Why do movie theatres serve popcorn?
Why do movie theatres serve popcorn?
Learn how popcorn became a popular snack to eat at the movies.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
Have you ever wondered how popcorn became the default movie theater snack? We're not complaining, but where did this trend come from? And how did popcorn in the movies become so ubiquitous - even across continents and cultures? The answer actually comes down to timing, history, and a little coincidence.
Now popcorn doesn't just refer to the snack food, it also refers to the type of corn used to make it. This corn variety originated in Central America and became popular in the United States in the mid-1800s because it was easy to grow. Turning corn into popcorn got a lot easier with the introduction of the mobile steam-powered popcorn maker in 1885. This device received worldwide fame in 1893 when it's inventor provided the popcorn and roasted peanuts to the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago.
Entrepreneurial Americans soon started buying their own popcorn carts and a community of mobile popcorn stands emerged, that functioned a lot like today's food trucks. Popcorn was a hit - the snack was fast to make, inexpensive, and delicious.
The movies came into their own in the United States during the great depression, at a time when their relatively low ticket price, high entertainment value, and fantastical, escapist themes appealed to a nation burdened by financial hardship. Some of Hollywood's most beloved classics were released in this period.
During the depression, folks went to the movies, and popcorn vendors followed them. Theaters formed relationships with vendors and allowed them to sell popcorn in front of the theater before show time, for a fee, and the trend as we know it was born. During the 1940's, theater owners moved away from this partnership model and brought concessions inside the theater, which established the familiar model we see today.
As movies spread from Hollywood around the world, other countries adopted American moviegoing culture, popcorn included. So, popcorn's ubiquity is mostly a product of historical circumstance and good luck, but it doesn't hurt that popcorn tastes great too.
Now popcorn doesn't just refer to the snack food, it also refers to the type of corn used to make it. This corn variety originated in Central America and became popular in the United States in the mid-1800s because it was easy to grow. Turning corn into popcorn got a lot easier with the introduction of the mobile steam-powered popcorn maker in 1885. This device received worldwide fame in 1893 when it's inventor provided the popcorn and roasted peanuts to the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago.
Entrepreneurial Americans soon started buying their own popcorn carts and a community of mobile popcorn stands emerged, that functioned a lot like today's food trucks. Popcorn was a hit - the snack was fast to make, inexpensive, and delicious.
The movies came into their own in the United States during the great depression, at a time when their relatively low ticket price, high entertainment value, and fantastical, escapist themes appealed to a nation burdened by financial hardship. Some of Hollywood's most beloved classics were released in this period.
During the depression, folks went to the movies, and popcorn vendors followed them. Theaters formed relationships with vendors and allowed them to sell popcorn in front of the theater before show time, for a fee, and the trend as we know it was born. During the 1940's, theater owners moved away from this partnership model and brought concessions inside the theater, which established the familiar model we see today.
As movies spread from Hollywood around the world, other countries adopted American moviegoing culture, popcorn included. So, popcorn's ubiquity is mostly a product of historical circumstance and good luck, but it doesn't hurt that popcorn tastes great too.