Sneaking snacks into the movie theater is a constant battle between students and local theater management. There are multiple perspectives to this however, some moviegoers cite high prices while others talk about the poor selection available to them, many claimed it was a hybrid of both.
“Honestly it’s probably just they don’t feel like spending money on that [snacks] when they could just bring it from home or buy it cheaper from a store. And there are probably better choices you can get from a store or from home,” said sophomore Connar Lynch.
These better choices range differently but commonly consist of a small candy and drink, which traditionally cost a similar amount to whatever they would buy from the concessions offering.
“I spent around $10 for chips and a drink and candy. But when we go with a group, I buy more sometimes,” said junior Ismael Diaz-Esquivel.
Some customers take a much more radical approach, opting for outside food resembling more of a meal than a quick movie snack. Favorites include Braums, McDonald’s, as well as Freddys.
“I go to Braums and I get the bag of burgers, then you just bring the burgers in there and eat,” senior Omar Luzcano said when asked about his theater food of choice.
These outside snacks do have a profound impact on the theater industry. Most of these companies only make money on food and drink sales, where ticket sales make up a very small minority of profit.
“The theaters make most of their money on concessions. That’s where they make their profit on concession. The ticket prices are determined based on the movie and what the film company works out as a percentage of the ticket sales, but usually theaters have to pay anywhere from 55% to 65% to 70% of the ticket sales to go back to the film Company. So a lot of people think that when you sneak food in it doesn’t really hurt the theater at all,” general manager of Chisholm Trail 8 Kevin Hudson said.
Movie theater employees provide their own insight into the issue admitting that they themselves have snuck food into the theater as well, anything from McDonalds to pan-size pizzas, claiming that options available are not sufficient compared to other local options only invigorating the problem further.
“I head to Domino’s and buy a chicken habanero sandwich, which cost me roughly the same amount as a kid’s tray I would say, is about the same price, but I enjoy eating much more with the sandwich compared to the kid’s tray. So I’d rather do that and something to drink,” theater manager Nestor Ramirez-Bencomo said.
Management at the local Chisholm Trail 8 Theater is rather understanding of the rule breakers agreeing with an issue of prices and selection. Although, these prices are paramount in keeping the doors open and movies playing.
“I’m not going to throw somebody out just because they brought in outside food or drink. You know, I look at it as the fact that they probably can’t afford the concession prices, and that’s the reason why they bring in their outside food and drinks. So as long as they’re enjoying the movie, I’m happy they’ll come back. Everyone deserves to enjoy their movie, but for us to play our movies at such a cheap price, we depend on the concessions sales,” Hudson said.
