Look, there is a lot going on in the world at the moment and tensions are high, and the last thing I want to do is to fan the flames by bringing up a subject so divisive that it risks tearing apart the fabric of humanity any further.
And yet I must, because a cinema in New Zealand has just ejected two women for sneaking in their own snacks.
According to the New Zealand Herald, the two women took some children to see Despicable Me 4 at Cinema 3 in Pukekohe, North Island. The pair were said to have taken blankets and snack bags – containing popcorn, sweets, crisps and lollipops – into the screening without being stopped by any cinema employees. However, just as the movie started, an employee told them to put their snack bags away, the report said. They agreed but the employee apparently insisted on sitting next to them to monitor the snack situation.
A few minutes later, one of the children popped a Skittle he was already holding into his mouth, and quite frankly, all hell broke loose, the women said. The employee started shouting at them, and said that the police would be called unless they left. This is when the children started crying.
“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.’”
The paper reports that the women agreed to leave the auditorium and continue the discussion in the foyer. Four police officers then entered the cinema lobby, which the woman described as “a bit dramatic”.
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?
There are arguments for each side in the debate. Cinemas are struggling financially. Audience numbers are down, films guaranteed to have been popular five years ago are flopping and many venues are closing. In the face of such a decline, cinemas need all the help they can get. Most of the ticket price goes to the film studios, and often what can make or break a cinema is the snack stand. By buying a bag of Revels and a Tango Ice Blast, you are helping to preserve the entire cinema industry.
On the other: have you seen how much these places charge? As soon as I’m done writing this, I’m going to take my kids to see Harold and the Purple Crayon, and the thought of doubling the ticket price by buying sweets and drinks – items that would be half the price at the supermarket – is already bringing me out in a cold sweat. By charging so much for snacks, it could be argued that cinemas are hastening their own demise. In a cost-of-living crisis, they are pushing themselves beyond the means of many people.
Luckily, we have already had this argument in the UK, and the message is clear. Most UK cinemas are perfectly happy when audiences bring in their own snacks. Two years ago, Cineworld, Odeon and Vue all underlined this after someone tweeted them all at once. Of the chains, only Everyman is explicit about banning BYO snacks, with a line on its FAQ page reading: “Please note that only food and drink bought within the cinema is allowed to be taken into the screen.”
In the US, Regal and AMC cinemas both warn against bringing outside food to a screening. South Korean cinemas sometimes provide a list of what is and is not permissible to bring with you (biscuits and ice-cream yes, pizza and blood sausage, no.
In France, eating or drinking during a film is traditionally frowned on, so it isn’t a problem. And in New Zealand, apparently they will call the police and tell your kids that you might be murdered in a state-sanctioned assassination if one of you eats a Skittle. So, you know, it’s probably a good idea to check first.
We’ll be seeing Harold and the Purple Crayon at a Cineworld. The only things I’m planning to sneak in are sleeping tablets.
