A woman brought her own snacks to Despicable Me 4. Then the police arrived
A woman brought her own snacks to Despicable Me 4. Then the police arrived | Stuart Heritage
If you work at a cinema (condolences), and you see someone smuggling snacks in, no you didn't.
A long time ago, as teens, we used to go to the movies quite often. Ofc we didn't buy the local overpriced popcorn but brought our own snacks, smuggling them, all sneaky like. One day the guy who was admitting us in was like "you should just be honest guys - no need to hide them". Of course this was not forever but for a couple of months we could bring inanything because we were not tied by the snacks being hideable.
Upon such bricks a world worth living in can be built.
We just take a tote bag full. If anyone says anything they have just lost our custom. Can't stop people smuggling snacks when nobody goes
I mean.....theaters ONLY make money on the consession stand. They basically break even on ticket sales, because of having to pay the movie studios. So if they make you bring the snacks back to your car BEFORE you go in, I get it.
But once you do go in? Once you're in the theater? No. If I were someone NOT with those people, I'd be angered that I followed your rules, I paid my admission, I bought from your concession stand, and now MY movie theater experience is being ruined over some fucking skittles???
I'd me more angry at the employee than the kids/mom. It would cause me to find a new movie theater.
Here's the deal. If theatres can't survive if I don't like their bad expensive snacks, Hollywood will have to figure something else out. Maybe they'll have to hire the same twenty faces less often, or take a more reasonable cut, who knows. Not my problem.
This is why I'm relieved that so many theatres have realized getting a liquor license is the way to go. The profit margins on canned booze sold to captive audience are insane, and then I don't even feel slight guilt about the burgers and fries I smuggled in to munch on! They definitely make enough off the 2-3 beers I'm buying to offset the popcorn I was not going to buy regardless.
"many struggling cinemas depend on the sales of pricy food and drink"
Fuck you, what they charge isnt "pricy"
its fuckin exploitative. Its why they ban you bringing in snacks, in the hopes you'll pay 20 dollars for 5 cents of popcorn aind 7 cents of soda.
also, You expect anyone to have sympathy for the theater after
“My niece asked nicely: ‘If you’re calling the police, are they going to kill my mum?’” one of the women told the newspaper. “And he laughed at that stage. He looks directly in her face and he said: ‘Yeah, maybe we’ll find out.’
And yet the entire Cinema industry is crying like babies cause "no one is going to the theater anymore".
They can all go fuck themselves.
its fuckin exploitative
It’s literally how they pay for the seats you’re sitting in. The money you pay for the ticket goes to the studio, not the theatre.
A poor business model on their part does not constitute a moral obligation on mine. Places like this are more than welcome to figure out ways to stay in business without being unreasonably fucking exploitative.
Yeah I'm sorry but fuck cinemas. I used to love going to the movies in the theater. It was a great time and it didn't really cost all that much. Now if I want to see a movie in the theater I have to plan at least 2 or 3 weeks ahead to save up the money necessary to go. The ticket prices are too high the cost of the food is too high and they're getting dickish about it. And it's not fucking inflation either, they are blatantly overcharging for everything. Quite frankly they can all fucking close for all I care.
Bring your own snacks? Believe it or not jail.
We have the best Theatres because of jail
They agreed but the employee apparently insisted on sitting next to them to monitor the snack situation.
Instead of... telling them to take the snacks back out to the car? There's no situation where that isn't weird to me. Were there no other theaters to be cleaned, patrons to be helped, tickets to be sold, anything else, they just have this extra guy with literally nothing else to do but watch this family not eat the food they brought in?
He had power to flex, and by GOD was he going to flex it!
Yep, seriously, is he thinking if he's extra hard on these visitors then no one else will smuggle food in? Because they're not earning any more money by disallowing this family to eat their snacks.
And they're hopefully losing customers over this shitshow, too.
I was planning to see a movie this weekend, but this story just reminded me how greedy and anti-customer that whole industry is.
its not nearly as good as any of the other despicible me movies. felt like they had no idea how to tie everything together plus the kids are barely in the movie and dont do anything
I believe the Despicable Me series peaked with the second one. Everything after that feels like soulless cashgrabs to sell Minions merch.
The only good thing about the fourth movie is the opening music.
I hope this cinema (or the chain it belongs to) goes out of business. What a hostile way to treat your customers.
At least it wasn't in the US. Calling the police on someone for anything has a non zero chance of just getting them straight up murdered. So i was happy to see it was in NZ lol
I'm surprised the police even bothered to turn up. In the UK it's hard to get the police to turn up to actual crimes.
Lol, American cops crave violence too much and UK cops don't want to be anywhere near it. Neither are doing their damn jobs.
Cinemas: our business model sucks so much we have to sell overpriced food!
So? Just die already. Bye.
Unfortunately they're trapped. If they lowered the price of food and raised the price of admission to compensate people wouldn't notice. In fact, they wouldn't even make it to the food to see, they'd just know that one cinema has $10 admission and the other has $20.
They could advertise that they have lower concession cost to attract people, but there would be enough people thinking "I'll just go to the cheap one and bring my own food/not buy food." that momentum wouldn't move into their favor.
That sounds like the invisible hand of the market weeding out failing competitors.
Keep in mind that you have fancy media devices at home. Cinema served a purpose that may not be as necessary now. That said, cinemas have always made money on food and not on tickets. It will die, but it's not like they are stupid people suddenly for doing this.
Cinemas made all their money on tickets before TV.
Then TV came along, then ridiculously predatory movie distribution contracts, then the Internet.
Their response? Apparently. Using the police to enforce their terms of service regarding food sales.
What's next; calling the police when you don't watch the advertisements?
I have a feeling you or a member of your family owns a struggling (dare I say failing) theater.
Where I live it is pretty normal to openly bring your own food. You can bring whatever you want. Bring your own ice cream and cheese burgers for all they care.
They do sell some stuff, but its not overpriced.
A few years back, one cinema chain said they were going to stop allowing this. Then their competitor advertised that they still allow you to bring your own food in and then the first cinema chain backed off.
It's become so expensive over here. We were out last week to watch the new Pixar movie. Tickets were 12€ per person (so 24€ for the two of us) and we're eyeing nachos with a cheese dip and a medium drink to share. That would have added 20€ to the bill and we decided that was was just too much. I understand that ticket sales alone don't keep the little cinema afloat, but 20€ for maybe half a bag of store-bought nacho chips and a drink that's 95% tap water? Come on. 20€ is almost a cooked meal for two at an entry-level restaurant.
It's probably a slight mistranslation so I don't mean any offense but, I'm finding"entry-level restaurant" hilarious.
Imagine Alexander, who after years of hard work and dedication to his craft finally moves on to a professional level restaurant. On the way in he sees an overconfident novice kitted out in the newest gear, silk napkin smoldering at his side. Escaping from singed mustache hairs a rasp can be heard, "Don't eat the fire... Don't eat... The fire."
"Poor guy never stood a chance, came here having never even seen a flambe?? I've trained for this, I've got this, I might not have the best gear but those forks and knives become a part of me when it's time to dine".
Alexander reassures him self, attempting to squelch the nerves steaming from his soul.
His teeth grit, hands clench, breath ceases for just a moment upon hearing the words.
"Do you have a reservation?"
Suddenly the seriousness of the situation struck Alexander, then with a cool confident sigh he knew he would succeed. No plate, bowl, or flaming pan would stop him.
“My niece asked nicely: ‘If you’re calling the police, are they going to kill my mum?’” one of the women told the newspaper. “And he laughed at that stage. He looks directly in her face and he said: ‘Yeah, maybe we’ll find out.’”
My man’s finally flexing the full power vested in him as cinema popcorn popper, and it is glorious!!
It's not the nature of power. Sometimes it's just the nature of peoplw to be week-old cockswabs
I snuck a whole Arby's French Dip into that movie. Carried the au jus cup in my hand and walked right by the staff.
Ask me to leave all you want, but call the police? wtf? That'll be WHY I sneak food in the next time. This time I just needed actual dinner, and y'all don't even sell real food here.
I walked in with two footlong Subways once. They're like...eh...just clean up when you're done, please.
You haven't lived until you've snuck all you can eat fajitas from Applebee's into a movie.
That implies you snuck all you can eat fajitas out of an Applebee's
Damn, dude. A French dip with au jus? That's way better than my shitty French fry story..
Here is the original posting from New Zealand Herald which has video of the incident (1 of 3 near identical pages, that website is a mess). I searched out the real one because that linked article is just horrible and unnecessary (idk why he felt cool putting "The only things I’m planning to sneak in are sleeping tablets." at the end).
For anyone wanting to get riled up, NZ Herald also has this wonderful little opinion piece from Ryan Bridge (a local broadcaster).
Ryan Bridge is wondering where people’s shame went when it comes to breaking the rules. This is not the most important story that you will hear today, but it grinds my gears. It’s a small, seemingly insignificant event, but I think it speaks to two things that I absolutely hate about the world that we live in right now.
The opinion article is just a shit show from what sounds like a pretty horrible and privileged person.
So, theater patrons and owners need to get together and tell studios to stop expecting to receive 99% of ticket sales money.
In rhe UK (at least the part i live in), they dont stop you from bringing your own food in. I think that staff know that no one wants to pay the crazy prices for the food they sell. If i could buy the snacks they sell for the prices that the shops across the road are selling them, then i wouldn't need to go to the shops across the road. Maybe thats not possible for them, maybe they need to find a new revenue stream.
Movie theatres make almost nothing from ticket sales. They have to pay a huge lump sum (upwards of $100,000) up front just to be able to get the movie and show it for a month. Often they simply lose money on it! So the crazy price of snacks is an attempt to recoup their investment faster and hope to get some profit.
The other model is for the theatre to simply pay 95% of ticket sales to the movie studio for the first week (and a bit less as the weeks go on). This essentially guarantees the theatre loses money on the film (due to all the other overhead that easily eat up that 5%) but it’s less risky if the film is a failure. Either way, they only make money on food!
So they need another revenue stream. If i am forced to pay high tickey proces and high snack prices, im going to wait for the film to come out on a streaming platform and watch it then.
Lots of people do the same. Its the reason most films ive been tonsee recently are in empty cinemas where i basivally get a private screening.
The industry at large is failing and has been for a while.
Yeah, in my entire time of going to the cinema and sneaking snacks in a backpack, not a single member of staff asked me or other movie goers about it.
I think it's only questioned if you openly bring in say, a bag of minstrels of a share bag of doritos.
I mean shit, the smaller hotdogs that VUE sell are like a fiver which is an absolute rip off. You'd think with popular films coming out they'd make a killing with the revenue from the tickets being sold so food prices wouldn't be that shite.
This is also mentioned in the article
So it is!
What's the policy on bringing raw materials and making it in the theater? It's not technically outside food and is prepared on the premises.
Thinking a hibachi stove or an electric blender.
It's not technically outside food
I am not sure how you convinced yourself of this
Raw popcorn kernels are not digestible 'food.' Oil is not food. Salt is not food.
Combine. Add heat. Et Voila! Someone complain, bring in bags of powdered chemicals, beakers, reagents, and bunsen burners, and go to work.
It's all in the technical margins.
If I bring my own food and consume it indoors it is indoor food. If I ate it outside, it would be outside food. /s
If I had to guess the idea is the food comes to the theater in a truck, too, is that also "outside food"?
Realistically though I think everyone knows you're supposed to buy the food in the theater - everything else is people being cute
How big are your cargo shorts? You think no one is going to mind you chefing it up during trailers?
It is standard policy in New Zealand for cinemas to ban food brought in from outside and the Herald reported that Cinema 3 has five signs posted around the premises stating this.
“The exact wording is: ‘No outside food or drinks allowed’,” the cinema’s operations manager, Robert Greig, said, the paper reported.
Thus, once again, one of the oldest arguments in the world has been pushed back into the limelight: should you be allowed to take your own snacks into the cinema?
private businesses can do what they want. But the prices they charge for food is outrageous. So i just dont go to those places. For the cost of a few movies and snacks now, you could buy your own large screen TV and surround system that will annoy your neighbors if thats what you need.
Should private businesses really be allowed to dictate to us what and when we can eat or drink? If you consider that human right, I'm not sure they should.
Taking a shit is a human right but you can’t do that in a theater either.
No one is forcing you to interact with those businesses...
They can't stop you from eating or drinking what you want, but they can't be forced to allow you to bring it into their business.
However, if their business isn't sustainable without egregiously-priced food, perhaps it should be allowed to fail. And if they all start to fail, perhaps the studios would start to lose money, and maybe they would eventually understand that it's due to their own greed. But we all know the blame would get passed on to the consumer.
Should private businesses really be allowed to dictate to us what and when we can eat or drink?
Don't they always do that with, ya know, menus?
That's house rules, not law. No way the police has to be involved here.
There is a place for it if viewed from the trespassing angle. I.e. "you brought food, now get out!". That said, this person seems to have done roughly the same as people calling the police on black birdwatchers and such.
If you have a private property and someone refuses to leave after being asked to leave, that is trespass and they may call the police for it.
I personally think it's ridiculous to escalate this situation over food, of all things.
Handled properly? No.
But your local theater doesn't make money on ticket sales, the studios do. If you like your local theater, support them. Buy a drink.
Maybe I should have been clearer so you didn't have to write a story.
Fuck this cinema in particular.
Support your local cinema.
Random movie theater employee doesn't even make more money because of snacks, only the owner does. This guy cares about something that won't affect him materially. It's just a power trip.
Maybe we could all stop the BS and charge what it takes to run a theater then charge what the food really costs? $1 bag of popcorn, $1 soda, candy near cost.
If a ticket needs to be $25 make it $25
Ah yes, buy the food and drink that costs more than the ticket itself... My local cinema is thriving currently, they even have super cheap tickets and don't give a damn if you bring snacks with you. There was never one time where they removed features of the cinema or made it more expensive, so I am theorising that no, you don't need to buy the extras to keep the cinema afloat.
I like movies and I like the atmosphere at my local cinema. I'm going there almost every week. Most of the time I bring my own snacks. I think they just ignore me because I'm like...their best customer, lol. :D
I do order a drink every time. But eating popcorn or nachos every week sounds like a nightmare, and that's all they have there.
I actually go to the theater for the popcorn but stay for the movie. I may have a popcorn problem.
These ones I really enjoyed in the last few years:
These movies are solid. Not great, but still very enjoyable:
And these movies are pretty bad or just disappointing:
...and then there's also "The Zone of Interest". I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but it's definitely an experience. You could've heard a hairpin drop at the cinema and it was packed with people. No one bought popcorn. I wish every fascist here in Germany would be forced to watch that one and think about their stupid beliefs.
Sounds like they can benefit from a partnership with a local pizzeria
My real question here is, do they really pay the employees enough for them to actually care?
I suspect some employees (like the one of this article) are happy to do it for free… just for the fun
I'm honestly baffled by people busting their ass for shitty jobs for shitty corporations. It's like people being exploited by Walmart risking their lives trying to prevent theft... Like why?
I will eat and drink whatever I like and I pirate all the movies I watch. If I am responsible for the demise of the film industry you are welcome.
Quick! Eat the evidence!
Attack your few remaining customers.... Bold strategy.
It's weird that things could go so wrongly under the careful supervision of an underpaid child worker. (/Sarcasm)
Most UK cinemas are perfectly happy when audiences bring in their own snacks.
And they still make money. From selling snacks.
Because people are lazy and want a good time.
I wouldn't say that a buy drinks or nachos to support "my" local cinema -- it's still a chain --, but if I feel like it I'm buying from the venue. Many people do. There are always queues for popcorn.
I wonder what that theater's spaghetti policy is.
Every organization should have a "spaghetti policy".
What's the US army's spaghetti policy?
What's Microsoft spaghetti policy?
What's the Make a Wish Foundation's spaghetti policy?
I was just reading about pirate radio stations. One pretty bitter post by a busted pirate radio operator went like "while a large number of police officers were busy chasing us through the forest, a guy got stabbed to death in the downtown. I think the raid on us was a gross mistake of police resource allocation."
This is like that, but even more petty.
I’m so happy this guy doesn’t live in the US & have more destructive opportunities in life.
the police were called to the scene because someone was willingly watching despicable me 4 (sus). i wouldn't trust someone in that situation.
Meh my internet points will take a hit.
Guy is paid to enforce rules. "Hey you snuck in food I have to ask you to leave."
Last says "No."
Dudes next thing is "Well I'll need to call the cops if you are treaspassing."
Lady refuses. So he calls the cops.
Yes there is testimony from the people kicked out that he was a douche, but for arguments sake let's say the guys denies saying any of the douchebag thing.
Now let's put you in his shoes. You need this job, you have a lady refusing to leave... What do you do?
Seriously his actions aren't unwarranted, especially in a place like NZ where cops don't have a whole thing about shooting people.
I say this as a person who's snuck tons of snacks, but also when I was caught and asked to leave I did.
I am really surprised that still somebody goes to cinema. C'mon buying 40 inch monitor and good sound system is not that expensive. You will soon good ROI if you go to the cinema frequently
Look at Mr. FancyPants having space for a home cinema.
Many movies a 40” display is good enough. There are a lot of movies where you do not get the impact without a full sized movie screen.
Interesting news for a Friday. Gobto theater and be murdered. Guess ticket ticket sales will suck this week.
If they relied so much on those snack sales, they should bring the prices down to something reasonable.
$7 for a 12oz soda isn't reasonable.
I’ve “snuck” quite a bit of snackage with me when I go to my local theater. (Especially because they rarely offer anything on my diet.) I put that in quote marks because I’m sure they can easily tell I’m smuggling my own stuff in.
I’ve always reckoned that they let me by because they’re not paid enough to really care. Thankfully I have yet to run into a theater worker on a power trip.
I guess it also helps that I do buy myself drinks while I’m there.
But man, I’d probably shit my pants if they called the cops on me just because I brought my own zero sugar smoked sausages and some pumpkin seeds…
I remember sitting in front of two of my wife's friends during a movie once, when I was overcome by the smell of McDonald's fries. One of them had retrieved a box of fries from the other's purse once the coast was clear.
I used to go to the local dollar store and grab myself a can of coke and some lollies (candy) on my way to the theater. In England, right before the movie starts, they have the rating card come up for a few seconds. It's always the most quiet time because the movie is about to start, so no one is taking, there's no movie playing yet, and the ads / trailers are over. I would always open my coke at this moment of silence because it was so funny to me to be sitting in a room full or silent strangers and for the only noise to clearly be the sound of a can opening that no one could see was just a coke.
This is a story of one bootlicking employee who was in desperate need of fucking off and minding his own business:
Dude's progressed from boot licking to boot felatio to boot deep throat, what in the fuck seriously.
Fascists have it so easy, give the average fucker a little pin and tell them they're special helpers and they'll do this kind of thing for free.
Even the theatre was probably like "bro chill".
mf was a thigh-high fr fr
Jesus, what a horrifying experience.
Is he secretly an American? Because that sounds far more like something I'd hear here. Atrocious.
Yeah I thought it was US based on context too. I should've been suspicious when the employee didn't open fire on the family...
Why are people incapable of understanding the US isn't the source of all evil? Shitty people exist everywhere. It's really not that complex of an idea to understand.
Bro saw "Despicable Me" and took that as a challenge
Average perception of police
this whole thing wouldn't be a problem if the police were the tiniest bit trustworthy
This happened in New Zealand.
Are they not? That's depressing