Popcorn promotion: people capitalise on all you can eat

A Bangkok cinema might have underestimated the Thai people’s veracity for a bargain. On Monday, the cinema located in a mall in central Bangkok held an “all you can eat” popcorn promotion and dozens of locals took full advantage.

The theatre offered all-you-can-eat popcorn for 199 baht and did not make any restrictions on containers, for example, requiring the popcorn to be taken by customers using the normal buckets supplied by the cinema concession stand.

As a result of this loophole, people came prepared. Dozens of people arrived at the mall on Monday with their makeshift popcorn containers – cardboard boxes, foam coolers, buffet serving dishes, and even a steel vat. They piled the bottomless popcorn into containers to take home. People got creative with boxes and containers to store huge amounts of the salty, buttery movie treat.

Asia One reports that the cinema staff had customers lined up as they shovelled popcorn into boxes and containers. It is unclear whether many of the people taking advantage of the promo even sat in the theatre and watched a movie, or just came and hauled away the super-cheap snack.

Along with the unlimited supplies of the salty treat, the theatre was offering free refills of soda to quench moviegoers’ thirst. But the popcorn was a big attraction, as giddy Thais lined up to collect piles of the movie snack. One 39 year old investment expert spoke with the press as he filled up a 57-litre buffet dish.

“I’m planning to share it with my family and friends.”

The cinema’s promotion might end up losing them a lot of money in huge popcorn giveaways, but it’s certainly raised visibility as photos of people filling huge buckets of popcorn were posted online and are going viral.