It's probably the biggest question you and your mates ask when going to the cinema: not what to actually see but how you're going to smuggle in the snacks.
We've all been there, haven't we?
Cinema foyer; trying to look casual; family-sized bag of Monster Munch hidden under the coat, bottle of cola down a trouser leg, Haribo taped to your chest. The sweat as you pass the usher. The will-you-won't-you be stopped? The sweet sense of achievement as they wave you through. The realisation that today - this great day - you won't be handing over the best part of a tenner for a poxy box of popcorn and small pop.
This woman even pretends to be pregnant to get more scran in. LAD.
Except - brace yourself - it turns out it may all have been unnecessary.
In what might be an early bid for revelation of the year - of the decade? - a cinema staffer has divulged that you're actually allowed to take your own food into the big screen.
Ryan Barratt made the bombshell discovery after starting work at his local multiplex. And people are - rightly - going wild about it. As one Twitter reply said, it's a "game changer".
Now LADbible has investigated the audacious claim - and we can confirm that, yes, you are indeed allowed your own snacks. As long as it's not booze, hot or smelly. "So leave your tuna sandwich at home," said Vue International in a previous statement on the issue.
The chain added: "Please note that you are able to bring your own food and drink into the cinema rather than purchasing from our confectionary stands. This is with the exception of hot food or alcohol."
At the Showcase, meanwhile, a statement on its website says it does "not allow guests to bring hot food, alcoholic beverages and drinks in glass containers into our buildings" - suggesting everything else is good to go.
And Odeon has a similar policy. "You can bring your own food/drink as long as it's not hot or alcoholic - please feel free to bring your own food," the chain said in a Tweet.
But - be warned - the policy is not universal. In some smaller and independent outlets, the no-edibles rule remains.
The Light Cinemas, which runs seven concessions across the country, says: "We politely request that patrons do not bring food or drink purchased outside the premises into our auditoriums."
Don't throw away that pregnancy prop just yet, perhaps.
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LAD PROPOSES TO GIRLFRIEND AT CINEMA
Words: Colin Drury
Featured Image Credit: The Simpsons / FOXTopics: Interesting