What’s so special about popcorn at the movie theatre?

In the Netherlands; the price.
You pay like €5 ($5.50) for a medium sized bucket (6oz sweet, 4oz salt).

I do not know how it became popular but I have to have popcorn when I go.
My husband takes a handful of Raisinettes and throws them in the popcorn so I have something to do when I get bored…and that happens a LOT at the movies.
I compare it to Coco the gorilla’s handler hiding treats in her enclosure so that she won’t get bored and tear her hair out.
So far, it’s working.

I don’t know
But I do know that my favorite movie date equates the movie experience with popcorn without exception!
To her, it is simply not a movie without popcorn.

I am ambivalent about popcorn at the movies. No matter how hard I try to be neat, when I get up about 3 dozen popcorn kernels drop off of my body and onto the floor. I hate being a slob.

I can’t stand movie popcorn. It’s ridiculously unhealthy, as in way worse than microwave popcorn you get at home:

” a small popcorn, without butter, from AMC weighs in at 225 calories and 11 grams of fat. Crank it up to a medium and you’re up to about 430 calories and 20 grams of fat. A large AMC popcorn, without butter, contains 1,030 calories and 41 grams of fat.”

That’s WITHOUT the fake butter.

I can easily watch a movie without drinking or eating something for 2 hours.
It’s messy. There’s a good chance of spilling something on you or your date. It’s expensive, And it’s a distraction.

When I was living within walking distance from the movie theater I would just get a large popcorn extra-extra butter all the way though, then go home, without watching a movie.

Popcorn sends an appetizing scent far and wide, it requires only a small space for storage, does not spoil, can be purchased cheap and sold at a profit up to 500 %, and it makes you thirsty. Also, it shares better than a hot dog or Snickers bar.

I remember reading it started with street vendors selling popcorn outside movies during the depression, and smart theater managers took the hint.

I preferred Jr. Mints and Hot Tamales over popcorn as a kid.
Lord, I haven’t been to.a movie theater in 22 years!

The main attraction for me is the movie, not popcorn.

Snacking and laying down in reclining seats while watching an intense drama or thriller seems completely stupid to me.

@Dutchess_lll 22 years ??? what ???

Perhaps @Dutchess_lll means that after seeing Titanic Men in Black, that when it comes to seeing a movie in a theater, that was As Good as It Gets. ;-)

I think they sell popcorn so you get thirsty and buy soda, and the two go hand in hand.

I try to avoid buying movie theater food because it’s so ridiculously expensive. If I am hungry, I’ll stop somewhere before the movie and eat something, if there’s time. If I am pressed for time, I will try to bring my own food in. To those who will say it’s awful to bring your own food in, I say the alternative would be not going to the movie at all.

When I was in high school (in the 80s), me and friends ran a second-run movie theater. The oldest among us were teens, and the real owner hadn’t stepped foot in the place in years.

We lived off of popcorn, but it had to be fresh. First, we would add an obscene amount of Flavacol to the oil and kernels. Then we would load the popper and place a bucket under the popper to catch the popcorn. This was the only way to truly enjoy popcorn.

Our popcorn popper broke one day, and we called one of the big movie places nearby, and they agreed to give us some to hold us over. The guy brought me to a room that contained large black garbage bags filled with popcorn. It was disgusting. The guy told me that this is how it was done. They would pop the corn once or twice per week, fill large garbage bags, then bring it down to the “poppers”, which actually didn’t work. They depended on the heat lamps to warm it up (for the smell and the impression of being fresh).

I’m not sure if that’s standard practice, but I haven’t consumed popcorn in a movie theater since.

Price.

@anniereborn…it just got sooo expensive. I couldn’t justify spending so much money on a movie I might not even like. Whatever it is it’ll be put on DVD (or VHS back then) for a lot less money.

@Dutchess_lll We go to the early shows which are only 3.99 a ticket. And we only go to see movies we are pretty dang sure we will like.

The last theater movie I desperately wanted to go to, preferably at an Imax dome, was “Sully.” It didn’t happen, of course.

Makes a nice little snack. But if you want to live on the edge, smuggle in a large pizza and a bottle of Jack.

It’s better than popcorn in your pants.