Why do we eat candy at the movies?

... Today, concessions are the lifeblood of the theater business: According to the National Association of Theatre Owners, they account for approximately 40 percent of theaters' net revenue. But it wasn't always this way.

In 1905, the advent of nickelodeon theaters changed the landscape of American entertainment, which was still dominated by live performances, from stage plays to vaudeville. By 1907, around 3,000 nickelodeon theaters had opened, and by 1914 an estimated 27 percent of Americans were going to the movies every week.

Concessions were not sold inside nickelodeons, but snack bars and candy shops frequently flanked the theaters, and independent popcorn and peanut vendors hawked their goods in the theater aisles. It didn't take much to entice people with popcorn, an already immensely popular treat˜they delighted in its transformation from kernel to pop, and were enchanted by its bewitching aroma. According to Andrew F. Smith's excellent social history, Popped Culture, popcorn vendors had been tantalizing customers since the 1840s, appearing at pretty much any crowded event˜fairs, rallies, you name it.

But theater owners had yet to realize just how lucrative concessions could be. Far from embracing food sales, many were downright hostile toward them, particularly as nickelodeons gave way to the fancier movie houses of the teens and '20s. During those two decades, in an effort to enhance the moviegoing experience, ambitious showmen constructed opulent movie palaces, like Sid Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, which opened in 1927. These palaces, some of which cost millions to build, could rival the sophistication of European opera houses. Appointed with expensive antiques, marble columns, bejeweled chandeliers, and even perfume sprayed into common spaces, they transported moviegoers to another world. Yet it was a world without munchies.

Movie theater owners wanted their venues to remain upscale, free from the chomping of snacks you'd find at burlesque shows. They also wanted their plush theaters garbage-free. But as in the nickelodeon days, entrepreneurial vendors sold snacks outside. Popcorn kernels and candy wrappers ended up littering theaters despite owners' best efforts to keep food out.

Then came the Great Depression. Squeezed like everyone else, palace owners sought new sources of revenue. Some deigned to install candy dispensers, and others leased lobby space to popcorn vendors....