Prices of snacks at the cinema

[Moominfan]

Doesn't matter how often I go, I don't think I'll never not be shocked at the prices. My friend pointed out today if they charged a little less maybe more people would buy from them. Instead of being a cheapskate like me that brings their own snacks.

I always take my own snacks regardless whether it's a big chain cinema or my local one

I don’t really feel the need to eat at the cinema.

The only exception is an Everyman which do wine and olives and other nice nibbles and bring them to your seat. That feels like a treat. I can’t however stand to pay 300% extra for a bit of popcorn or sweets. Would rather just go without. We go to the £5 Tuesday showings and bring a bottle of squash in my bag. If they banned you taking in water etc I’d probably just never go!

I go to a small independent local cinema (not an option for a lot of people, I know) and one of the things they are known for is the cheap snacks and drinks! It is so much cheaper ticket-wise for a start that I'd say the majority of customers buy a drink or snacks because it still adds up to less than a ticket in the local multiplex.

I must admit I often do it on a shoestring budget.

We go to the cheap showing £2.49 a ticket, and I grab a bag of popcorn and a bag of Haribo from Sanisburys (we take tap water )

So we come in under a tenner!!

Yeah I have a Cineworld card too. I get the kids munch box, it’s just enough for me. I don’t mind the prices, people do pay it, the queues are massive... I just wish they were more transparent. I think they do dynamic pricing because even the cost of the munch box goes up and down depending on time of day.

Cinemas’ profit margins ain’t my problem, so I bring the food with me.

Buy tickets with a tastecard to save 40%
Then but the kids munch box. £3.75 for a decent size box of popcorn, bag of magic stars and a bottle of water. Usually have a coffee on my own take away box.
But sometimes get a soda water which is free.

We take in our own chocolate but buy drinks/popcorn as for us it's a part of the experience.
We get cinema tickets 50% off and snacks at largely reduced rate too through work perks so we don't mind the higher cost

My cinema only charges £4.99 for all tickets so I’m happy to pay a bit more for snacks as I’m sure that ticket price doesn’t cover their costs! Plus I love the cheese sauce on their nachos and just can’t replicate it at home.

We don't always eat when we go to the cinema but if we do there's normally a wilkos nearby to get a few things. I don't even look at the process because it wouldn't occur to me to pay a fortune buy stuff there. Also i don't want to buy a bucket of popcorn when a small bag is enough.

*prices not process!

Personally I'd ban food and drinks whilst watching films. Noisy eating when a film is on just does my nut in.

@Shockers there's a poundshop and bargain place thingy literally three in a row it's INCREDIBLE. I can buy zoflora just before seeing a movie. But that's probably a whole new thread.

Smellslikebiscuits

You can get a coffee on a munch box!!? Seriously?! I’ve been drinking a Capri bloody sun all this time

@IamPickleRick I love a munchbox!

@smellslikebiscuits you can get coffee?!?! Fruit shoot for me! how does this work?!!

I saw a programme once that said it costs cinemas less than 1p for a portion of popcorn and I haven’t bought it since.

My friend pointed out today if they charged a little less maybe more people would buy from them. Instead of being a cheapskate like me that brings their own snacks.

surely if they were a bit cheaper even, people would buy at the cinema therefore making money.

The cinemas don't pluck the prizes out of thin air. They consider sales data from previous years, cost of storage etc, research to see how much they'd sell at higher and lower prices. Then they decide on prices which they think will maximise their profits.

Of course, they won't always get it right, but it does make me laugh when posts on here imply (or sometimes state) that cinemas don't realise that they would sell more at lower prices. They will have given the matter a hell of a lot more thought than any mumsnetter.

Cinema profit margins are your problem of you actually want a cinema to exist in the future Hirsuitefirs aka 'im.alright jack'

I don't eat or drink in the cinema, I might buy my daughter a small coke though, because she loves it. I don't get the point of pop corn personally so never buy it.

I love popcorn but last time I got cinema stuff it had a bit of an unpleasant taste, like it had been lying about for ages...probably because it had and that has put me off a bit! The Aldi cinema style stuff is lovely.
I will sometimes buy dd the kids tray thing which I think is not bad value compared to everything else. In fact I’ve thought about getting it for myself. But we rarely go to the cinema so it is a very occasional treat.

We mostly take our own these days, but will occasionally buy a hot dog if we go there straight from work. We have a monthly cinema card though so get 20% off snacks anyway

@TiddlerontheRoof Surely popcorn is an essential part of the cinema going experience? I don’t pay £15 to see a film I can watch on Netflix soon, I pay £15 for the cinema experience and food is part of that.

I guess we're all different

For me the cinema experience is the big screen and sound. Hearing people eating popcorn puts me off concentrating on the film. If eating popcorn is part of the experience for you then watch your film on Netflix with some popcorn at home

I agree bit at the same time would hate for even more cinemas to close. I take my own water bottle but that's because I take it everywhere to avoid buying plastic bottles. I buy popcorn though. I love cinema popcorn!

@TryingToBeBold - apologies, I meant I take my own coffee, in my own cup!
It did sound too good to be true!