30 Secrets A Movie Employee Won’t Tell You
By molly atherton
4 months ago
Welcome to the clandestine world of cinema! Behind the shimmering silver screens and the aroma of buttery popcorn lies a treasure trove of secrets guarded by those who call the movie theater their second home.
1. The popcorn probably isn’t fresh
You would probably assume popcorn served at the movie theatres is freshly made on the day, especially because it is usually served
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2. Employees get to watch movies before they are released
One of the main perks of working at a movie theatre is the employees get to watch new movies before they are released.
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3. You can get a refund if you have a bad experience
Most people just think it is just bad luck if there are technical difficulties or the actual movie itself is really bad, but employees
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4. Combo meals don’t save you any money
Although they are advertised as a cheaper deal and most movie theatre employees will try and persuade you to purchase one,
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5. Employees can get into trouble if you sneak in your own snacks
There isn’t much anyone can do if you manage to sneak your own food and drinks…the employees are the ones who will get
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6. Parents leave dirty nappies under the seats
As you can imagine this usually happens in children’s movies, but it is still pretty gross! Parents are clearly too lazy to get
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7. Don’t be fooled by the alcoholic drinks
Serving alcohol at the movie theatre is a relatively new trend as it only used to be available in privately owned establishments.
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8. There is a reason the popcorn smells so good…
Although you might think the movie theatre naturally smells like fresh popcorn because so many people are eating in whilst
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9. The theatres are only cleaned at the end of the day
Although you might expect each theatre to be cleaned between screenings, this usually isn’t the case as there isn’t enough time
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10. Employees probably won’t pass on your complaint to the manager
Although they don’t mean to, movie theatre employees probably won’t remember to pass on your complaint to the manager
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11. People get really mad when the slush puppy machine is broken
One of the most popular items purchased at movie theatres are the famous slush puppies, but unfortunately the
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12. It is easy to sneak into a R-rated movie if you're underage
According to the movie theatre employees, there is no point risking buying a ticket for an R-rated movie if you’re underage as
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13. They are slowly increasing the volume of adverts
You’ve probably noticed that the adverts displayed before the movie starts can feel like they’re going on forever…well that’s because
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14. People leave inappropriate items in the movie theatres
This one might surprise you…but people actually leave inappropriate and sometimes explicit items in the movie theatre! According
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15. They don’t use real butter to make ‘butter popcorn'
Don’t be fooled when you order butter popcorn at the movie theatre, because you won’t be eating any real butter! Employees have
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16. Nobody will notice if you sneak into a second movie
Although you’re technically breaking the rules, employees probably won’t notice if you never exit the theatre after the movie
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17. Don’t look under your seat
This is one rule everyone must live by…do not look under your seat! As we mentioned earlier, movie theatre employees have
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18. People get frisky in the theatres
Employees have revealed the rumours are true… people really do get frisky in the movie theatres! Apparently a lot of people
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19. Lots of fights break out
We bet you weren’t expecting this one…employees have revealed that a lot of fights break out at the movies! It can be really
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20. Avoid ordering the hot food snacks
If you take any tips from the employees at movie theatres, make sure it is this one! They’ve warned customers not to order
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21. Nobody cares if you buy a child’s ticket…unless you’re rude!
Pretty much all movie theatre employees have admitted that they often let adults sneak in with child tickets because
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22. Employees have the power to kick you out
Although they will only do this with good reason, employees do have the power to remove you from the movie theatre if you
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23. They will serve you food that has fallen on the floor
This one might shock you, but this is a real claim from one of the employees at a movie theatre! Apparently the managers
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24. Lots of celebrities go to the movies
It might surprise you that a lot of famous celebrities regularly enjoy going to the movies…even if they happen to know the
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25. They will call the police if you try and record the movie
Movie theatre employees are pretty chilled out about most things, but piracy is not one of them. If you are caught trying to
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26. The popcorn is made days in advance for big movie premieres
Think back to some iconic movie premieres…’Harry Potter’ or ‘Lord of the Rings’ for example. Employees know they
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27. People hang about in the theatre for ages after the movie has finished
One thing the employees can’t stand it when people hang about in the theatre when the movie has finished in anticipation
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28. There are mysterious items in the nacho cheese sauce
If you’ve ever seen the big buckets of nacho cheese sauce they use to pour over the chips, you will understand what we mean!
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29. Half of your drink is probably ice
According to some movie employees who have revealed their secrets about working at the theatres, they are instructed to fill the
Image Source: reddit.comcups with as much ice as possible to save on product. So the likelihood is you’re only getting half a cup of your chosen beverage.30. There is a secret red button hidden in the office of all movie theatres
One ex-employee revealed that all movie theatres have a secret red button which is locked away in a plastic case in the box office.
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31. They use lower screen quality on purpose
The movie theatres do not use the best quality, because it is easier to maintain. In fact, when you see “Extreme Digital” quality
Image Source: buzzfeed.comadvertised you'd likely think this was extremely good quality. But it's actually lower than normal IMAX digital. So, this is a tip!32. The concessions are the money maker
You may be surprised to find out that it's not actually the movie showings themselves that are the real money spinner. In fact,
Image Source: cinemapickit takes a lot for them to make money off movies alone. It's the drinks and snacks where they manage to make the money.33. Stick to the classic movie's snacks
Now employees or ex-employees of movie theatres will reveal that they personally would not be opting for the cinema food.
Image Source: cinemapickThe classic movie snacks yes, for example, candy, popcorn, slushies... But the hotdogs and nachos...probably not.34. The size of the popcorn changes all the time
The buckets of popcorn, small, medium, and large are certainly not set in stone. You may think that one time you get a lot for your
Image Source: cinemapicksmall bucket. The next time you may wonder where the popcorn has gone. This is because the sizes are constantly changing.35. The microwave foods aren't instant
A tip from employees; don't complain when your food is not ready immediately. The microwave takes a few minutes. These things
Image Source: foodrawneed heating up. Unless you want a room temperature hot dog. And we aren't sure that people would enjoy that too much either.36. They don't give extra cups
People are always asking for extra cups. This is usually so they can buy one drink and split it into two cups to save buying another.
Image Source: YahooBut no employee will give you the second cup. It has to be accounted for as part of the inventory at the end of the night.37. The movies start late
Yes, employees have admitted that the movies do start late. So, if you are wandering in on the minutes don't worry too much
Image Source: storyblocksbecause it probably hasn't even started yet. But somehow, they do finish on time. Otherwise, there would not be time for the changeover.38. The food might be warm...but maybe not fresh
Like we said before, the food can lie around on the counter for a fair few hours at a time just waiting in the counter. And maybe
Image Source: Pinterestit gets put back in the microwave to heat it up before you consume it. But don't let that fool you. It probably does not mean that it is fresh.39. For the couple of months of screening, the money goes to movie studios
So, for the first couple of months that the movies are paying in the theatre, the money does not go to the movie theatre as profits.
Image Source: storyblocksInstead, all of those ticket sales go to the movie studios. Then, after the first couple of months the profits start to go to the cinema.40. They know all of the ways you're trying to sneak in
If you think you have found some ingenious way to sneak in the movie theatre for free without paying for a ticket, employees hate
Image Source: Redditto break it to you but - it's been done before. Numerous times. They know all the tricks of the trade and are wise to it.41. The manager will pretend to be on your side
When you complain, the manager will probably go along with you and make you think that they are taking your complaint
Image Source: blogspotseriously and that there may even be repercussions for the employee. But, in reality they will probably totally ignore it.42. Employees have played X-box on the big screen after hours
If you're an X Box player, then this will sound pretty awesome. Imagine playing on the huge screen, with all of the surround sound
Image Source: Yahoowith your friends. Maybe this is even better than the movie discount... Although this is definitely not standard movie theatre practice.43. Popcorn became popular during WWII
Now here's an interesting fact that most people would not have thought. But it was actually during the WWII when popcorn started
Image Source: facebook.comto become increasingly more popular. And reached its popularity peak. Since then, it has been maintained; a snack that's here to stay!44. 14 millions of quarts of popcorn are consumed by Americans
144 million quarts of popcorn.... now that sounds like a HECK of a lot of popcorn, doesn't it? But if you go to the movies then it's
Image Source: buzzfeed.compretty much essential to grab yourself some popcorn, right? It's the ultimate movie snack. And Americans especially love popcorn.45. Digital projectors cost a lot to operate
In recent years especially, cinemas have struggled. In fact, the large costs to run the digital projectors has forced some of the smaller
Image Source: ebay.commovie theatres to permanently close because they cannot afford to run them. Especially when there are only a few seats taken.46. The level of the sound can affect your ears
In some cinemas the level of volume is so loud that it can almost actually damage your eardrum. It's not good to subject your ears to it so often.
Image Source: YelpOtherwise, you may notice that your sound is slightly, more muffled immediately after the film. It all depends on which cinema you go to of course.47. A lot of popcorn is wasted
If you think about those huge buckets of popcorn - does anyone actually manage to finish them? More often than not, around half
Image Source: Yankerof them goes wasted. That's including the whole lot of popcorn that is spilled everywhere in the dark and rolls all over the seats and floors.48. People get up to all sorts in the cinema
Not only do people get frisky, but people do all kinds of things. Nowadays, vaping inside the cinema is a problem - and it will most likely
Image Source: blogspot.comget you thrown out. Smoking is less frequent inside the cinema but there definitely have been instances. Now it's a cinema guys, save the other stuff for later...49. They get discounts!
It makes sense that as an employee, they get an employee's discount. So, they can come back on their day off and enjoy the movies for a
50. People get kicked out more frequently than you'd think
You probably think it's a threat that if you misbehave or try to sneak in etc, you probably won't ACTUALLY get thrown out.
Image Source: buzzfeed.comWrong. It happens way more than you think. In fact, employees are quite used to doing it as part of their job when someone is repeatedly doing something.51. You might be sat next to a serial killer
One movie theater employee has revealed that they later found out a regular customer at the cinema they worked at turned out to be a
Image Source: a&eserial killer. So when you go to the cinema and there's that awkward moment of being sat next to a stranger if there's a spare seat...52. Explosive diarrhea happens more often than you'd think
If you've never experienced this a single time in your life in the movie screen you're in, count yourself lucky - and it could still happen,
Image Source: redditbecause apparently it's very common. Workers have to clean up diarrhea on a regular basis, and sometimes it's a case of cleaning up after someone.53. Managers take inventory very, very seriously
Workers can be expected to count out all the cups, for example, that they're given in a sleeve at the start of their shift. They then have
Image Source: pinterestto account for any missing cups and update management on cup inventory. All cups counted at the end of the shift would have to correctly match what has been sold.54. Some employees do push the little red button
The red button inside a plastic case in the box office of a movie theater of course gets pushed every now and then by a rebellious employee.
Image Source: imgflipOne such time was when a worker was told it was for making announcements - only for them to find out that it actually gets broadcast throughout the movie screens.55. Workers hate it when you wait around for an after-credit scene
At the end of the day, they're working long hours and they just want to crack on with cleaning up that spilled popcorn and possible diarrhea.
Image Source: redditSo when movie-goers are waiting around for an after-credit scene, it not only infuriates them, but it's worse when the movie doesn't even have one.56. Employees might eat your food after confiscating it
As you know, there's a strict policy on bringing your own food into movie theaters (because they need to make as much money as possible
Image Source: redditfrom concessions, of course). And if they do end up confiscating your food - especially big items like huge family-sized pizzas...57. They might use diet coke to clean stains on machines
When cleaning down their stations, employees might ignore traditional cleaning products and use the stock of diet coke for cleaning
Image Source: redditinstead. Some workers have found diet coke effective for cleaning the stains off the hot dog machine! Well, it makes sense seeing as coke has acid in it!58. If you're rude, you'll get less drink
Disgruntled workers will get their own back on you in drink-form if you're particularly rude to them. We already know most places try to save
Image Source: redditmoney on customer drinks by overfilling with ice so you get less, but if you're rude then you might find you get even more ice than you usually would.59. And you'll also get the popcorn scraped from the bottom of the bin
If you're feeling extra rude today and you've really annoyed a movie theater employee - or you've ordered popcorn instead of a drink -
Image Source: redditthen you can be fairly certain that the popcorn you're going to get is going to be the very, very awful bits that have been scraped from the very bottom of the bin.60. You might find loose change in your nacho cheese
With the nacho cheese sauce being made in huge buckets and stirred by employees, it's actually been known for loose change to fall out of
Image Source: redditemployees' shirt pockets while they're bent over stirring - and there's no way of finding that change once it's in there. So you might want to be careful of biting into anything.61. You might even find skittles in your nacho cheese
The loose change we can maybe forgive because it's a genuine accident (though after the first time you think they'd put their change in
Image Source: reddittheir pants pocket instead). But some movie theater employees would decide to have a laugh by putting other stuff in the nacho cheese.62. Christmas is the worst for movie employees
Nobody wants to work on Christmas, but hey, there's always the bonus of double-time if you're getting it! But apparently movie theater workers
Image Source: youtubein particular hate working the holiday season for a few reasons. First, it's movie-goers commenting on the fact that they're working.63. People have s*x in Pixar movies
It's bad enough the idea of people fully having sex in the movie theater with other movie-goers around, but it's even worse when the film
Image Source: redditbeing screened is a kid's movie. You'd think at the very least a rom-com or something raunchy would inspire the bad habit, but nope.64. Popcorn butter is gel and oil
Movie popcorn tastes amazing so you may be able to blissfully ignore the awful truth behind this one - but yep, apparently popcorn butter
Image Source: redditis not butter at all, but some weird half-gel, half peanut oil concoction, which is only stated on the label hidden behind the counter from people seeing it.65. You're going to have your ID checked if you're rude
Most workers will actually make an effort not to check your ID for an R-rated movie if they're having a good day, and if you're a nice customer.
Image Source: redditBut if you're rude or just generally a bad person, you can bet your bottom dollar they're going to demand to see your ID and go out of their way.66. Before digital, movies in canisters had to be pieced together
We know how much digital has made a lot of things easier, but before the times of digital movies, films would actually be delivered in physical
Image Source: redditcanisters and then need to be pieced together by employees. A standard movie might be six separate film reels needing to be put together.67. ... And then taken back apart to be sent back!
It wasn't enough that they'd be pieced together and then just kept safely at that theater - no they actually had to be separated again back
Image Source: redditto their original canisters so they could be sent back to the distributors! Set nights would be chosen for films to be taken apart, called "tear down" nights.68. Poop isn't just a problem in the screens themselves
Employees have seen utter horrors in the actual bathrooms of movie theaters. You'd think it'd be a plus for it to happen where it's supposed to happen,
Image Source: redditbut that doesn't make it any easier when employees are faced with entire bathrooms trashed with diarrhea. On some occasions it's even been found to be trailing from the bathrooms69. People have actually taken their pets to the theater
We get it - you don't want to be parted from your furry best friend, and there's nothing better than curling up together to watch a movie.
Image Source: redditBut that only counts in your own home! An ex theater employee once found someone's pet cat under the seats during a cleanup...70. Handicapped bathrooms can be the go-to for sex
You've got to hand it to the people who decide to be a little more discreet by having sex in the cinema bathrooms instead of the screens themselves -
Image Source: redditbut that doesn't make it any better. Especially because the handicapped bathroom seems to be the hot-spot for hooking up with people in a movie theater!