Secrets your movie theater won't tell you

[Granite]

The american magazine Reader's Digest put out a list recently about some secrets your movie theater won't tell you. Thought I'd share it and ask if anyone else knows a few more (or if some of these secrets don't apply to theaters in different countries!)

1. Why does it smell so good? The popcorn has chemicals in it to make its aroma fill the theater.

2. "Extreme Digital" is actually lower quality than IMAX digital. We use it because it's easier to maintain.

3. For the first month or two of screening, money from ticket sales goes to movie studios. Theaters rely on concession stands to make money. That's why concessions are overpriced. Popcorn costs almost nothing to make.

4. I know all the methods you use to sneak in. I just don't always care enough to kick you out for it.

5. The only foods I trust are the popcorn, drinks, and boxed candy. I wouldn't eat the pretzels, hot dogs, or nachos.

6. Chances are, if you complain to the manager and he sides with you, he's just putting on a show to calm you down. The manager might pretend to yell at me for a minute, but he'll pat me on the back the moment you're out of sight.

7. Combination deals don't save you money at some theaters. You'd pay the same price if you purchased the items separately.

8. Think you're saving calories by ordering a small popcorn? That "small" popcorn could have been a medium last month.

9. Stop getting angry that your food isn't ready. Microwaves can't cook frozen pizzas in 30 seconds!

10. No, I can't give you extra cups. Everything is inventoried at the end of the night.

11. Your suspicions are correct. Sometimes I sweep excess food under the seats. Movies often end every few minutes. Sometimes, three or more screenings end at the same time. I don't always have time to clean everything up.

12 Yes, movies start late. But they almost always end on time – otherwise, the ushers wouldn't know when to clean up. Theaters tell you to come in early so you have time to watch commercials and previews.

13. Popcorn keeps for a day or two. Many customers confuse warm with fresh.

For a video with more check out: http://gma.yahoo.com/13-secrets-movi...ws-movies.html

[j7wild]

I was an Assistant Manager at an 8-Plex when I was 18, a Projectionist at another 8-Plex when I was 22, and a General Manager of a 9-Plex when I was 25.

Everything Granite has posted is true.

The Hot Dogs and Nachos are constantly reheated: what didn't sell today, will be refrigerated and reheated tomorrow and the day after until it's all gone before a fresh batch is made.

That includes the melted cheese for the nachos and the chili on the hot dogs (and it's just not the movie theater that does this. Restaurants do it too).

Yes, every cup is counted. Every cup is money. When you pay $5 for a small drink, you are paying for the cup. The ice and water and soda syrup that goes in the cup only costs about 20 cents to the movie theater.

Some theaters now have courtesy cups they give you if you just want a glass of water. The cup is tiny, not much bigger than those paper 'cups' you see in the tube holder next to a water cooler.

I remember doing the report every night and having to call in the grosses to the different movie studios at 1 a.m. or later, depending on what time of the week it was (midnight shows or no midnight shows) and what time you finished doing the reports and nightly concession count - there will be a recorder on the other end. We would say something like Tightrope made $1,500 in ticket sales today: the net on it is $1,300 going to the studio and the rest goes to the movie theater.

I presume now it's all automatically tracked by computers based on the each time a ticket is sold to a show but back then we had to count the tickets manually and do the report by hand.

Back in those days we would really clean each auditorium after each show: there wasn't a popcorn kernel left.

But back then the biggest multi-plex was 9 screen, not 20 or 24 or 30.

There was always at least 30 min between showings for each movie so there was plenty of time to clean each auditorium after each show.

Now they have showings overlapping showings and they have more showings per day and more screens per theater.

The first show nowadays is usually 10 a.m. now or on the weekends, even earlier at 9:30 a.m.

In those old days, we didn't have the first showing til noon.

I remember the norm back then was 5 showings per day per movie; not anymore!

[ClaytonMG]

It sounds like I worked at a theater just like the one J7 was at. I miss those days...

[j7wild]

It sounds like I worked at a theater just like the one J7 was at. I miss those days...

Yes, it was the good old days!

1983, 1987 and 1990.

The 8-Plex in 1987 was a $1 movie theater but it was a brand new theater owned by Cinemark:

the Westminister 8.

One of their first theater to open in Houston by Cinemark, which started in 1984.

It's now closed and has been closed for about 8 years.

The 9-Plex I worked at in 1990 was the Cineplex Odeon Spectrum 9 theater: the flagship of Cineplex (now Plitt) theaters in Houston.

THX in 4 out of 9 auditoriums, escalators upstairs and downstairs from a raised center lobby entrance, elevator, 2 concession stands, skylights, marble floors, plush seats, expensive carpeting, multi-level parking garage.

We were also the first theater in Houston to get the Dolby Digital sound system when Jurassic Park premiered.

http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/15820/photos

The movie that played at the Grand opening of it in 1988 was Die Hard in 70mm 6 Track Stereo which to this day, it's still one of the Best movie going experiences I'd ever had.

Better than any IMAX or 3D screening I ever seen!

The theater I worked at in 1983, the Wind Chimes 8, is still open:

it's been a $1 movie theater for about 20 years now and I hear it's a dump now.

It's too bad!

It was a nice theater when it opened in 1982 and until it became a dollar theater, it was one of the nicest theater in Far West Houston.

The first movie I watched there was Firefox and then WarGames.

I never thought I would end up working there.

Back then it was difficult to get there from my parents' house.

The 3 roads that went to it (South to North) were not direct routes yet, there were sections of them that were not opened, still under construction or still just grassy fields.

So to get there, there was a lot of going east and west and north and south and going east and west again.

It was only in 1984 that those 3 roads became straight shots to the theater.