Medium Bags Of Popcorn Often Hold More Than Large Tubs
If you buy the large tub of popcorn at the movie theater for the free refills, go for it, tubby. But if you're buying it because you just want the biggest size available, UC Irvine professor and author Richard McKenzie says to watch out if the medium is a bag while the large is a tub:
If you're in a cinema which gives you a choice between buying a medium bag of popcorn and a large tub of popcorn, there's a greater-than-50% chance that the medium bag will actually contain more popcorn than the large tub.
Here's more of Professor McKenzie's thoughts on popcorn economics:
The prospects of getting more popcorn in the medium than the large is higher here, since the medium is a bag with flexible sides and the tub has rigged sides. Both mediums and large sizes in Winston-Salem are bags with flexible sizes. There I always got more in the large (not much more!). Here, a little more than half the time I got more in the medium. It all depends on the clerks, and how she/he holds the bags and then chooses to literally stuff the bags by pressing the popcorn down. But then the ounce measures are not a firm indicator of value, since a higher weight can mean more bottom of the popping cabinet crumbs and un-popped kernels.
"Richard McKenzie's Popcorn" [Portfolio] (Thanks to Jon!)
(Photo: SMN)
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Comments:
A theater is not decent unless it offers free refills on popcorn. 25 cents is so stupid.
did they mean rigid and not rigged?
@PsychicPsycho3: I hope so. A "rigged" tub sounds like it will collapse and spill all your popcorn 10 minutes into the movie.
Also: love that photo. Exam time!!!
Are we really obsessing over popcorn sizes? How fat are we America?!
@akalish: I agree. The grocery store near me sells the movie theater boxes of candy for $1.00. It's simple to put a box of Whoppers or Sno-Caps in your pocket.
Let's just hope theaters don't start asking to see your receipt when you open your box of candy.
All my theater's popcorn sizes differ in 25 cent increments. So the biggest one is only a buck more than the smallest. They also have free refills. So if you are going to buy a 6 dollar bag of popcorn anyway then might as well put another dollar to it.
If the theater has clearly posted signs that say No Outside Food Or Drink, is sneaking in your own Junior Mints still less of a sin than bringing in an empty popcorn bag and getting free refills?
You know, I'd pay fifty cents extra if they only had real butter.
But the greased styrofoam they charge $6.00 for? Not a chance.
I'm not alone - I'm flabbergasted theaters are throwing away business like that.
This doesn't seem like a very relevant comparison. It would only matter in cases where refills are not free for large popcorns (Every theater I've ever been to offers free refills for large popcorn). Unlimited is better than not-unlimited regardless of minor container size differences.
@r081984: just like how any decent theater screens movies for free, right? UGH screw them for trying to make money, capitalist pigs.
I bring my own candy, but I love movie theater popcorn. Make sure you get it out of the popper though, the stuff in the warmer is like styrofoam. The buttered-flavored-topping is the best part!
I worked at a movie theater as a teenager, and we could eat all of the popcorn and drink all of the soda we wanted. These days I only eat popcorn and drink soda when I go to the movies, two or three times a year.
AMC Loews in NY started limiting the refills to one time only on large popcorns. They actually switch out the bag when you get the refill so they know you've already gotten your refill.
Also, they change the ad on the large bag pretty frequently so they know if you are actually bringing in a bag from a previous day so you can't save your refill for a return visit.
@mxjohnson: Yes, because in the latter situation you're actually receiving their product and not paying. Thus, you are actually stealing their popcorn. If you bring in your own, they still have those snacks and they can sell them to make money. You aren't stealing anything in the first scenario.
@mxjohnson: Yes, because jerks who stela popcorn, screw other REAL customers.
Local theaters used to have unlimited refills on large drinks/popcorn. Now it's only one, and they mark your bag with a black marker to indicate that you've got it.
I talked to one of the employee, and they told me it was due to several abuse from customers, that would reuse popcorn bags from previous visits. And when they were caught (design on bags changes regularly with different advertisements), many would be abusive towards employees.
So a percentage of crooks, spoiled it all for honest customers.
When you sneak your own stuff, at least you're not taking it from the theater.
@Clold: Retail fraud? I paid for the popcorn. I ate it at the theater. What's the fraud there? If there were a big sign that said NO BRINGING YOUR OWN BAGS then I'd probably understand where you're coming from.
@zigziggityzoo: Unless you're bringing in a brown paper bag, as opposed to a theater bag, you're committing fraud. What part of "refill" don't you understand? There's an initial same day purchase implied there. You don't think they're really charging you $4.25 for the bag and $0.25 for the popcorn, do you?
@JennQPublic: Agreed. I've actually gone into theaters to buy a large bag of popcorn to bring home before enjoying a rented movie.
Too bad the popcorn at all the theaters around me are terrible.
I eat all of the popcorn that I want while I watch the movie sitting in my LazyBoy.
With real butter.
@witeowl: I suppose that wasn't clear. I usually bring a ziploc gallon size bag, buy a popcorn, empty it into the bag, and buy a refill before the movie starts. That way I don't have to get up mid-film.
@witeowl: and, to be sure. There's not a chance it costs $4.25 for a bag full of popcorn. $.25 is closer to their actual costs (factoring in the minimum-wage teenagers manning the grease buckets).
@zigziggityzoo: Aha! Now I gotcha. You're right - that's no different from the many customers who use the theater's trays to empty the bag and get a refill. (Except, actually, you're saving them money by not wasting one of their trays.)
And no - I didn't say/think that it costs the theater that much; I said that they were charging that much. I'm aware of the ridiculous mark-ups, but I forgive them because they actually make relatively little off ticket sales. Concessions sales keep theaters going... but I draw the line at soda and popcorn. Candy comes in from outside.
Ah geniuses,
I sell both tubs and bags as well as everything else that goes into a theatre for a living. Tubs and bags are sold by size. We have 32oz 83 oz 128 oz and 164oz tubs. There are similar sizes in bags. The sizes DO reflect how much product that they will hold. If you are given a 48 oz bag of corn vs a 32 oz tub, yes, it will be bigger. If you have a 32 oz bag and a 83 oz tub, it won't be.
The professor seems to think that he's getting a better value by packing the corn into the bag. Maybe he likes the crunched up corn, most folks don't.
I guess that this proves my theory that UC professors have way too much time on their hands.
Jebus! If they arent already making an obscene amount of profit from popcorn anyway!
Now I dont feel bad about sneaking food in.
Actually... I never felt bad about it. *shrug*
Note: I was never much of a popcorn eater.... more of a theater nachos & hotdog fan.
@Kounji: for the two to three times/year I go to the theater: yes, I do. I know I'm not the only one, either. In my opinion, that's got to be better than bringing in food from the outside, like most everyone else does.
Sneakin' in candy? That's for children. It's cooler to sneak in an entire KFC meal. Mmm mmm. Mashed Potatoes.
I'm hungry for popcorn now.
And if you smash popcorn into a bag you DO get more, it's just very, very smashed.
does anyone else sneak beer into theaters. I can think of no other way to enjoy a good movie than with a nice dark beer.
@bvita: Well, to be fair to academia, most professors publish for two audiences: their own and an occasional one for popular audiences. They try to mix-and-match. I'd bet a pound of jujubes that the prof in question has many dense "proper" economics papers under his belt as well. :)
@Angryrider: A buddy of mine snuck in a whole Subway sub. That was pretty amazing. But the crumbling of paper can be a little inconsiderate to those around you, so I don't do anything like that. But yes, I'd love to see people sneak in more meals in general. KFC wouldn't be too hard if you're a woman and have a purse. How about an entire pizza (box and all)? Now that would be fun to see.
People actually get refills on large popcorn?!! Those suckers are huge. Even worse, some are talking about bringing in extra bags to fill up. Who are you all trying to feed with all of that popcorn...Africa? I am all for smuggling in candy and light snacks. But KFC, Subway, pizza?! Are you there to eat or watch a movie? People have construed the "dinner and a show" concept to mean concurrently instead of consecutively.
See this is why we need drive-ins back. You can bring a four-course meal and eat until you explode, all in the privacy and confines of your car so the rest of us don't have to smell greasy chicken, pickles and onions, and anchovies while we are trying to enjoy the our $12 movie.
My local movie theater allows you to bring your own drinks and food. And it's a brand new AMC theater! In fact, we've been told you can even bring in a pizza or a bucket of chicken! I don't see people too often take advantage of this policy, but it's nice to know I can bring my own bottle of water when I want to without trying to hide it from the employees. It must be a good policy for them, the theater is always busy.
The same can be said about various shapes of containers. I noticed once when eating at the fine establishment Wendy's that my father's medium fries seemed to old about the same weight of fries as my biggie. We weighed the two and the seemingly full medium actually weighed more than the seemingly full biggie.
We actually still have a two screen drive in where I live. Sometimes they have the $7 carload deals, and you can always bring in whatever the hell you want to eat with no fear of repercussion. Also, if you want you can get 3 shows for the price of one. Just don't leave when the first movie is over.
It's too bad that so many of those are no longer around...
refills? Who wants to get up out of their seat, miss 5 - 10 minutes of the middle of the movie, bother everyone in the row twice, just for a refill? It's ain't worth it.
@geoffhazel: I think that's what they count on when they offer it for free.
At my local Regal, you can fit the Medium bag into the large tub quite comfortably, so the Professor's theory does not apply. We usually buy a large tub to split between three of us at the theater, which is cheaper than three small bags. I guess YMMV.
@geoffhazel: UR DOIN IT WRONG.
Get Large soda and Large popcorn on way in, get refills of both on the way out...
I like Harkins' $1 32oz drinks too...
Bringing in beer was probably my most scandalous movie theater act in my book. I did bring in taco bell once a few years ago. My juvenile/college days were fun.
Hmm... don't theaters get the bulk of their profit from concessions, not ticket sales? So in order for a theater to keep the floors from getting sticky, repair broken chairs, and upgrade the sound system, they need that concession money, right?
Yeah, let's cheat them tout of what little money they make.
@ceejeemcbeegee:
"So in order for a theater to keep the floors from getting sticky...they need that concession money, right?"
So they sell the concessions, that make the floors sticky, in order to pay to keep the floors from getting sticky?
Somehow there must be a way to make money off that!
The theatre I usually go to the popcorn and soda is free but they make all their money selling beer and wine and real food.
The large tubs every where else I go always have free refill but the smaller sizes don't even offer a cheaper refill option.
@akalish: Right on! I feel like crap after splitting a medium with my wife, I can't even imagine wanting a refill on any size.
@platoreborn: Ha! Well played. My point was that we're complaining about the wrong thing, and that maybe stiffing the theater on concession profits is counter-productive. Now, movie-hopping on the other hand...
And, the food doesn't make the floor sticky, morons who spill their food make the floor sticky. It's amazing: if we dropped food all over our house or even in a restaurant, we'd feel bad. But in a theater, we make a mess, even leave trash all over the floor. But I digress...
When you buy that $9 ticket to see a new movie the theater itself usually only sees $1 of it or so. The rest goes to Hollywood and the people who made the movie. (this is for the first 2-3 weeks only and is why passes/discounts aren't usually accepted for new movies)
That's why snack prices are high. If you have a local theater you absolutely love and don't want to see go out of business then support it by buying some popcorn and soda.
Most decent theaters offer $.25 refills. Bring a couple bags from home, get a refill before the credits are rolling. You're set.