6:58am Tuesday 12th August 2008
By Thom Airs
Popcorn could vanish from an Oxford cinema in bid to win over audiences put off by noisy munching and its distinctive smell.
The Phoenix Picturehouse, in Walton Street, Jericho, has vowed to scrub the crunchy snack from its menus for one main screening a week.
The venue's owner, Picturehouse Cinema, will begin a trial run of weekly popcorn-free screenings at its Cinema City screen in Norwich next month - and is set to repeat the experiment in Oxford.
Suzy Sheriff, the general manager at the Phoenix, said: "The demographic in Norwich is quite similar to ours so the thinking behind it is if it works there it will work here.
"I would be quite happy to take it up, on the basis that it's one screening a week so we're not going to alienate existing customers.
"We hope to encourage people who can't stand the distraction of rattling wrappers and people crunching popcorn. It's an extra service we would offer."
Mrs Sheriff, herself a popcorn fan, added: "You do get a few people who don't like popcorn, particularly with the types of films we show which sometimes require a bit of concentration.
"Personally, if I'm into a film nothing will distract me, but if you suddenly hear someone eating popcorn you start to focus on that and that can take you away from the film.
"But so many people who come to the cinema regard a tub of popcorn as part of the experience, so we are certainly not going to become the popcorn police."
The snack is a key moneyspinner for cinemas, but the mess and aroma it creates divides opinion among film goers.
"How much we sell varies immensely from film to film," said Mrs Sheriff, "For something like Mamma Mia! we will sell lots of popcorn - much more than for a documentary like Man on Wire, which we are also showing.
"Ads, trailers and food sales are vital in keeping ticket prices down."
Other local cinemas, including the Ultimate Picture Palace in Cowley Road, East Oxford, and the Corn Exchange in Wallingford, do not sell popcorn, but none of the city's mainstream screens look set to follow the Phoenix's lead.
A spokesman for Vue, at the Ozone complex in Greater Leys, said: "We strive to provide our guests with what they want. Popcorn is a hugely popular product so we have no plans to stop selling it."
A spokesman for Odeon, with cinemas in George Street and Magdalen Street in Oxford, said it would not be ban popcorn.
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