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Now Showing: Declining Sales at Theater Snack Bars [$30 popcorn = $3000 profit!]

LA Times ^ | 3/18/06 | John Horn

Posted on by mathprof

Moviegoers tend to stuff themselves full of salty popcorn and sweet candy. When people start steering clear of the multiplex  as audiences have done for three straight years  the manufacturers of those theater snacks are the ones left with a sour taste in their mouths.

Much has been made of how declining movie admissions and box-office grosses have clipped the earnings of movie studios and film exhibitors. But audience apathy also is taking a bite out of the oft-overlooked concession business. Particularly hard hit are those companies that rely on movie theaters for the bulk of their sales.

"It's kind of scary. It's been going downhill for three years," says Paul Bonfiglio, whose Summit Food Enterprises has had to lay off nearly a third of its employees because of steadily worsening sales for its movie theater candy line, which includes P.J. Gummi Bears. Adds Norm Krug, the chairman of the Nebraska farmers cooperative Preferred Popcorn, "Our sales are going down pretty directly with attendance."

As the movie theater industry's annual convention came to a close here Thursday, organizers tried to characterize the box-office slump as more media propaganda than business predicament.[snip]

But on the trade show floor of ShoWest, as the annual convention of theater owners is known, candy and popcorn peddlers trying to drum up business for their products were decidedly uninspired.

It probably doesn't help that theater owners have been raising the prices of those same Gummi Bears and buckets of popcorn in response to the downturn  an astronomical markup that the concession suppliers never see. (Just $30 worth of raw popcorn can translate into as much as $3,000 in sales at the movie theaters.)



(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...

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hollyweird

I'm enjoying almost free popcorn watching DVDs at home.



To: mathprof

I've been known to stop at our local cinema to purchase a tub of their popcorn only. NO movie, just popcorn to go.





To: mathprof

My wife and I always buy our candy at a store before going to the theater.



To: digger48

Good God! You could buy yourself a nice steak for the cost of a tub of movie popcorn.



To: mathprof

When movie theatre owners learn to cater to the crowd better then you'd see better ticket sales.



No one wants to pay 7$ for some loud mouth teen thug and screaming baby to ruin your enjoyment of Saw II.



To: mathprof

I stopped going to the movies (even tho I liked the stadium seating) for many reasons, but one of them was all the food that was carried in and noshed. When I would see people coming in and each was carrying a tray of something --- and when they sat behind me, I was turned off.



When the movie makers decide to make worthwhile movies I might change my mind, but if the days of simple popcorn is a thing of the past, then I'll watch at home.



by 6 posted onby Exit148 (Founder of the Loose Change Club. Every nickle and dime counts!!)

To: mathprof

"It's kind of scary. It's been going downhill for three years," says Paul Bonfiglio, whose Summit Food Enterprises has had to lay off nearly a third of its employees because of steadily worsening sales for its movie theater candy line... Hey Paul, why don't you tell Hollywood to quit giving the finger to the half of Americans who happen to be Conservative? It's a start...



by 7 posted onby GOPJ ( Tolerance of evil is not a virtue.)

To: mathprof

Take a woman with a big purse with u...full of ice cold soda and beer and candy



To: All

With concession popcorn at 5$ for an itty bitty bag, and candy at $4, I always stop at the local grocery store and buy bag of M&Ms for 50 cents and smuggle it in my purse to the movies.



I do feel a little guilty but there is no way I am spending 5$ for some popcorn when I can go to Walmart and buy a whole case for that price.



by 9 posted onby ClarenceThomasfan (It's like a plantation - and you know what I mean!)

Raising prices as demand decreases? It appears these theater owners neglected to enroll in Economics 101. Perhaps if they lowered ticket and concession prices it would but more behinds in the seats and more soda in the armrest cup holders. Of course if Hollywood actually made movies worth watching that would be a big help as well.



To: digger48

How much are they charging for tickets in your area? I went to see that awful Vendetta movie last week and it was $19.00 for two. It seems like they've been hanging on at just below $10.00/ticket for a while (in Boston anyway).



by 11 posted onby Disturbin (Hey Hey, Ho Ho, The Crimaliens Have Got to GO)

To: elmer fudd

It's ben a few years. And our theatre only charges $4 a seat. the popcorn then, was 2.50



To: mtg

My wife and I always buy our candy at a store before going to the theater. We do, too. We buy the popcorn at the theater, but that's it.



To: digger48

just popcorn to go You must be a wealthy man! I'm a cheap SOB. On the rare occasions I go to a movie, we sneak our own food in. I won't pay $10 for a 1 ounce candy bar. Reminds me of the time I had to buy a 9 V battery in an emergency. I was out of town and the closest place was a convenience store. Before I left, I jokingly told someone they would probably charge me $12.50 for the battery. I was wrong. They wanted $12.98! For a single 9 V battery! My heart nearly stopped. I said, "Gee, those are really expensive!" The clerk replied, "Yep."



To: NYCynic

That's nothing new. A tollway here was not being traveled by enough customers. The geniuses who run the tollway, which is the county, raised prices to make up for the lack of cars.



To: mathprof

I avoid movie theaters all together. I make good use of my 5.1 surround sound entertainment center, with big screen TV, DVD/VHS system, and DISH Network satellite system. If I want to rent a movie, I order it via remote control on pay per view. $3.99 per movie for a 24 hour period. By the time the moveis are on pay per view, they're on DVD. If I really liked the movie, I'll buy it at the local Wal-Mart.



by 16 posted onby BigSkyFreeper (There is no alternative to the GOP except varying degrees of insanity.)

To: skaterboy; All

Ok, SOMEBODY please answer me this... Why do people need to have to munch on something when going to a movie....? I don't have that need !!! I can easily sit at a movie not eating or drinking anything and enjoy the movie just fine.



by 17 posted onby LiveFreeOrDie2001 (WAKE UP AND SMELL THE SECURITY FLAWS !)

To: Right Wing Assault

see 12



To: Bogey78O

"No one wants to pay 7$ for some loud mouth teen thug"





Or you could bring my eldest son with you..... The whites of his eyes were blood red from diving and he got up in their face and told them to shut the "f" up.....the audience applauded the kids did not say another word.....



To: Bogey78O

"No one wants to pay 7$ for some loud mouth teen thug"





Or you could bring my eldest son with you..... The whites of his eyes were blood red from diving and he got up in their face and told them to shut the "f" up.....the audience applauded the kids did not say another word.....



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