ever taken your Own food and drink to the cinema?

peterpan01

Excellent thanks for the replies
Ive been think of smuggling food and drink in for the children, I think it makes it a little nicer for them to have a snack. Im glad most places allow this now and dont force us to buy their food/drink.
The cinema is a treat for us, we don't go often (Cant wait for the Hobbit movie!)

sulphate

We don't often go to the cinema but when we do we take sweets and drinks in my handbag from the nearest Tesco.

We usually go to Vue and in their terms and conditions it just says that "hot food brought from outside of the cinema may not be consumed on the premises" so I would have no problem arguing with a member of staff about it if they decided to look through my bag and cause a fuss about a small packet of sweets.

Faith177

A cheap cinema has opened in my town £4 a ticket and £2 on Orange Wednesdays :T

They don't bat an eyelid when people bring food in. Lots of the teenagers at the weekend walk in with Maccy D's and alsorts

I normally take in sweets but their drinks and popcorn is so cheap its easier to buy theirs. For example combo deal with 2 large drinks (equivalent of the biggest one at the Vue) and a bucket of popcore (again quivalent to the biggest in Vue) is £7.40 which I think isn't bad at all

paddyrg

Cinemas make marginal money from tickets. AT LEAST 50% of the ticket goes to the distributor, often significantly more for new release blockbusters. This means the cinema has to pay huge ground rent and rates, employ staff, heat/cool huge buildings, buy the latest projectors, etc on fairly slim margins. The concessions is where they make all their money and in many cases will subsidise the screenings!

As such, if you want to keep your local cinema going, buy the snacks - probably make at least as much from your popcorn as they do from your seat!

esuhl

paddyrg wrote: »

Cinemas make marginal money from tickets. AT LEAST 50% of the ticket goes to the distributor, often significantly more for new release blockbusters. This means the cinema has to pay huge ground rent and rates, employ staff, heat/cool huge buildings, buy the latest projectors, etc on fairly slim margins. The concessions is where they make all their money and in many cases will subsidise the screenings!

As such, if you want to keep your local cinema going, buy the snacks - probably make at least as much from your popcorn as they do from your seat!

It's up to the cinema to make a profit, not for customers to feel duty-bound to buy overpriced junk they don't want!

If people are choosing not to buy food/drinks from the cinema, so the cinema isn't making a profit, it needs to put up ticket prices (or find some other way to subsidise their loss-making business).

If people then don't visit because the tickets are too expensive, then it should close down. Simple economics. It's a private business run for profit; not a charity.

marleyboy

I always take a bag of suckie sweets and a cold drink to the cinema. Even though our cinema allows you to bring your Mcdonald's food in, that can be purchased just outside the entrance.

I wouldn't dream of paying the extortionate cinema prices for food\drink.

mandragora_2

Gin and tonic in an Oasis bottle, once, on a night out with a friend . Very nice it was, too. Film wasn't bad either.

marleyboy

mandragora wrote: »

Gin and tonic in an Oasis bottle, once, on a night out with a friend . Very nice it was, too. Film wasn't bad either.

Your not supposed to eat the film.

bylromarha

Are you truly telling me you have never taken in your own snacks and drinks?

Have done so for the past 30 years...we used to take McDonalds in as teens. Staff never said anything.

Mrs_Soup

Would take my own sweets in and possibly a drink if I wanted one. Not a full picnic though and wouldn't take hot food- it stinks the place out. Am going to very civilised independant cinema today which sells coffee and wine etc to take in with you.