• Bringing popcorn – or any food – into the cinema will ruin your experience, finds research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM)
• The more enjoyable the experience is, the more likely it is that good food will worsen it
• This is because your mind will be focused on how the food will taste, and distract from the experience

With upcoming films such as Wicked, Joker: Folie à Deux, and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, all being released in the remainder of 2024 and throughout 2025, there’s a lot to get excited about when it comes to cinema.

Unsurprisingly then, in the Cinema market, the number of viewers is expected to amount to 1.9bn users by 2029, according to Statista with the average revenue per viewer amounting to US$47.34 each year.

And the money rolling into the industry doesn’t just come from the box office sales. As we all know, a large part of the cinema experience, aside of experiencing films on the big screen, is the snacks – popcorn, pick ‘n’ mix, large iced drinks and even nachos. Eating whilst watching a blockbuster is – for some – as much of a draw to the cinema as the film itself. As natural a part of the experience as burgers, hot dogs and fries at a sports game – as essential as strawberries are to Wimbledon.

When hosting events like these, companies often offer food as not only an additional revenue source, but also as a way to boost customer’s experiences.

However, according to research from Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), the presence of food will make you enjoy the experience less, not more.

“[The company’s strategy] may backfire as it potentially decreases consumers’ enjoyment of ongoing experiences rather than increasing it,” writes Dr Anne-Kathrin Klesse, Associate Professor in the Department of Marketing and Management at RSM and one of the researchers on the study.

According to the research, the presence of food serves as a distraction, taking mental focus away from the event and decreasing people’s enjoyment of it as a result.

Good food leads to a less enjoyable experience

To test this, Klesse and her co-researcher, Dr Emily Garbinsky from Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, conducted 10 studies using a variety of experiences. Activities included listening to music, evaluating pictures and colouring in. The studies were conducted with students, gallery visitors and concert attendees.

During these experiences, individuals were either in the presence or absence of tempting food – things like cookies, cake and similar desserts.

After the activity, participants were asked to indicate their level of enjoyment of that experience. The results found that the presence of food decreased the enjoyment of a positive experience.

More bad news? Tastier food is more likely to ruin an experience, the research found. Essentially, the more enjoyable the experience is, the more likely it is that good food will worsen it.

However, the research suggests that the opposite also applies – the presence of food can boost customers’ enjoyment of a negative experience. For example, imagine being stuck in a queue for a long time and someone offers you a snack. This is likely to improve your experience.

“Businesses may want to present tasty food in situations where consumers engage in aversive experiences to make the experience less negative,” advises Dr Klesse.

Can good food ruin a good meal?

Even being asked to think about food when there is no food present will worsen an individual’s experience of an event, the study found.

In the context of a restaurant then, the researchers suggest that managers should create a mental divide between mains and desserts, for example, to stop diners ‘ruining’ their eating experience by pre-emptively imagining their dessert.

This is because the dessert’s presence will prompt the mental imagery of consuming that food, which in turn decreases engagement with the individual’s other courses.

There are several lessons restaurants can take from this, suggest the academics. Here are a few things they can do to give diners the best chance to enjoy their food:

• Separate menus for mains and desserts: Putting appetisers and main dishes on separate menus to desserts, will prevent diners from imagining eating dessert while eating their other courses. Alternatively, in a more outlandish suggestion, the researchers suggest having a ‘dessert room’ which diners can enter after finishing their main course.
• Keep desserts out of sight: Restaurant managers should keep desserts and other tempting foods out of sight while customers eat their main dishes.
• Ask waiting staff to bring the dessert tray to the table: If restaurant managers think it’s important for customers to see the desserts before they order, they could ask waiting staff to bring the dessert tray to the table for diners to choose one after they have eaten their main course, rather than displaying all the desserts in a prominent glass cabinet.

What does this mean for popcorn?

So, bearing this in mind, should you ditch the popcorn at the cinema? The research says yes – at least while you’re watching the film.

For vendors looking to combine the two, businesses could encourage customers to consume the food before going into the experience, or offer foods such as ice cream or hot drinks, which need to be consumed immediately after purchasing. 

Alternatively, you could just enjoy your film slightly less and eat the popcorn while watching. It’s your choice.

And, next time you find yourself sitting through a Hollywood flop, at least you now know of one way to improve the experience!

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