.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} The other day at a movie theater, a man and woman ahead of me in the concession line had a request for the gentleman in charge of popcorn.

The man wondered if they could get an extra paper bag. He explained that he had a cold, and he wanted two bags to avoid spreading germs to his wife.

Sorry, said the young fellow behind the counter. Can’t do that. It’s our policy.

Just for a moment, let’s dissolve to the back story. The American movie industry sells well over 1 billion tickets per year, and, even better for theater owners, American movie watchers remain hooked on popcorn and pop.

It starts when you’re a little kid and going to a movie is a magical experience. The treats are part of the thrill.

We grow up and become adults who worry about gasoline prices, buy generic medicine and search online for coupons. But when we walk into a theater lobby, we’re children again. Gotta have the snacks. We find ourselves shelling out more for junk food – just to get us through the coming attractions – than for a meal at a casual restaurant.

Another time, another line: A guy with two little kids turned to me while his wife sorted out the concession orders and said: “Sixty bucks to go to a movie.” I was afraid he was going to ask for a hug.

Fade back to our original couple. They were ready to spend $15 for popcorn and pop. I’m not sure about the cost of the raw materials, but it must be a markup of roughly a million percent. Still, the profit margin was not to be trifled with.

You can have an extra bag, said the punk behind the counter, but it will cost you $5.40.

The woman was not much for negotiation. You got a manager? she wanted to know. Another young man, stationed at the ticket booth, came over with a stressed look and finally decided, all on his own, without even contacting the Iowa attorney general’s office or the Federal Trade Commission, to allow them an extra paper bag.

In the meantime, the little fascist at the concession counter not only remained unfazed; he was busy trying to upsell me. He thought I would be foolish not to go for the bushel of popcorn and the five-gallon bucket of Coke.

I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Solidarity among snackers forever.

I related this tale to a successful, financially secure couple the other day, and they turned out to be members of the underground resistance. Their tactic involves a large purse and popcorn popped at home. God help them if they ever get caught.

After the show, I stopped at a Hollywood Video store that’s selling its DVDs and the shelves they sit on. The whole chain is going through bankruptcy and closing more than 900 stores, or a third of its total outlets.

Blockbuster also plans to close more than 900 video rental stores this year. “That would shrink the video rental chain by more than 20 percent as it struggles against stiff competition from Netflix and Redbox,” CBS reported last fall.

Redbox, according to Time magazine, has 22,400 rental kiosks in place across the United States.

Netflix keeps refining its on-demand streaming video capabilities, so customers don’t have to do anything more strenuous than lift a remote.

Even the movie studios are trying to be realistic as the world changes faster than a jump cut. A Web site called wikinvest.com reports: “Studios make much higher margins on DVD sales and royalties from pay-per-view providers, giving them an incentive to pursue these distribution vehicles more aggressively. Barry Meyer, the chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment, was quoted as saying that, in the future, ‘your premiere will be in Wal-Mart.'”

Meanwhile, the theater owners are pinning their hopes on $10 popcorn, or $5.40 for an empty paper bag.

Good luck with that.