with most of this stuff (like expensive concessions so that we can actually pay to have the movie you want to see), but I completely laughed at 1. I’ve made popcorn hundreds of times now, and we don’t have any special ingredients to make the popcorn smell good (maybe some places do?). We have the popcorn seed, coconut oil, and popcorn salt. And it smells delicious because it’s popcorn…

    And I’m proud to say that our combination deals ARE a deal and that if you’re spending more money for less, we will let you know. :) Oh, and we make fresh popcorn everyday. :)

  • Jeff

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

  • Leenda300

    “They” who do not tell someone something do not exist!!!!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ENNF7RDC26QO5SZ7PGOF5NSGWQ Rasp

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

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ENNF7RDC26QO5SZ7PGOF5NSGWQ Rasp

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

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Angeline-Ang/690327324 Angeline Ang

    haha! this is so true! 

  • daisydukes88

    i too work as a manager in a movie theater. we do not have chemicals either in the popcorn to make it smell better, nor is it in the coconut butter or oil.We have flavoring butter..SURPRISE its not even real butter, just a flavor of butter. I love the inventory statement. I count inventory every night and i cant tell you how many times a day i get asked for another cup or bag. Do they think theyre really paying 4.97 for soda? no its for the cup. We make fresh popcorn everyday. we never save popcorn, nachos, hotdogs,etc for the next day. its always fresh. Yes, concession is overpriced, that IS because of movie tickets. they are not profitable for the first few weeks, and midnight premieres. We get complaints that the ushers havent finished cleaning the theater yet so customers can go in, but if we let them in a dirty theater, wed still get complaints. Everyday i get jaws dropped when they ask how much a bottle of water is (4.19) we pay 3.99 for a case of 24, and they pay 4.19 for one bottle and then they get mad at me . i do not make the price i just sell them. I get yelled at for ratings of movies and how terrible some are. I actually had one customer tell me to stop putting bad movies in my theater and that i should be ashamed of myself for showing that to the public and i have had others tell me that i need to pick better actors!! I also hear “why isnt this in 3d the theater closer to home has it in 3d.” actually it doesnt, if a movie isnt filmed in 3D no theater has it, if it is in 3D every theater that has digital 3d,  have the featured film in 3d, and 2d. I also have customers tell me that we need to put better movies in IMAX. Imax makes movies in “imax” form. They film it with special cameras to it the screen. We dont choose the movie, then our corporate negotiates with imax which imax movies we get.I have people order a large popcorn, eat the whole bag and at the end of the movie come out and tell me it was too salty and they wanted their money back. If you come out a half hr into the movie and only eaten no more than half a bag i will probably give you money back or a new batch, if you wait, i will not because then you probably just wanted a free outing, as well as movie tickets. dont wait until after the movie to tell me you were offended, or just didnt like it and want your money back. I dont go to a restaurant   or amusement park and tell them i didnt like the 3 course meal and desert or i didnt have fun on their rides even though i spent the whole day there and ask for my money back. its entertainment, i am not going to let you just test the movie. i do theater checks, i make sure you are not talking, texting and talking on your cell phones and hopping theaters. sometimes if its busy you may get away with it, but 99 times out of 100 i will throw you out. we find money under seats and in the arm rests, and we do keep it, including the ushers. Dont come to the concession and order meals for a family of 8, chicken strips french fries hot dogs nachos pizzas , they take time to cook, go out to lunch before hand, wed be losing money but you wont have to miss the first 20 minutes of your movie and complain and ask for a manager and miss another 15 minutes. stop asking me if i watch all of the movies. I watch some of them, but honestly when i do watch them its at 3am after hours when theres noone else there so i can actually enjoy it. I dont spend time there if i dont have to, and i will be honest and tell you if i have seen the movie or not. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_ZTCKMGZFXPKXYM5W4CXZ6UP6BU Karen

    I also am a small theater manager and we NEVER reuse popcorn.  The chemical comment is just insane.  We pop Orville Redenbacher corn and do not add anything to make it smell into the theaters.
    Our combo deals also save money, and all our prices are listed on our menu, anyone who can count can add it all up and see!  This list sounds like an ex-theater employee who is quite disgruntled!

  • Guinevere81

    Have you considered clicking the link to see the slideshow on one page?

    That might help the with annoyance level. If nothing else, you would only get the message about your “outdated browser” once, twice at most. :)

  • somewhitechap

    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.

  • guest

    Wow over half of these are not true! I work at a movie theater and these are so not true or researched enough! 

  • guest

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

  • ExConcessionist

    Must have gone to University 16 Regal….they shut it down!!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EJBWWT5TWRZPZIK7DPKJNIC6CQ Wentra

    Where is that link?

  • Whatcha?

    Why don’t you just update your browser? I’m sure this isn’t the only site you’re getting that message on. It’s not hard to update your browser and then you can see what everyone else is talking about. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3VDMBMYB3R62W6F6K3D6KGFYVM thwl

    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

  • Cmlelea

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

  • Cmlelea

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

  • cila

    Not all of these are true, my boyfriend and I have both worked at theaters, where we worked the only thing you had to look out for was the ice, the icebox got pretty nasty after a while so now I always order my drinks with no ice.

  • RDIsNotTheNews

    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. 

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • Ashley_md151993

    about #5, NEVER buy movie-hotdogs!! they are NASTY.

  • jim

    I also hear the soft drink syrup is very cheap. The profit ios in the concessions.

  • jim

    I also hear the soft drink syrup is very cheap. The profit ios in the concessions.

  • Drew

    Im a manager at a larger theatre chain and all above is true.

  • once

    I ran a 10 plex theater for almost 3 yrs and the “chemical’s in the popcorn” comment is complete bs and we made everything fresh every day. You never got stale pc at our theater. The company I worked for didn’t use any chemicals and they’re the 4th largest theater company in the US.

    Some of this stuff is true (we did inventory everything cups/bags/nacho trays, trailer times for our company were a minimum of 15mins, I didn’t trust the nachos just b/c they were gross, theaters don’t make anything off of ticket sales for the first few weeks and then they only make a % that increases each week capping @ 90-100% on about wk 12-14).

    One thing I will comment on is how many of the theater companies treat their employees. It’s pretty sad really. Don’t blast the little guys at movie theaters, they literally have “0″ control over anything. It’s always the managers that you need to talk too. Some of the managers actually tell their employees that they are replaceable at any moment. The managers are instructed by upper management and corporate figures to use these types of tactics on their employees and that always really bothered me.

  • Justine6805

    i worked at a huge theatre and we did reuse the popcorn. everynight we would scoop it into garbage bags and in the morning we would dump it back into the warming bins! i refuse to eat popcorn at movies now! soo dirty!

  • Hdawg

    Most of the things on this list are screaming “FACT CHECK ME!”

    Interviewing a couple of random employees isn’t how you gather information for any sort of article, nor are they reliable sources. And, based on the comments I’ve seen, many of the things on this list are FAR from universal. 

  • Mlhhoney

    None of this is “secret” information. Anyone who goes to the movies even semi-regularly (or can count) already knows this.

  • Mlhhoney

    Actually with the exception of the day old popcorn and managers not caring about complaints, most of it is true.  But most of the items you can notice yourself if you go to the movies regularly.

  • Mlhhoney

    Actually with the exception of the day old popcorn and managers not caring about complaints, most of it is true.  But most of the items you can notice yourself if you go to the movies regularly.

  • Jane

    When I was a kid growing up in Dayton Ohio we three kids would walk with our mother all the way downtown to the movies. At that time the price of admission was cheaper for kids under twelve years old. We had quite a choice of movie theatres since there were five at that time. My brother was the youngest  and one day mom got so mad because they wanted to charge adult admission for my brother who at that time was only ten. My mother corrected the ticket seller stating that he should be charged at the childs rate. The lady said it was because he was as big as a twelve year old. He wasn’t fat but he was probably large for his age. The manager came out and she told him his birth date but he sided with the ticket seller. Mom was a good Christian woman and would never cheat anyone and resented anyone cheating her. Money was tight for us and she budgeted wisely. We never went back to that theatre again. Do you think we were treated unfairly? I do.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6TMCWA2T5ZS7SD2GOJFLWYI5IA msntnkrbll

    hmmmm….so THAT’S why I don’t go to the movies anymore……just as I suspected…….I KNEW that popcorn was stale!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6TMCWA2T5ZS7SD2GOJFLWYI5IA msntnkrbll

    I feel your pain, girlfriend.  When I was a Disney Store castmember in the early nineties, I often got yelled at because “Snow White” was not available on VHS and at the time they had no plans to release it.  Like it was my fault.  And I also got a riot act once because the crowds at Disneyland were my fault, too.   The “General Public”….aaaacckkk, they’re the WORST!

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6TMCWA2T5ZS7SD2GOJFLWYI5IA msntnkrbll

    Perhaps they don’t mean theater owners put the chemicals in the popcorn themselves….it probably happens at the processing point, before it gets shipped to theaters. So even YOU won’t know about it!

  • guest

    Yes that’s unfair!  Would they charge a disabled person more because their chair is too big?  Would they charge a person with clinical dwarfism less because they are the size of a child?  Did they offer to refund the difference if your mother came back with the ticket stub and your brother’s birth certificate?  At the very least, they should have offered that, but I bet they didn’t. 

  • Anonymous

    Going to the movies is definitely too expensive! I remember they were $1 on Saturdays when I was a kid. Now tickets at the movie theater are $12.50 EACH. And at the Live Theatre, tickets are a whopping $38 each!

    It’s MUCH cheaper to rent a redbox video for $1 and watch it at home!

  • guest

    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.

  • Anonymous

    Popcorn-lovely GMO trash.
    I would mind paying the ridiculous price if it were Organic and popped with Coconut Oil

  • Anonymous

    Popcorn-lovely GMO trash.
    I would mind paying the ridiculous price if it were Organic and popped with Coconut Oil

  • Anonymous

    Popcorn-lovely GMO trash.
    I would mind paying the ridiculous price if it were Organic and popped with Coconut Oil

  • Anonymous

    Popcorn-lovely GMO trash.
    I would mind paying the ridiculous price if it were Organic and popped with Coconut Oil

  • Anonymous

    Popcorn-lovely GMO trash.
    I would mind paying the ridiculous price if it were Organic and popped with Coconut Oil

  • http://www.facebook.com/SpeedBagBible Alan Kahn

    Five things theater customers should tell you:  (at least this one..)

    1. Smile and be nice to us:  We paid exorbitantly for this experience
    2. The sound is way too loud in your theater.  You are just as responsible for hearing loss as loud music. Either turn it down or hand out hearing protection with your 3-D glasses. (ps: I’m the guy who is wearing ear plugs in your movie because I want to hear violins when I’m 80)
    3. Your food is too expensive, so my pockets and jacket are stuffed with my own goodies
    4.  We only go to theatres to see films that are panoramic and demand a big screen to get full effect. Silly, dimwitted situation comedies look just as good on a TV size screen and I’ll wait. Tell hollywood…)
    5. Follow Alamo theaters example and kick out people who will not TURN OFF their cell phones. The lights of phones while constant texting and checking messages has reached overload. Get technology that can automatically kill the phone signals. Enough already!

  • ariane

    If it’s a movie I know I want to see, it’s cheaper just to wait until it comes out on DVD. A year later most of them will be in the discount bin anyway.

  • isthisguyserious?

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

  • Nickoli002

    This is honestly one of the worse articles I have ever read in my entire life and I have NEVER commented on ANY article before online. Not only is almost everything presented in this article false, anything left is just poorly written conjecture. I have worked at a movie theater which is the exact opposite of this article in almost every way, and it was even a crappy movie theater, I can only imagine how much better the nice ones are. Whoever wrote this should be ashamed of their research and writing skills. I am now blocking this website so I will never again have to read such drivel.

  • Noch

    You’re right. Cinemas are just going to put themselves out of business. With movies being available on DVD much sooner after release than they used to, fewer people will bother with the overpriced tickets, overpriced food and people talking on their phones.

  • Noch

    Perhaps if you’d learned to paragraph and write in English at school you wouldn’t be working in a movie theatre. Seriously, reading what you wrote was painful.

  • Itsurbanninja

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

  • Vikster

    I love my movie Theater hot dogs – they are so good!! All beef and cooked to order :D And no, we NEVER keep our popcorn over night or “a day or two”. Almost all of these are completely ridiculous and stupid; most likely coming from a disgruntled employee. And I make it a point to go over and through the isles in my theaters to recheck under seats when I ush. I hate popcorn under the seats and will go out of my way to get that last popcorn kernel. This is a stupid article.

  • Vikster

    And you plan on KEEPING your job at the theater?

  • Cls8686

    I think i’m pretty lucky my local theatre is 6 bucks to get in for adults (4.50) for kids and popcorn a jumbo is like 3$

  • Rave18+IMAX

    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.

  • kevin

    That’s why I DOWNLOAD movies

  • Burgermeister

    Pretentious at all?  I worked in theaters throughout high school and some summers in college.  My coworkers were mostly bright, enthusiastic, and hard-working students.  If YOU found it painful perhaps you either need an eye exam or better comprehension skills.  Writing in the Queen’s English isn’t required to make communication successful.

  • Harris

    there are still cheap movie theaters, as long as you’re willing to wait for the second run

  • http://twitter.com/JennRJohnson Jenn Johnson

    The Palladium in Birmingham,Michigan sells movie tickets for $5.00/each until 6pm. AND the theater is absolutely beautiful and no I don’t work there.

  • Tomiboy217

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

  • Morgan McGirr

    I agree, I use Redbox like crazy. And lucky for me, there’s a dollar theatre nearby that plays movies like right when they’re out of the theatres. i dont bother seeing anything until i can see it for a dollar!

  • Destinygypsy

    Mmmmh! What about people having sex in movie theater?

  • jnoele

    A lady once refused to give me candy on Halloween because she said I was “too old to be trick or treating.”  I was 10! I was just tall for my age, she actually gave candy to all my friends who were older than me, just shorter. I also knew a mom that had to carry her son’s birth certificate around with her because he was so tall that other mom’s would complain at baseball and basketball games that he was too old for the team. Some people are just rude and yes, your family was treated unfairly, but I bet your brother likes being a big guy now!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Frank-Farber/100001243224754 Frank Farber

    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.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Frank-Farber/100001243224754 Frank Farber

    See above and before. The confusion is like turning a cinema theatre into a real estate office. It is greater to pay too see a cinema at a commercial theatre than sneak in. Money gets the world around. Studios then get around to get cinemas to the cinema theatres. Care there are no subliminal messages to eattoward what one is not paying during a cinema feature.

  • http://dukeofurl.myopenid.com/ Anthony

    Or, knowing how the economy is right now, even if you have a masters degree, you might be working in a movie theater.  Reading Noch’s ridiculous statement was painful.

  • http://dukeofurl.myopenid.com/ Anthony

    Airlines sometimes charge really large people for 2 seats aboard an airplane.  I think it’s fair.  It’s a safety issue for the people around them.

  • http://dukeofurl.myopenid.com/ Anthony

    Technology that blocks cell phones is simple, but big-time illegal.

  • Elaina

    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.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/David-Kitchen/10002487 David Kitchen

    are you really such a dimwit that you think someone is charged more for 2 seats because they are a safety issue?!? If anyone or anything is a “safety issue” to be/have on a plane, it’s not getting on the plane. Period. A larger person will be charged for two seats if THEY ARE USING TWO SEATS! DUH!

  • Dan

    You Suck

  • Zombie9874

    I used to work at a theater and can attest to all 13 being
    true, and add a few more. You can often time’s get free passes by taking the
    time to complain to a manager about things like. 1. A dirty print, in a non
    digital theater the film print becomes dirty over time. If your seeing spots
    appear from time to time or what looks like a pubic hair moving around then
    it’s time to complain. But do it after the movie has ended. 2. You can also
    complain if it was too hot or too cold. If the sound quality was bad. Or too
    loud or too soft. They want you happy so you will come back and the easiest way
    to do this is with free passes which cost them next to nothing. 3. If you are
    going to a major chain such as AMC, Cinemark or Regal theaters join they’re
    Movie watcher club, it’s free and you can build points for free drinks, popcorn
    and movies.

  • Kondo214216

    That was really stupid fat-boy burger…actually, you’re an idiot. Noch made a perfectly valad point & you ruined it with your negative words. The guy can’t write Burger boy. He’s probally a fine example of what comes out of the public school system.

  • Nyourdreamz

    If you are still reading then you are an unemployed loser or moron…

  • Nyourdreamz

    If you are still reading then you are an unemployed loser or moron…

  • Meridithmfa

    You just might be a tad judgmental here, as I am an employed former theatre employee and an avid moviegoer. My local second-run theatre, the Culver Plaza, near Los Angeles, CA, is awesome and I will never stop going to movie theatres despite DVDs, etc. Further, I do not care if all the above is true. It’s not bad enough to discourage my attendance.

  • Ronaldlarson

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

  • Karen

    What’s a valad point? I would probally know that since I went to a public school. I guess I went to a bad one since I like to make valid points and I probably understand that the red squiggle under the words I type means that they are spelled wrong. That was just too awesome to resist.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Darrell-King/100002730153225 Darrell King

    I love the thirteen things about theater employees–I have to admit, I do love going to movies once-in-a-while.  “The Help” (my most recently seen movie) is an awesome movie–yes, I know, i could have waited until it came out on DVD.  It was great seeing it with my family on Thanksgiving Day, however, and it really opened my eyes to injustices done to Afro-Americans!  The gal who decides to go against age-old traditions played her part well–It is one of the few movies I have ever cried in (Yes, it is ok for guys to cry!).  Anyway, I never buy concessions at theaters, and I do agree that many theaters r not very well kept.  However, lets not just put the blame on theater employees (or managers)–Some people just need to either be less messy or clean up after themselves–Same goes for people in stadiums, churches, or any other public places (I KNOW-that is a subject for another day!)!  I also think that we Americans need to spend less time in theaters and more time “doing good” and “making something of ourselves”!  If we spend less time in theaters, parents and kids (if not together) will know what is happening, when it happens, and nobody will have to blame somebody for not taking care of his or her child, or, worse, sue somebody for neglect.  Then, the world would be a better place, and we wouldn’t need to worry about having public theaters!  We would all be so rich (because of fewer lawsuits, more educated children and adults, and less potential for accidents or crimes–because of fewer people driving to and from theaters or loitering around them), we could have our own home theaters, their would be more family and friend togetherness, and–did I mention?–the world would be a better place!!  I rest my case:)

  • http://www.buymedicalequipment.net Padraig

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

  • The McPhersons

    God bless the Dollar Store that’s in the same strip mall as the multi-theater. They rock.

  • Epowell

    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.

  • Anonymous

    and also dangerous.

  • Anonymous

    Wow, over-react a little more! They said a safety issue for THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM which it is, as the person cannot oftentimes even fasten their seatbelt. There was a recent story of a man having to stand for his entire flight because the man next to him took up most of his seat.

  • Joe

    no one forced you into reading it in the first place

  • Markscooterrider

    go to the dollar movies,a lot of times they are new movies.But,you are right its to expensive.

  • melissa

    actually, its the most expensive item out of all concessions!

  • melissa

    actually, its the most expensive item out of all concessions!

  • Calgurll

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

  • Extreme but sensible

    I love you Alan Kahn!  But don’t kill cell phones.  Doctors, parents and others w/legitimate emergency phone needs have to have them.

  • Priscillasena

    hmmm define overpriced concessions. $4 for a tiny bag of skittles…

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=500091816 Todd Rovinelli

    Ok this had me LMAO!!!!  No S*** people.  Why are you ordering a pizza at a movie theater.

  • http://profiles.google.com/09silver David Silva

    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.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    I haven’t gone to a theater in over 10 years since they are noisy, stinky, costly, and FOLLYWOOD hasn’t made a movie in years that is worth my time going to a theater. At least watching FOOLYWOOD movies at home on my big screen monitor, I can change channels once I realize they aren’t worth my time – and most aren’t worth my time. Theaters don’t give you your money back once you realize the “product” isn’t worth the money.

  • Hans

    And aren’t most of these lefty FOLLYWOOD freaks the first to tell you to stop wars, violence, killings, …. yet they promote war, violence, killings, in graphic displays in their pointless movies.

  • Hans

    And aren’t most of these lefty FOLLYWOOD freaks the first to tell you to stop wars, violence, killings, …. yet they promote war, violence, killings, in graphic displays in their pointless movies.

  • Hans

    And aren’t most of these lefty FOLLYWOOD freaks the first to tell you to stop wars, violence, killings, …. yet they promote war, violence, killings, in graphic displays in their pointless movies.

  • Arscott581

    BUT THE COST is OUTRAGOUS

  • Arscott581

    BUT THE COST is OUTRAGOUS

  • Arscott581

    BUT THE COST is OUTRAGOUS

  • Arscott581

    BUT THE COST is OUTRAGOUS

  • Wshaw859

    And the popcorn is over-salted in order to make you thirsty for the expensive sodas.

  • Wshaw859

    And the popcorn is over-salted in order to make you thirsty for the expensive sodas.

  • joshuathirteen

    everything you sell is a chemical. Everything is made of chemicals. Some are created by nature, some by people. Either kind can be good, bad or indifferent.

  • joshuathirteen

    everything you sell is a chemical. Everything is made of chemicals. Some are created by nature, some by people. Either kind can be good, bad or indifferent.

  • http://sharq-bait.blogspot.com/ Shar Qaan

    The business/profit model for American cinema is outdated; Hollywood just doesn’t seem to care about anything except selling more 3D tickets.  With Netflix, Redbox, and bootleg well on the rise, the movie-viewing populace has sundry choices to paying upwards of $10 for a prime-time cinema experience.  All the while, concessions prices seem out of touch with a stagnant economy.

  • Wonder Jam

    I can’t enjoy the movie without watching the previews. I go early just for that.

  • rmewfy

    This is why I have what my family calls the “movie purse”
    Oddly, it always comes in way larger then it is when we leave.  Though we haven’t even made it to a move since last summer.

  • Alice

    I don’t go to movies often anymore because the theaters are always cold.  It doesn’t matter if it’s winter or summer -  I can’t stay warm even with my winter coat on!  I recently wrote to my local movie theater to ask why it was so cold.  I was told that it was always set at 70 degrees, but that’s really not possible when I’ve got three layers on and I’m still cold.

  • Txscrappy56

    this is one messed up page.  have to back and back and reload the page and click next it goes back to #1.

  • Txscrappy56

    this is one messed up page.  have to back and back and reload the page and click next it goes back to #1.

  • Rockedup18

    So pretty much theaters take us for idiots and suckers…. hmm good luck with that and the internet hollywood.

  • Rockedup18

    So pretty much theaters take us for idiots and suckers…. hmm good luck with that and the internet hollywood.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1037697295 Justin Hamaker

    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.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1037697295 Justin Hamaker

    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.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1037697295 Justin Hamaker

    Actually, if you can’t use your own experience and common sense to see that most of these are false or exaggerations, than you are showing yourself to be an idiot.

  • Anonymous

    Fior the first two weeks, Hollywod takes 95% of the ticket sales. After two weeks it drops significantly. If you want to help theaters, wait until the movie has been out two weeks.

    We already know that popcorn and drinks are overpriced. Drinks are also overpriced in restaurants, to help them cover for cheaper food prices. It all evens out in the end. The hotdogs taste amazing. Not sure how they do it. The pretzels always suck and take about 5 minutes to microwave.

  • Guest

    I hate slideshows

  • http://profiles.google.com/pcwag33 Pete Wagner

    Who pays to see movies anymore?

  • Beans

    I went to a matinee with a middle schooler and two high schoolers the other day. We bought two (small) drinks, two (small) popcorns and the total for the outing came to nearly $65. RIDICULOUS. Sorry, movie industry: until you improve the quality of product (e.g., make movies worthy to be seen on the big screen) I’ll stay home and spend less than $10 for pay-per-view, my own (freshly made) popcorn, and drinks. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_CW4H6SLD67KV5N2T6E42T36F5U Scrumble

    How can this be right? How many movies run in the same theatre for two months?

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OVRHZW667LXIYONY773RHE2Y2M MQBitsko

    “Chemicals in the popcorn….”  LOL!  What a load of crap.  

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OVRHZW667LXIYONY773RHE2Y2M MQBitsko

     I can compose a message using the Queen’s English.  Both you and Noch are pretentious. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OVRHZW667LXIYONY773RHE2Y2M MQBitsko

     I can compose a message using the Queen’s English.  Both you and Noch are pretentious. 

  • pass

    Seriously!  You have to put it on fourteen pages??!

  • Usher

    I worked in a theater.  That’s when I realized how dumb most of the public is.  I was asked what time the midnight movie started, and how much it cost on dollar night, by people who were NOT joking.  We put a clock in the box office to avoid constant questions about the time, and people would ask “if the clock is right.” A man came roaring out of a PG-rated film ranting about the bad language.  He thought PG meant “pretty good.”  

    Another woman screamed at me for lying about having matinees.  The theater across town charged a lower price for their matinees, and she insisted that the word “matinee” means a movie with a lower admission fee.

     Seating was not reserved, but a large party of adult moviegoers pitched an obscenity-laced fit because the party of teenagers (who, in contrast to the adults, were extremely civilized) wouldn’t get up and let them have their row of seats.

    Parents tried to use us as free babysitters. They’d drop the kids off for the first movie, expecting them to watch the movie over and over until they got off work. It got so bad in the summer that we started clearing the theater after each showing, and told kids who protested that they needed to call their parents. Mom and Dad would rant at us when they picked them up.  Sorry, you only bought ONE ticket.

    People would show up thirty minutes into a showing and expect to be let in free “because we’ve missed part of the movie.”  No, sir.  I’m sorry. Would you like a ticket to the next showing?

  • Usher

    I worked in a theater.  That’s when I realized how dumb most of the public is.  I was asked what time the midnight movie started, and how much it cost on dollar night, by people who were NOT joking.  We put a clock in the box office to avoid constant questions about the time, and people would ask “if the clock is right.” A man came roaring out of a PG-rated film ranting about the bad language.  He thought PG meant “pretty good.”  

    Another woman screamed at me for lying about having matinees.  The theater across town charged a lower price for their matinees, and she insisted that the word “matinee” means a movie with a lower admission fee.

     Seating was not reserved, but a large party of adult moviegoers pitched an obscenity-laced fit because the party of teenagers (who, in contrast to the adults, were extremely civilized) wouldn’t get up and let them have their row of seats.

    Parents tried to use us as free babysitters. They’d drop the kids off for the first movie, expecting them to watch the movie over and over until they got off work. It got so bad in the summer that we started clearing the theater after each showing, and told kids who protested that they needed to call their parents. Mom and Dad would rant at us when they picked them up.  Sorry, you only bought ONE ticket.

    People would show up thirty minutes into a showing and expect to be let in free “because we’ve missed part of the movie.”  No, sir.  I’m sorry. Would you like a ticket to the next showing?

  • guest

    Absolutely 100% not true. I design cinemas for a living, “Extreme Digital” or any of the private label large format auditoriums are often of a higher quality than IMAX, and have the ability to play far more titles.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/IROXPKTJDNAJVQY5TS4IT7WXVU AlexE

    Worked at a theatre for four years; told my customers all of these points at least once.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/IROXPKTJDNAJVQY5TS4IT7WXVU AlexE

    But seriously, some of this stuff is way off. Nobody cares about Readers Digest anyways, and it’s probably because of bogus articles like this. RD isn’t even a has-been, it’s a never-was.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IK7WHI22K4ABZXEO4HNVLDJRZU hunter

    feed them to the families of the workers and watch and laugh your butts of

  • Shirley Washer

    It’s just so much easier to stay home where the atmosphere, movie viewing, and food is SO much better.  No wear and tear on the car and no getting all dressed up to sit in the dark and get all stiff in the joints!  I know many people still love to go, but for the spoiled and lazy, home is just better!

  • Anonymous

    I’ll do you one better, with a little patience, I can borrow them from my library for free :)

  • Anonymous

    I’ll do you one better, with a little patience, I can borrow them from my library for free :)

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/GKZ7MF2ZWPAPJX67YXIIJTBVQE Art

    I’m curious to what chemicals you’re referring since where I work we either coconut or canola oil, popcorn, and salt nothing else and real butter on top. Before you make a blanket statement maybe you should state what chemicals to which you are referring.  Microwave popcorn has plenty of cancer causing chemicals that have only been recently removed. Our popcorn comes in 35 lb bags and lists no chemical additives. Our popcorn makes the news and cities list of number one popcorn consistently. We have done it the same for the 20+ years I’ve been there. Please clarify your remarks.

  • Leah Rose11119

    LOL! Thats pretty funny. I used to work at a movie theater years ago and most of this stuff is true!

  • Leo

    I have not been to the movies in 10 years and will never again it is easier to get satelite and order from the house and it will cost less than going to the movies by a large amount. My popcorn cast almost nothing and my drinks come from Walmart save your money and enjoy the movie at home.

  • Leo

    I have not been to the movies in 10 years and will never again it is easier to get satelite and order from the house and it will cost less than going to the movies by a large amount. My popcorn cast almost nothing and my drinks come from Walmart save your money and enjoy the movie at home.

  • Leo

    I have not been to the movies in 10 years and will never again it is easier to get satelite and order from the house and it will cost less than going to the movies by a large amount. My popcorn cast almost nothing and my drinks come from Walmart save your money and enjoy the movie at home.

  • Leo

    I have not been to the movies in 10 years and will never again it is easier to get satelite and order from the house and it will cost less than going to the movies by a large amount. My popcorn cast almost nothing and my drinks come from Walmart save your money and enjoy the movie at home.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/CA7IVFFN46LOUIEEQ7TZ5U7EHQ DWD808

    All you people are just not sociable, complaining about the cost. Stay home and never enjoy being out. That’s a life you can keep and that I will never be a part of, I have kids that love going to the Movies and if it cost me a $100.00 to have that precious moment with them, that’s a small price to pay. 

  • DaChiesa

    hehe yeah they are overpriced. spielberg joked one time that if you make Harry Potter you make a billion dollars. I don’t see any need to put more money in their pockets, but that’s just me

  • Unknown

    Something else to think about is that theaters are actually forced to charge so high for the concession items. That is they pay their employees. As for the tickets price, 92% of that goes back to the production company, meaning on a $10 ticket, $9.20 of that goes back to Paramount, Fox, etc., the theater only gets 80 cents of it. If it wasn’t for the production companies demanding such high fees, the concession products would be much cheaper. Where it gets out of hand is theater companies like Regal raising ticket prices over what is necessary just to try and milk it more.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/MOMQH4BLWAS62HRYAYDIK3GM64 Adam

    A little bit over sci-fi.  Chemicals, chemicals.  Whatever you think you’re putting in something, some scents just lift and spread anyway.  Maybe you’ve given it a slight edge–to the butter I’m sure.  My mom must have done that to her dinners growing up–or else how else did our whole house smell like food???  Likewise, hot dogs are hot dogs.  If they’re good, they’re good.  Ff.  ::

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/MOMQH4BLWAS62HRYAYDIK3GM64 Adam

    A little bit over sci-fi.  Chemicals, chemicals.  Whatever you think you’re putting in something, some scents just lift and spread anyway.  Maybe you’ve given it a slight edge–to the butter I’m sure.  My mom must have done that to her dinners growing up–or else how else did our whole house smell like food???  Likewise, hot dogs are hot dogs.  If they’re good, they’re good.  Ff.  ::

  • guest

    Most of these are completely wrong.  No theater(at least none I’ve worked) keeps popcorn around for a day or two.  It goes stale after a few hours.  And there aren’t added chemicals to make the popcorn smell better.  Also, start times are when the movie previews begin, and nearly always start on time.  There is usually only one projector, and missing the start time on one movie could ruin the start times for all the movies the rest of the day.  Obviously, if we know the end time, then we know the start time.  
    And ushers have more than enough time to sweep a theater, they don’t just hide it under chairs, or they would not be working there. 

  • F6d6o6f6

    Popcorn cost’s almost nothing to make? Let see, are the kernals almost free, the electricity almost free, the oil, almost free, the labor to make it, serve it and ring up the sale on the register almost free? I am not saying that it inn’t over priced, but almost free is ignorant of any business sense.

  • friend

    I worked a movie house in the 80s.  Ushers reuse tickets and pocket the cash from the second selling.  Popcorn cups in good condition were reused and that cash was also pocketed.

  • Anonymous

    It is not even CLOSE to month or TWO of release that the theaters get nothing. It falls from the very first week, though for the first 4 weeks or so it is still very much in the studio’s favor. But by the end of the second month, it is close to 50-50

  • Anonymous

    It is not even CLOSE to month or TWO of release that the theaters get nothing. It falls from the very first week, though for the first 4 weeks or so it is still very much in the studio’s favor. But by the end of the second month, it is close to 50-50

  • Dave

    I call BS on the popcorn thing.  Popcorn naturally fills the room with that smell.  The CONSTANT popping on new batches is going to only fill it more.  A well used popcorn machine will make a room smell like popcorn even if it’s not even being used.

  • 20NileChile12

    …”Thinking Is FREE”….I Take My Movie List To The Library & Wait For Them To Call Me When They Arrive…

  • CGafga;lmvjiankcn/

    booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo lol

  • CGafga;lmvjiankcn/

    booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo lol

  • CGafga;lmvjiankcn/

    booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo lol

  • Sooner

    #6 is a horrible statement. At no time should any manager YELL at an employee in front of ANYONE. Have a little respect, mistakes happen.

  • Anonymous

    Justin you are being overly sensitive since you know the secret is out. I know, I worked at a movie theater in high school. Yes it was a long time ago but these things are true. I saw it all from day old popcorn being bagged and reused, hot dogs that should have never been put on the spindles etc. the house isn’t always thoroughly cleaned because there isn’t enough time. And sorry to say the concessions “are” overpriced in comparison to anywhere else, not just at home. Look at the candy, much cheaper to buy at the grocery store.
    But I do feel the concessions are justified due to the ticket structure so I’m not taking the side that it is wrong. Sport stadiums and other events do the same things.
    As for the complaints, I’m sure this varies on a case by case basis but in a public arena the job is to keep the public calm.

  • John

    Pretty dumb article.  Most of this is obvious, patently false or no big deal.  Next, it will be “Crazy, shocking secret #14:  Ticket prices keep going up, which is why movie sales keep breaking records even though fewer and fewer people go to the movies each year.”  What???  Really??? Scandalous!!!

  • John

    Pretty dumb article.  Most of this is obvious, patently false or no big deal.  Next, it will be “Crazy, shocking secret #14:  Ticket prices keep going up, which is why movie sales keep breaking records even though fewer and fewer people go to the movies each year.”  What???  Really??? Scandalous!!!

  • John

    Pretty dumb article.  Most of this is obvious, patently false or no big deal.  Next, it will be “Crazy, shocking secret #14:  Ticket prices keep going up, which is why movie sales keep breaking records even though fewer and fewer people go to the movies each year.”  What???  Really??? Scandalous!!!

  • Cortezusbaldo

    Mada?&$@!$

  • Anonymous

    Most of these “hidden” comments are already known by people so it’s really no big surprise.
    Any who thinks otherwise is just fooling themselves!

  • Anonymous

    Movie and media companies are going after people for downloading movies because that’s the “cheapest” method of seeing a movie.

    I’m willing to fork over the money to see a “good” movie but most movies nowadays are just cr#p! I’d pay for the bargain matinee show even though most are about $8-10 now. OUCH!

    Movie companies are really killing themselves by paying the overpriced salaries of actors/actresses and high advertisements then charging people high prices to see the movies just to recoup their costs!

    It’s no wonder that people aren’t watching much movies (legally) anymore!

    I don’t buy movies anymore.
    The VHS tapes I still have will eventually rot and disposed of or be donated to a local library. Cable channels ofter replay older movies repeatedly so why buy movie DVDs anymore?

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/KEVOIZNZGQHHRG5EXGJJVZETWI Leslie

    You forgot the biggest “I won’t tell”   The “butter” on the popcorn isn’t butter and you wouldn’t want to see it before it’s melted….It looks like lard when it arrives in buckets.  

  • Queef Latina

    Goodness me~! The photo accompanying #6 just may be the most irritating thing I’ve encountered on the internet. You just know he’s a Kevin.

  • Jirala1

    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. :)

  • Jirala1

    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. :)

  • Jirala1

    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. :)

  • Decaprise45

    As a movie theater manager, all but the last one is correct.  Well, technically it is correct, too, but we never kept day old popcorn.  Always made more.  But that is a very accurate list indeed.

  • Chancesandiego

    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.

  • Chancesandiego

    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.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504971637 Dawn Blömker

    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?).

  • Denise Shelton

    I have a friend who used to work in a movie theater in high school. In those days, the popcorn cup inventory was how they knew how much money was taken in, so some of my friend’s enterprising co-workers figured out that they could put dirty cups on the stack, pocket the money equal to that number of orders, and still have their cash drawer balance. Ewwwwww!!!

  • PennyBeGood

    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. 

  • Bennett

    First the movie theaters said 12 and over pay adult prices, while 13 and over pay children’s prices. Then in 1968, the MPAA ratings were started: G, PG (M then GP then PG), R and NC-17 (X then NC-17). PG-13 was added in 1984 after the release of Gremlins. R says no one under 17 admitted without parent or guardian. Since 1968, the 13-to-16 years old are informed they are old enough to pay adult prices, but, are not old enough to see an R rated movie without a parent or guardian, In other words; since 1968 they are selling two adult tickets instead of one for the R rated movie to the 13-to-16 year old. Since movie theaters make most of their money from the snack bar, why don’t they say 17 and above pay adult prices, while 16 and under pay children’s prices. Thank goodness for HD TV and Blu-ray/DVD players. I do not like the double standard treatment of the 13-to-16 year old and the R rated movie that has been going on since 1968 and will probably continue well into the forseeable future. Movies are getting too expensive with 3D, IMAX/IWERKS and 48/60 frames per second films.  The cost of paying two adult tickets to take a 13-to-16 year old to see a quality R rated movie is absurd.

  • Tess

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

  • Kenbugel

    maybe we can find something to filter thru are houses to make it smell better and heip our attitudes

  • 123

    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.

  • r. n. simons

         When i was 10 yrs old i could go to the movie and watch a double feature movie, news reel and cartoons plus popcorn , coke and admission for 9 cents, and stay all day if i wanted, but my parents made less than a dollar a hour at work . So i would find coke bottles. I  could get 1 cent for 3 of them..P S i also could watch the mice and rats run across the stage for FREE ,but also had to watch for mouse droppings in the popcorn,

  • Filmfan

    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!

  • http://twitter.com/Furiousfemale Jasmine M

     When my husband and I get the occasional date night I put my phone on silent mode just in case the sitter calls about our children. 

  • Jack Spratterino

    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  

  • Jack Spratterino

    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  

  • Cb449

    what’s “a Kevin” ?

  • Cb449

    Haven’t been to a movie house for 4-5 years.  filthy seats, overpriced, rude/loud people.  Ya’ll can have it.

    I do miss the drive-in though.

  • Hunterkylee

    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.

  • Cutecrissyisfun

    My Brother works at a movie theatre and He didn’t know about this stuff. And He almost never has to stop people from sneaking in (not a whole lot of people do.)

  • Gbgentleman

     My complaints about the expense is not against the theater but the theater is the only place I can withhold my dollars (hence protest the expense).  I REFUSE to pay $10,$12,$15 per ticket when, if I wait a few months, I can rent it for $1 and eat my own popcorn. 

  • Gbgentleman

    As for Combos cost the same, if the typical american would LEARN to add, they could figure that out for themselves.  Even if it does save you money it might not be.  If a large soda costs $5 and a large popcorn $6 but you can buy the two together for $10.50, yes you saved $.50 but what if a medium drink costs $4 and that would be plenty….now that combo just costs you $.50 more than you could have spent.

  • Anonymous

    Movie popcorn smell nauseates me.  I can’t sit anywhere near anyone who is eating it.  Smells no more like BUTTER than skunk.  Truly obnoxious.

  • Anonymous

    Movie popcorn smell nauseates me.  I can’t sit anywhere near anyone who is eating it.  Smells no more like BUTTER than skunk.  Truly obnoxious.

  • Anonymous

    Also, (where did my popcorn story go?) I always sit in the last row of the theater at the top because people put their filthy shoes on the seats in front of them and up there — no one sits behind you.

  • Anonymous

    Also, (where did my popcorn story go?) I always sit in the last row of the theater at the top because people put their filthy shoes on the seats in front of them and up there — no one sits behind you.

  • Anonymous

    I’ll repeat my popcorn comment — can’t see it here.  I cannot sit near anyone who eats that stuff.  Smells good?  Gag.  Butter never smelled like that.  It makes me nauseous and I have to hold my nose as I pass the concession counter.  Everything in the “butter” is chemicals.  People were sickened who worked in the factory that made that stuff.  Look it up on the Internet.

  • Anonymous

    I’ll repeat my popcorn comment — can’t see it here.  I cannot sit near anyone who eats that stuff.  Smells good?  Gag.  Butter never smelled like that.  It makes me nauseous and I have to hold my nose as I pass the concession counter.  Everything in the “butter” is chemicals.  People were sickened who worked in the factory that made that stuff.  Look it up on the Internet.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Connie-Tea/100003161829890 Connie Tea

    I wouldn’t leave the gas chamber to go to a movie.

  • Spencerdad

    To the persons authorizing print of false information,I am addressing the article entitled “13 things a movie theater employee won’t tell you”. Of the 13 things, only one point can be considered a truth. So that leaves 12 false statements about movie theaters. I am proving Ms. Strauss wrong on all points minus 1 which is relative anyway. I have the right to argue this with you because I am an independent theater owner and would like to provide you with the truth.  I’ll give you one truth and that is the concession pricing being inflated. This point has been beaten to death and everyone knows it. Does it really matter to the throngs of people that are in line to purchase these items? Obviously not. They are there to buy snacks and drinks and don’t mind paying for them. If they didn’t want to pay for them they wouldn’t. It really is that simple. I would like you to provide me with information leading me to ANY retail food establishment that had no inflated pricing on their food drinks and candy. I’d also like you to pay for it as well.2. The popcorn has chemicals? Seriously? Have you looked at the ingredients to 99% of American food lately?  The FDA has allowed the addition of these chemicals to everything since 1946. There is nothing to purchase that doesn’t have chemicals other than organic food which I believe is far better. I’d like you to take me to any restaurant or fast food establishment that doesn’t use chemicals in their foods. Please let me know when you find one, I’d like you to put it directly into my hands so I’ll believe you. Our popcorn at our theater is made with Flavacol salt and coconut oil bars and 100% American grown corn. I’ve never had anyone complain of illness from my popcorn. And it smells good because of the butter and salt being cooked in our Cretor’s popcorn kettle that was made in 1948. Ms. Strauss lied about me putting chemicals into my popcorn. My attorney agrees.3. Extreme digital. On a technical level this actually makes no sense. There are two main platforms in which to present a film. 35mm which is film, and digital. Digital is digital and thats all. Extreme digital is not lower quality. There is 2k digital and 4k digital files. At its basics this is just pixel amounts with 4k providing more pixels and ultimately a clearer picture. IMAX is only a larger screen, but presented in digital format usually being 2k. People who love movies can tell the difference between 35mm, digital, and IMAX. We run the best 4k projector available and anyone can tell the difference between this and 35mm. Ms. Strauss says that the quality of extreme digital is lower than IMAX makes entirely no sense. IMAX is only a larger presentation of the same digital file. Another false statement.4. Ms. Strauss says that we don’t care about people sneaking into a movie without paying. As a business owner, I care very much about people trying to cheat me out of money. I would like you to put me in touch with ANY business owner who is trying to make a living with their business and does NOT care about someone stealing from them. 5. Ms. Strauss doesn’t trust hot dogs, pretzels, or nachos. If Ms. Strauss has ever been to a grocery store to purchase any of these foods then she has purchased the exact same food we provide. How can she eat anywhere with not trusting anything? Our hotdogs are wrapped and refrigerated and heated at required temperatures. We use fresh yellow corn chips and Gehl’s cheese for our nachos. We add cheese to our nachos when they are ordered, not hours or days before. Our pretzels are purchased from our local grocery and arrive frozen. We also store them frozen until they are ordered. This way they are not stale or old when they are served. Has Ms. Strauss ever eaten anything that was frozen before she ordered it? She also says that she trusts the popcorn drinks and boxed candy. Didn’t she just say that the popcorn has chemicals in it? Why would she trust “chemically altered” popcorn over chips that are bagged from grocery store. How can she be sure that the boxed candy doesn’t have some awful ingredient in it worse than pretzels? Have you ever looked up palm kernel oil? Check it out. The same goes for cokes that come in a bag from a distributor. How do we know what’s in these? Ever checked into Aspartame that is put into these diet drinks? Check it out too. She just proved how well thought out her article is.6. Ms. Strauss says that a manager will put on a show to side with a patron when they complain about something. This to me sounds as though it was just an added story in the article to boost up the point levels. But I will address it like the others. This point is skewed quite a lot and attempts to make ALL theater managers look like puppets. As a manager, I will address any problems encountered with our patrons directly and fairly. Honestly, 9 times out of 10 the patron is asking or demanding a product or service that we do not provide. We strive to provide every conceivable option and product specifically for theater goers. Our staff is trained and fully capable of providing the best customer service and 99% of the time patrons are thankful for that. Very rarely does anything happen where a manager needs to get involved other than just to answer questions. Never has there been a need to yell at my employees in front of a customer or even yell at them at all. I don’t have the time to play mind games with the customer. Someone behind them needs a refill of our delicious popcorn.7. Small popcorns were once medium sized. This is a mute point. Any business can change portions of what they serve at any time. However, with movie theaters ordering bags and tubs on a consistent and regular basis, I seriously doubt they would go out of their way to change advertising, train employees and restock their supplies just to be sure that you consumed 100 more calories of popcorn. It is ultimately up to the consumer to ask how many ounces of popcorn is in a small medium or large popcorn. Get a kids pack if you are watching calories. 8. While we don’t serve pizza at our theater, I can argue this point along the same lines as the last subject on popcorn size. Again, it is up to the patron to decide if they’d like to wait a few minutes on their pizza to cook. Aside from a few dine in movie theaters, pizza will have to be heated anywhere and this is common knowledge and again not limited to just movie theaters.9. Extra cups? Is this a serious problem to the buying public? I’ve never been about to go to the movies and then decide not to because they won’t give me an extra cup. Occasionally we have a patron that wants an extra cup and I happily give them one. What they do with it is up to them. I have not lost any money on extra product going into that cup. Some theaters give you such a large cup that it is almost necessary to have another cup to carry it all to your seat. Our theater’s large cup is 32 oz with a free refill. If you drink 64 oz. of soda in an hour and half then you have a severe problem and don’t need to worry about the extra cup anyways. 10. Everything is swept under the chairs. I actually do not approve of this at all. This comes down to management not monitoring their staff. Our floor is swept and mopped EVERY night. Our floors are not the typical sticky floors you might find in other theaters. Inevitably there will be something underneath a theater chair, but have you looked under the booth at your local eating establishment lately? Why is this directed only at movie theater and ALL of them for that matter? You can ask anybody that has ever been to our theater and they’ll tell you how remarkably clean it is.11. The movie starts late but ends on time so that you are forced to watch previews. Is this such a bad thing? To see what movies are coming out soon? It’s called advertising. I’d like you to show me anywhere in the world where there is a retail business that has zero advertising. Yes, sometimes our movies start late, maybe ten minutes at the most, but I don’t do that so that my employees know when to go in and clean. This makes no sense at all. Are you saying that my employees cannot see people coming out of a theater door? What does your statement “But they almost always end on time – otherwise, the ushers wouldn’t know when to clean up” actually mean?    I’d like for you to explain this where an educated and rational person could understand it please.I want you to actually look at your remarks and see how slanderous they are. Especially the food based ones. These statements are false and need to be retracted. Saying that chemicals are added to my popcorn is completely false and almost warrant a lawsuit for slander. Is Ms. Strauss angry at movie theaters? Why is this directed at movie theaters? I would like to add that all theaters are not created equal. Ours is a pristine jewel of a theater and is completely independent of big chain theaters. If Ms. Strauss would like to change her idea of theaters, she needs to change her venue. Don’t group all theaters together, we are all unique in our own ways. I invite you to our theater and let us change your mind. Best Regards,Shane SpencerPalace TheatreCanadian, TX

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ivan-Rice/100000182791547 Ivan Rice

    I can’t stand a theater… Tickets are sky high, food and drinks are 10 times or more overpriced, and there is always one loudmouth yakking on a cell phone.

    I rent a movie and watch it at home on our 65″ HDTV. With Blu-Ray, the picture is as good or better than the theater, and ours has a 1,200w surround sound set-up…
    Movie theaters are just postponing the inevitable.. they are a doomed business.

  • Smoulder73

    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.

  • Smoulder73

     #10 is very true. I work at a movie theater and we cannot give out cups because they are inventory. Most people don’t believe that for some reason. After I tell them, “No, I cannot give you another cup because we count them,” the customer still looks confused and sometimes asks again for another cup.

  • theatreworker

      Most of these are very true. #1 I do not agree with. We use Orville
    Redenbacher popping corn, 100% canola oil and popcorn salt to make our
    popcorn. Anything that you cook gives off some kind of smell, it doesn’t
    need to have chemicals. #2 I cannot comment on because I have never even heard of “Extreme Digital”. #3
    is EXTREMELY TRUE. We make next to nothing on ticket sales and when our
    customers complain about prices we tell them it’s because of the movie
    companies spending so much to make the movies. #4 I do indeed know every
    way that you could possibly sneak into a movie, HOWEVER we will
    probably kick you out (depends on how we’re feeling that day). #5 We are
    very sanitary at this theater (although all of them should be as we are
    inspected) I would (and have) eaten anything that I would sell to a
    customer. #6 They hit the nail on the head… enough said. #7 We do have
    combo deals that are not really deals (in fact, one labor day the
    manager put up signs for a “double dog” combo special for that day when
    we have that combo available 365 days a year). We do have real deals as
    well and we will tell you if there is a cheaper route. We know the
    prices are ridiculous so we do try to help our customers if we can. #8
    We’ve never changed our sizes so… #9 If it is busy and we sell out of
    ready to go pretzel bites, we immediately put on more but we cannot
    always help the wait so we ask if you are willing to wait. Most people
    aren’t but I couldn’t care less, I have other things to worry about. #10
    A small soda doesn’t cost 4.75; a small soda in cup does though. We
    count cups, bags, plastic trays, and candy so no, you cannot have an
    extra but I will gladly give you a tray or courtesy cup. #11 Although we
    do not always get EVERYTHING, we clean the theaters as best we can. We
    wouldn’t have to take so much time to do it though if you would throw
    out your own trash instead of leaving it for us :). #12 We have
    approximately 7-9 minutes of previews before the show really starts. Our
    start times are the start of the previews. And ushers need to know when
    movies let out so they know which theaters can begin seating. #13 We
    NEVER keep popcorn at the end of the night. We have heard tales that
    other theaters do this but we make it fresh everyday. I think there
    should be a #14; We hate it when you put your feet up on the seats in
    front of you… it breaks a $100 seat that you only paid $15 to sit in.
    And a #15 If you manage to sneak in your own contraband food, throw the trash away; that’s just rude.

  • Texas Mama

    As the mom of an EX movie theater employee there are these stories and so many more.  I noticed this article didn’t touch on the rats that run throughout the theaters. (while the movies are playing)  My son worked at one of the busiest (and supposedly nicest) theaters in the DFW area.  

  • JOHN RABAS

    I read a few comments about it being too expensive. I agree when I was young I used to go to the saturday afternoon  movie every weekend without fail. But it only  cost 25 cents to see a movie sometimes it was increased to 35 cents for some special movies but it was a  bargain and a way of life. Now its over $7.00 + and its hard to enjoy a movie with crying babies people talking sticky floors and dont forget the evil smells when its crowded in the summertime bad breath body odor foot odor. poor air conditioning and heating I would rather buy some snacks and watch  something on TV. In the clean quiet and comfort of home.  Of course now I have lung cancer and cant be trapped in a building with people that might make me sick

  • Ralphy77

    Those were rather good. 

  • Professorpoopy

    why would a movie theate EMPLOYEE not tell these things. In fact I am one and have.

  • Janmichaelcorey

    I’m a senior and get in Harkins theaters for 6.50, I bought their tee shirt and get free popcorn for a year, I bought their special cup and get a drink for a dollar. I go offen and it cost me 7.50 for the total package, a great deal.

  • Sealey

    I prefer watching movies at home where I don’t have to sit through commercials and previews and people talking.

  • Anonymous

    Unfortunately, some of the other things they won’t tell you are 1) shut the hell up;  2) turn that cell phone off;  3) take that screaming baby out to the lobby.  I haven’t been in a movie theater in years and have no intention of ever going again.  

  • Anonymous

    Unfortunately, some of the other things they won’t tell you are 1) shut the hell up;  2) turn that cell phone off;  3) take that screaming baby out to the lobby.  I haven’t been in a movie theater in years and have no intention of ever going again.  

  • Mike

    You must be a young pup. I remember the Saturday matinees costing $.25. Those were the days my friends.

  • http://twitter.com/BigBryC Bryan Cristina

    I’m sure this was an interesting read, shame it’s in a slideshow format.  Time to bounce.

  • G W Garrett

    From the reaction, It should have been 13 things almost no one cares if a theater employee tells.

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/HVIK7N7M6FIDVWEPDE4S2WGF4E Inachu

    Best time to find money in a movie theater is durring the holidays.
    After the movies I found over $400 once!  

  • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/HVIK7N7M6FIDVWEPDE4S2WGF4E Inachu

    Best time to find money in a movie theater is durring the holidays.
    After the movies I found over $400 once!  

  • Walt Mitchell

    What part of the country do you live in?  Live Theater is $38 a ticket?  For a Broadway show in New York City, even a matinee orchestra ticket can run you over a hundred bucks!  I saw “Hello, Dolly!” there in the mid- or late-’60s when the show was new.  For a nice matinee ochestra seat, I paid $6.25!  No bargains like THAT any more!

  • Truce2000

    When I was 8 years old in 1961 a movie cost $0.25.. What has changed? Government money printing maybe? 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OWCLUDRRSLR24ML47QOXPJBOLM Gary S

    They melt down McDonalds french fries and use the chemicals from it.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3HW2CD3LHA62FS2DREKEJBHKAA Jonathan L

     That’s right because the government never printed money before only a few years ago.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FUTJHGKJOABJDOXCSNOKWMNFOI That Guy

    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.

  • Fu

    Stop with the articles that make us click through multiple pages. That’s my que to stop reading.

  • Jim Camp

    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.

  • Anonymous

    Disagree with #13. I worked in a movie theater for three months at the concession stands. We emptied out all the popcorn poppers and threw out the old popcorn EVERY SINGLE night. Sometimes we did this in the middle of the day too.
    We would time it well enough towards the end of the night – so we didn’t make too much popcorn just to throw so much away.

  • skinny81

    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.

  • Dude

    You’re one out of tens of thousands of theaters in the country.  Congrats that you’re so fastidious.

    Unfortunately, as a PAYING member of the public, I’ve given up on you and your ilk.  I don’t go to theaters any more precisely because of the reasons the author quotes.  You do gouge people at the concession stand.  Just because people are paying your inflated prices doesn’t mean they don’t have a problem with them.

    Most theaters are filthy.  Yours apparently isn’t.  Good on you.

    We don’t like your advertising.  In no other venue (grocery store, car dealership, mall) are we forced to review their advertising before we can enjoy our purchase.

    She didn’t slander anyone.  If you do have an attorney they’d easily tell you this.  Grow up.

  • http://www.facebook.com/JLohly J-l Ohly

    1-2. No, I can’t say I was ever briefed on popcorn chemicals and digital imaging. 

    6. That’s an exceptional manager. Pats on the back aren’t usually doled out liberally at minimum wage jobs.

  • onyxnuk

    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.  

  • onyxnuk

    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.  

  • Angela Cater

    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.

  • WHAT????

    This article, what a waste of time

  • Dkoplos

    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

  • Dkoplos

    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

  • Jackass

    bullshit

  • Jackass

    bullshit

  • Film_Shark

    Another secret the employees don’t tell you.  They know you’re sneaking in your own bottled water and snacks.  I see the empty wrappers when cleaning up between showtimes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002738659584 Sean Hawke

    Man, what patronizing outfits.  Check out the bow tie in slide 6 and the dude in a blazer and weird little hate in slide 11.

    As if working the concession stand isn’t an embarrassing enough job as it is they make you wear that stupid looking crap.

  • Grindhousecinema

    We know our popcorn is overpriced. However we make virtually NO money on ticket prices. Remember it costs us money to get the movies we play, it is often times done on a profit split. Opening weekend is generally 80-20 … meaning 80% of the ticket price goes directly to the movie studio and 20% goes to the theater. That 20% is not enough to pay for the film, the employees, the lights, the water, the gas, and so on. We have to make money somehow and concession is the only we do. Trust me the theater is not your enemy… you can thank distribution studios for making the industry this way.

  • goobee

    yeah and I remember when you could buy a new car for $2000 and you could buy gas for 19 cents a gallon and cigarettes were 25 cents a pack.    Hmmmm I don’t even have a cents sign on my keyboard – that should say something.  Prices go up > Live with it!  You make money where you can.  I’m not seeing anyone talk about the prices of goodies at a concert or sporting event and that’s the same thing.  Hell, the last time I went to a football game, I couldn’t have any other enjoyment for the next month!!!  $250.00 for a ticket to a football game!!!!!  and then $10 / for a beer?????  Give me a freakin break!!!!  Life is expensive now – deal with it!

  • Eliezer Pennywhistler

    $1 then is about $10 today.  So what’s your point?

  • http://twitter.com/SirRealDouglas D

    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.

  • http://twitter.com/SirRealDouglas D

    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.

  • Mayriverpt

    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

  • Tonyrozensky

    I worked at the Woods Theatre in downtown Chicago for a few days as a teenager in the late 60′s.   They kept  many large bags of popcorn in the basement.  Fresh popcorn was a myth.

  • Saladin

    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.

  • Paulberg7765

    Wow…what a great article!   And such insight!   Look out, here comes the next Pulitzer winner

  • Minorkle

    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.

     

  • Minorkle

    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.

     

  • Anonymous

    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.

  • Deaf Speak Out

    Most of AMC Theaters failed to provide all closed-captioning  availability 
    for the deaf people who doesn’t understand what the movie said over again.

    We all deaf people feel that the AMC Theaters still abused to overcharge more
    than $12.00 to up to deaf people who suffered to don’t understand the movie
    action said at all times.

    We all deaf people feel that AMC Theaters should accept to provide the lower
    child price for the deaf people without providing closed-captioning availability.

  • OhioMovieBuff

    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?

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=708129137 Andrew Love

    Bring in outside food, or downloading a pirated movie is YOU justifying stealing because you think you are entitled to something. Movies are a luxury, not a necessity.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=708129137 Andrew Love

    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).

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=708129137 Andrew Love

    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).

  • Guest


    Popcorn costs almost nothing to make.”

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

  • Guest


    Popcorn costs almost nothing to make.”

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

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/D6WSIYAMHIG7LCEEKQAWSJCOZ4 Tony

    Good For You

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/D6WSIYAMHIG7LCEEKQAWSJCOZ4 Tony

    And you are the Professor, Right?

  • Richcass69

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

  • Uragoner

    Hostile article written by someone who should just wait for it to be on cable

  • MattyWhaley01

    @0c9916129658cc21c6dc5d3aacf93907:disqus , remember when “The Avengers” made $207 million in 3 days and has made $700 million worldwide already? Yeah…I’m sure all the theaters are headed straight for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Movies going to DVD much sooner sure didn’t help Blockbuster, did it?

  • Juventud20

    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. 

  • Casper the friendly revenant

     Let me know when you get a 40,000 watt sound system and I will watch them at your house.

  • Tonyrozensky

    Will you pay $12 for home made pop corn and soda?

  • Anonymous

    “sneaking in”??? Kiss my belt buckle, I carry what I will in my bag. Seriously, sneaking in bottled water? Er, no, I’m bringing it.

  • Anonymous

    You can microwave regular popcorn in a regular paper bag, you just have to close the bag well.

    I have meet people who think popcorn is only made in microwave bags and theaters.

  • Anonymous

    Oh, a manager, how quaint. I don’t really believe your PR. The predatory business model has led to the kind of customer that doesn’t care about you or your business. It’s your own fault. Live by the sword, die by the sword.

    The faux-righteous indignation is pathetic.

  • Mr_ripley59

    The reason the popcorn looks yellow is because its the canola oil or butter flavoring used..In other words its not  real butter. I know of this because I worked in a movie theater for 20 years..

  • Mr_ripley59

    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…

  • Mr_ripley59

    True FACT:

  • Mr_ripley59

    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

  • Mr_ripley59

    TRUE  during my time working maybe not so much now.. but would work

  • Mr_ripley59

    TRUE FACT

  • Mr_ripley59

    VERY TRUE FACT

  • avatarstinks

    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.

  • avatarstinks

    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.

  • Jon5may68

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

  • Adam

    The average cost per ticket in 2011 was $7.94. In 1971 it was $1.65. Adjusting that amount for inflation and it would be $9.22. It’s actually cheaper to see a movie now.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/Y5AMNZLDRGXH4NAPYQGO5ZTQQA Keyoff

    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?

  • Dmsfrr

    I once saw a theater manager make the concession counter staff wash mold off a full case of hotdogs before cooking them.

  • Redburn03

    Avengers did $200 million in two days…. You have no idea what you are talking about!!

  • Mozzie

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

  • Afulcanelli1977

    Having managed a theater for 5 years, I can verify not all these statements are true.  But the truest line is about the concession sales:  that’s how theater’s make the bulk of their money.  Box office sales usually begin to make revenue for the theater after about the 3rd or 4th week of its showing, even if it is a minute amount.  My theater never recycled popcorn:  we either allowed the employees to take the leftovers home or just threw it out (it is really cheap, but quite yummy!)  NEVER eat anything but the popcorn or candy or boxed goods that are sold at the theater.  I wholeheartedly agree with this.

    As far as complaining customers; 90% of the gripes are over trite situations either the customer created or is beyond our control.  Berating my employees never helped a customer’s cause.  It only served to guarantee them never getting what they asked/complained about  (sorry, customer service only goes so far and presentation is very important.) 

  • Anonymous

    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.

  • Thc1789

    She missed a big one. Employees are supposed to say “Do you want butter FLAVORING on your popcorn.” Its not real butter, it a synthetic blend of oils.

  • Anonymous

    Not true it is about getting out of the house and losing all my problems for a few hours. If at home phone does not stop.

  • Actual Thinker

    THIS is what the employees don’t tell you?  I have a secret, too!  Anything on that List of the Boringly Obvious that amazes anyone here simply shows that movie-goers are more stupid than the minimum-wage “inner sanctum” of employee drones.  You probably think Memorial Day sales at department stores are amazing and valid, too. 

  • Anonymous

    You forgot to mention the high school junior running the projector is clueless. The thing that most infuriates me about going to the theater these days is after I’ve paid the price for a ticket I’m then subjected to the same commercials I get watching TV at home. Ad time pays for what is essentially a free service (TV broadcasts). I still don’t like it, but I get it. What I don’t get and find completely inexcusable is being subjected to the same commercials after I’ve PAID for my admission to the showing. I have a pretty high end home theater (dedicated room, D-ILA projector, 12 foot screen, 6000 watt sound system, supremely comfortable theater chairs) but I would still go to a decent theater for some of the blockbuster action movies and put up with the stench and filth and rude people were it not for being subjected to television commercials with my paid admission. That was just the last straw for me. We wait for the video releases at our house and fast forward through the ads.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YST67AHQZAYUGLRJ7Z4OZPBFHY williamc

    Luna,

    I base what I am about to say having been a theater manager for several years. While the prices might seem outrageous, the concession stand is where the theater has to make its profit. The movie production companies keep most of what is taken in at the box office. So, concessions is where they have to make their money.

    Also, it is very, very expensive to operate a movie theater. Especially these monster-mega palaces they have today. Look at your average 15 screen theater. It has more square footage than a Home Depot with at times thousands of people in it. The monthly electric bill alone can be well into the five digits and even for the largest theaters the high five digits.

    Lights, staff, equipment, projectors, cost of the food itself, air conditioning and maintenance on the building runs into the millions each year for a 15-20 screen theater.

    You might ask, why not make them smaller? If they do that then when a movie like Avatar or The Avengers comes out they don’t have the theater space to accommodate it. And that makes them have to raise the prices even higher. My point in all of this, if you factor all of this in, the concession prices don’t seem so bad.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YST67AHQZAYUGLRJ7Z4OZPBFHY williamc

    The difference between Extreme Digital and IMAX is miniscule.  It is not enough that it would make make any appreciable difference to the average movie goer.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YST67AHQZAYUGLRJ7Z4OZPBFHY williamc

    Just got to umber three and they made my point for me.

  • Bart

    All smells are caused by chemicals, that’s how smell works.

  • Bart

    All smells are caused by chemicals, that’s how smell works.

  • Batshiatcrazy

    Slide shows are for newbies to the net and retards

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/Y5WVXDSHGCQVFYZEUFZ2AZBPZU Carolyn

     I agree, movies are TOO expensive, TOO dumbed-down for teen-age males. We need more chick flicks, more kiddie movies, & movies for adults! BYOF (bring your own food & pop). Also, the Blockbuster gets the Oscar!

  • Anonymous

    How about the fake coupons? We used to give out little cards entitling the holder to “50 cents off our regular price for a large soda” without telling them that anyone who walked up without a coupon also got the same 50 cents off. I don’t know if they’re still allowed to do that, though.

  • Anonymous

    How about the fake coupons? We used to give out little cards entitling the holder to “50 cents off our regular price for a large soda” without telling them that anyone who walked up without a coupon also got the same 50 cents off. I don’t know if they’re still allowed to do that, though.

  • Anonymous

    How about the fake coupons? We used to give out little cards entitling the holder to “50 cents off our regular price for a large soda” without telling them that anyone who walked up without a coupon also got the same 50 cents off. I don’t know if they’re still allowed to do that, though.

  • Dddd44

    A. Don’t go.
    B. Sse up a nice home Theater.
    C. What ch what you want, when you want.
    D. No more out of control people.
    E. No more water cokes and crap Pop Corn..
    Home is where it is at…