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Movie Theaters are Not in the Movie Business
Popcorn, for example, because of the immense amount of popped bulk produced from a relatively small amount of kernels—the ratio is as high as 60:1—yields more than 90 cents of profit on every dollar of popcorn sold. It also serves to make customers thirsty for sodas, another high-margin product (supplied to most theater chains by Coca-Cola, which makes lucrative deals with theater owners in return for their exclusive "pouring" of its products). One theater chain executive went so far as to describe the cup holder mounted on each seat, which allows customers to park their soda while returning to the concession stand for more popcorn, as "the most important technological innovation since sound."
This interesting article says the movie theaters are not solely in the business of showing movies, but in fact in the businesses of fast food, "movie exhibition," and advertising.
(via Kottke)
· The Popcorn Palace Economy [Salon]
Posted in on January 04, 2006, 07:13 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
