Last Friday I went to the cinema to watch “Inception” (kick-ass film!) and that got me to think about why is it that we eat popcorn when we watch movies. Personally, whenever I go to the cinema I buy popcorn. For me, eating it and watching the film go hand in hand. And, while searching the net to find information about this awesome “tradition”, I found a great description of such an experience: “Somehow the movie-going experience is incomplete without that tub of buttery, crunchy goodness getting all over your shirt as you munch away in the dark”.
It all started when street vendors pushed their carts near theatres and found there a very good source of income. Theatre owners hated popcorn because it made a mess all around, and also, because people would go out in the middle of the shows to buy it. This was so until they realized it could be them who would profit from this sweet marvel.
In 1925 the first electric popcorn machine was sold to movie theatre owners and it was definitely there to stay. During the Great Depression, buying popcorn was one of the very few “luxuries” people could afford. Theatre owners even lowered the price of movie tickets, so, the result was that going to the cinema was the most economic night out one could have. Movie tickets and popcorn were two of the very few products that raised their sales immensely during that rough time. During WWII, sugar was sent to American troops, so there was not much sugar left in the country to produce candy. As a consequence, people ate three times more popcorn than usual. And in the 1950's the amount of money made from popcorn exceeded the amount made from movies themselves.
Today, selling popcorn and other snacks are far more profitable for theatres than selling tickets. One reason for this is that theatres have to split in halves the money of the tickets with studios. And the other reason is probably that popcorn is so absolutely delicious you can never get enough, can you?
Sources:
A History of Popcorn and Movies
History and Legends of Popcorn, Cracker Jacks & Popcorn Balls
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