'The End' for popcorn in British cinemas?

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[jonluc]

LONDON (AFP) -- The credits are rolling in Britain for the time-honored cinematic tradition of munching popcorn at the movies -- a newspaper reported Sunday that increasing numbers of cinemas are banning it.

A combination of health-conscious cinemagoers rejecting sugar-coated popcorn and disgust at its distinctive smell is steadily spelling ""The End"" for the snack in some art house cinema chains, the Observer reported.

It quoted Daniel Broch, the owner of the renowned Everyman cinema in London's upmarket Hampstead district, who recently bought 17 more venues.

""I will de-popcorn every new venue I acquire,"" he said. ""It has a disproportionate influence on the space in terms of its overwhelming smell, the cultural idea of it and the operational problems created by the mess it produces.

""I'm not saying no popcorn is better than popcorn,"" he added. ""But I am saying there is no way in which it fits with the culturally sophisticated brand I wish to sell.""

The Picturehouse Cinema, a chain of 19 cinemas across Britain, will experiment with popcorn-free screenings in September.

""Popcorn is a contentious issue. Lots of people absolutely hate it and have asked us to ban it, so we're going to do exactly that,"" the group's head of media, Gabriel Swartland, told the Observer.

""If it's a success, and I've no reason to suspect it won't be, we'll roll it out across all our cinemas and make it a permanent fixture,"" said Swartland.

But other cinemas which tried to go popcorn-free found customers demanded it.

""Audiences in three venues... began asking for popcorn, so we provided it,"" said Richard Napper, the marketing director of the Curzon chain.

Source the Tehran Times (sorry couldn't find a better source) muhahaha

http://www.tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=175242

[Valkyrie]

Sugar coated??  Whatever happened to good old salt & butter?  Or in some cases artificial greasener (my hubby's term for it).  Personally I love popcorn especially when they use real butter.  Good thing we don't go to movies much anymore!!!

[compman777]

lol, because those ppl in london don't like their good old fashion popcorn anymore...

[Neodubois]

well I do'nt see why, except of course the mess it creates

they need to clean the rooms after every show cause the stuff lies everywhere + the seats stick cause the popcorn has been on it and people rub their hands on them to remove the fat...

[compman777]

but that is the fun of going to a cinemas stepping in "who knows what'?

[Valkyrie]

They still need to clean it between shows.  If they eliminate popcorn, that will stop that mess.  But then there is the pop containers, candy wrappers & the stuff people bring in.  Stopping popcorn will only make the cinema lose money, tbh.  Most theatres make the majority of their money from the concession stands, not the admission price.

[compman777]

yup the major sticky stuff is the soft drinks.

[Valkyrie]

That's true.  Because someone always spills at least part of their drink at the show.

Mind you, if you are at an "adult" show, it won't be soda spilled on the floors!!!  :rofl3:

[compman777]

now valk some might say that is just TOO much info...