I don’t think it’s wrong. I can easily go two hours without eating, but if I’m taking my daughter and her friends, they may want to eat as part of the experience.
I have paid, in theaters where I live (one of the most expensive parts of the country), 8 dollars for popcorn and 5 or 6 for a drink. So we have a 12 dollar ticket and possible 15 more for food.
There’s a new theater opened up in CT that has a Shop Rite across the street. The store employees told me that their candy sales went way up when the theater opened. I’ll go to the Shop Rite and buy a box of candy for $1 rather than spend $6 at the theater. I’ll buy a six pack of Diet Coke and take a bottle into the theater, rather than spend $6 for a drink at the theater.
If it were cost prohibitive, some people might not go at all. Would the theater rather have people not attend at all, or have them attend and bring their own food? It’s just another way of looking at it.
Last week, I took my daughter and her three friends to a school play. 15 dollars per ticket =75 dollars for 5 of us. Food and drinks were one dollar each, which is our speed.
Other people would say well if you can’t afford to go out, you shouldn’t go out. I can afford to go out, but if I can save on theater food that’s marked up 700%, then I will gladly.