I came out of my TV cave yesterday and decided that three months was far too long to have gone without seeing a new movie. Read the full post.
May 31
2011
07:22 PM ET
Moviegoer etiquette: What food is acceptable to smuggle into a theater?
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I have yet to meet a person who hasn’t smuggled food into a theater. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc. seem weird but I am pretty sure they sell nachos @ our local theater, which are an equally weird and smelly movie snack. I did get a dispensation from our local theater b/c one of my kids cannot process long chain fatty acids so we bring a bag from home (fat free). Had to have a doctors note and a really understanding manager.
I’ve never smuggled food into a movie theater before. Their rule is no outside food or drink; I can follow that rule.
I have a thought (since you asked for one). What the f*** do you care? Watch your movie and mind your own business. Big deal… someone smuggled in a Big Mac. And unless the woman DUMPS the salad in your lap, what do you care if she’s lugging a filthy salad bowl home? Hey, you just column out of it! Next time I go to the movies, I’m bringing a fully-cooked lobster – just to piss you off.
“You called someone a jerk, so I’m going to be raging cretin!”
Courtesy in modern America, folks.
Adam’s a pu$$y.
adam was the guy with the big MAC next to Sandra. Boooooo Adam! You baby.
@ Adam
relax.you’re going to give yourself a heart attack and ruin my vacation.
I’m definitely guilty of smuggling, but its mostly just cheaper candy, and sometimes booze (you can buy little juice boxes of wine now, tell me that wasn’t intended for places like movie theaters…)
They sell pickles at movie theaters in Louisiana. Doing that sort of precludes complaining about the smells of smuggled food…
My cinema snack bar sells cheeseburgers (and fried mozzarella, and nachos, and jalapeno poppers…), so I guess people will just have to deal with the food smells. Honestly, though, if you’re not prepared to deal with people behaving like people, you shouldn’t be at a movie theater in the first place. Stay home where no one will bother you and watch movies on demand.
One time in the dirt theater downtown we duct-taped a pizza box to my brother’s back, just to see if we could. To be fair, we haven’t tried anything like that since we got older and irritable.
When you pulled it off, did your brother’s screaming bother people?
I’ve never been offended by a food choice, but one time a woman brought in a bucket of chicken and had my mom laughing so hard she was in tears.
When I worked at a theatre, one of the training videos explained that food like bananas was ok for people to bring in if they had health reasons and then they showed an example of what was NOT ok: a guy smuggling in a pizza box under his shirt. Oh, training videos (and kudos to the guy or girl here who said they managed a pizza smuggle).
A while back I used to work at a drive in movie theater, and the policy there was pretty much anything goes as far as outside food was concerned. The only exception was about once or twice a week we had to bust up someones barbecue(literally a bbq and patio furniture set up in the field). Though one time we allowed our private, contracted security to enforce a zero tolerance policy on the field; either turn in your booze or leave with no refund/readmission. Security and several of us got to leave those nights with a 12 pack or better of free(to us) beer.
When is it acceptable to shoplift? I’d like to know because there seems to be a tacit understanding that it’s okay to steal from theatres by sneaking in outside food WHICH IS ALWAYS against the rules. What people need to realize is that the movie theatres don’t make any money from the box office – all the receipts for AT LEAST the first ten days of any movie’s run go directly to the studios. Theatres only survive on their concession sells and if you are sneaking in food you ARE STEALING FROM THEM. Period.
Also, get off your damn phones.
Kenny,
I don’t think it’s actually stealing from them unless people were selling the foods they bring in.
I understnad that theaters make mony off consessions, but if people are snaeking / bringing in burritos & chickin, they aren’t the type to buy something from the concession stand anyway
Most modern theatres have a huge variety of foods at the concession stands, there is no excuse. It’s theft of services. You may not be pulling money out of the register, but you are still stealing. Of course, nobody wants to think of them self as a criminal, so people will try to justify it to make themselves feel better. It’s wrong, this article is deplorable for making it seem okay, and everybody who has commented admiting to sneaking in food is a theif.
I’ve worked at a theater before and I still sneak in food. Point is the prices are ridiculous. Walmart is willing to match lower prices, so it’s not unheard of. A theater charges 3x the amount of any other place, so yes I will bring in the cheaper food.
Chelsey, I also worked at a theatre and I’ll bring in candy. I don’t do my own popcorn… if I want popcorn, I’ll buy theirs. But the fact is, it’s not an “either/or” situation for me with candy… If I want candy, I’ll bring my own, if I want candy, and didn’t bring my own, I will still not buy from the concession stand…I go without. So, they’re not losing anything from me because I would never buy it from them in the first place.
I have to kind of agree with you. I’ve smuggled in candy before but I don’t smuggle in anymore. I’m with others on the just eat before you go if you don’t want to buy the popcorn. I work at a bar in a campground and people constantly walk from their sites and into the bar with their own drinks. It’s kind of the same as the theatre. If a place sells food or beverages it’s ridiculous to bring in your own food. If you want to eat a Dominos pizza with a 12 pack of beer, watch the movie at home. If you go out to eat with friends to an Italian restaurant, you don’t smuggle in chinese because that’s what you prefer.
I was starting to worry that no one in the world can abide by the rules anymore. Thanks for proving me wrong, Kenny.
What if I choose not to eat anything at the movie, Ken? Am I dirty dirty criminal then?
Kenny, I understand your point, but I don’t buy all of it. Where I live the big corporate multiplex charges roughly 5x what the food costs for me to buy at the drugstore. But there is a mom and pop theatre in town and they charge about half of what the multiplex charges. I never sneak food into the mom and pop theatre because I think that it’s a fair price…the multiplex on the other hand…I think they have pretty much bitten the hand that feeds them.
Exactly. I am a neurotic rule-abider, but with the prices these theaters charge I feel like I’m the one being victimized. I don’t actually sneak in food – I just eat beforehand. But when I notice that the movies I want to see only seem to be showing around 6ish (before I’ve eaten) or 9ish (long enough after I’ve eaten that I feel like a snack), then I get even more irritated, and less offended that someone has the gall to sneak in a pizza.
I agree about the cell phones and I agree about the fact that theatre survive on concession sales BUT sneaking in snacks is not really shoplifting. it’s more like going into an expensive store, while carrying your Walmart bag, with no intentions to purchase. While see your point the reason you go to the theatre is not about the food but the movie. And while the food maybe how a theatre survives, it’s only a secondary service in the theatre. I have worked in theatres and for every person who snuck in or blatantly just carried in a coffee or whatever, 5 more used the concession. Prices are ridiculous for what stock costs and it’s not worth it when you’d rather eat something else. Just my opinion
my first year teaching, my first field trip to the movies with middle school students, one girl pulled out her tupper ware filled with rice, beans, and chicken. The entire theater was filled with smell of adobo and garlic!!!
I don’t care what food you bring to the movies. Just put away the phones. I’m trying to watch the screen and all I see in the seats in front of me are people texting, or checking facebook and twitter. The brightness of those screens distracts me from the film.
Honestly! Why in the HELL did you pay $10+ to see a movie if you’re just going to be talking, texting, twittering. The most engaging thing someone can do at the theater. Makes me wanna go postal!!!
*enraging
I think some are being too hard on Sandra. The article seems like a light hearted way to address, IMO, is somewhat of a funny issue “Sneaking Foods into Movies Theatre”:
The person pretending to be pregnant.
Special purses designed at home to carry foods.
Salad bowls, homemade bbg & macaroni salad.
Pizzas & buckets of chicken.
Hahaha! So funny!
I think people aren’t being hard enough on her. It’s very irresponsible to write an article condoning theft and musing on whether other peoples’ theft is annoying to you and what would you bring to steal money from the theatre?
Just terrible.
I somewhat get what you’re trying to say, but they aren’t SELLING the food, they are eating it themselves.
Jay, that doesn’t matter that they aren’t selling it – they are not buying it there so the theatre is losing money because you are breaking the rules – which, since the theatres are private property, is technically breaking the law.
Oh kenny. I’m so sad you live such a sad life. Live a little big guy! RELAX.
From what I understand, if the food is identical to what they sell at the concession stand… Same packaging, product… you *can* by law bring it in to the theatre… because they are allowing that to be eaten on their property. So, the okay has been given for the consumption of that food in the theatre. The fact that you bought it someplace else, doesn’t matter. It’s your choice to shop at the theatre or at a different store. That is what I was told when I worked at a movie theatre… that there was no way to enforce “outside food” if that food is, in fact, being sold inside. It’s your right to find a cheaper price for the same exact item.
Kenny, you are missing the point that if these people did not bring in their own food they would still not buy it from the concession stand. It is breaking the theater’s rule, but it is certainly not “stealing” (although it could be argued that the movies theater’s are guilty of larceny.) . Sneaking into a second movie without paying would be stealing.
Yes, Portia, I pointed that out in a different post… You’re right. I would definitely consider sneaking into a second movie after only paying for one stealing. But it’s not stealing if you’re not taking something you didn’t pay for. (And I agree about the larceny!… Very funny!)
Here is my question….why do movies sell popcorn, when that is one of the loudest most annoying things around me when I’m trying to watch a movie.
crunch…crunch….SHUT UP I’M TRYING TO WATCH A MOVIE
I got snagged with a sandwich bag full of Cheerios when I was pregnant–and they made me throw them out. I can’t believe some of the stuff I’ve read here. I’m so paranoid now I don’t dare bring something in out of fear I’ll have to throw it away later.
My husband and I used to go to a movie theater that is in a local mall. We would go to 10am showings because the tickets were only $5. I would stop at the Starbucks and get a coffee and some kind of breakfast roll and walk right in with it. At that time of the morning they did not even have the concession stand open. They had a rule that if you could get if from the mall you can bring it in. They no longer have that rule and I am so mad because in the evening I like having coffee and popcorn. I told them people would not need to bring it in if they would offer the food and at a reasonable price. It is cold in the winter offer a warm comforting beverage for goodness sake!
And some movie theatres where I live have 8 & 9am showings…..a bit early for popcorn & candy
The concession prices may not seem reasonable to the consumer, but trust me, they are as low as they can be to cover the overhead of keeping a movie theatre operating.
Are you like the owner of Regal Cinema or something? Omg.
Kenny is obviously CFO of AMC Theatres.
How is it stealing? Stealing is taking property that is not your own. I’m sorry but I don’t think it is right to charge 600% over cost for popcorn. I would have no problem paying for concessions if they were smaller and cheaper. I don’t need a small to be the size of a Big Gulp for $5. I would gladly pay for concessions if they price wasn’t so horrendous. And I do pay for them on occasion. But with the amount of movies I’ll be seeing this summer, I’m sorry that I can’t always afford to buy food at the concession. And if some of you think it’s ridiculous that people like to snack at all at the movies and call it stealing to sneak in food, then aren’t you hypocrites for not spending a dime at the concession since that’s the only way they make money? It is my right to decide that I do not want to purchase anything or I want to purchase something for the right price. I shouldn’t be forced to spend money on overpriced items that I can not finish. I always clean up after myself, unlike a lot of movie patrons.
Like someone else said, it should be able to fit inside your pocket. Candy bars are perfectly acceptable. Why not just pick a show time that is after your lunch or whatever meal so you feel no need to sneak things in? Honestly, I understand not wanting to spend all your money at the theatre, but come on.
I believe it was Sherlock Holmes where I, an avid Robert Downey Jr. fan, had to watch (and hear) someone devour Steak ‘n Shake. They had brought both steak and shake. I was… sixteen at the time and even I thought it was in poor taste.