Popcorn, the other white movie star

In his Slate column, Edward Jay Epstein takes a close look at the economics of the movie concession stand. Nothing you haven’t heard before, but, to paraphrase: Theaters make a lot of money selling popcorn. The saltier the popcorn, the more soda movie-goers buy. Teens consume more popcorn than other demographics. Memorable quote: “One theater chain executive went so far as to describe the cup holder mounted on each seat, which allows customers to park their soda while returning to the concession stand for more popcorn, as ‘the most important technological innovation since sound.'”