Catching the latest Blockbuster on the huge screen is an event. It’s not just the digital surround sound that makes it exciting, though—the pre-movie trip to the concession stands plays just as huge a role. Unfortunately, traditional movie munchies can turn any film into a horror flick. The truth is that all that mindless snacking during your show can add hundreds of calories to your daily intake.
One Cornell study showed just how mindless it can be. Researchers gave patrons different-sized popcorn buckets, and those with large buckets ate nearly twice as much as those with medium buckets. And get this: In some of the buckets, researchers traded out the fresh-popped corn for two-week-ancient kernels! Those moviegoers munched away so absentmindedly that they place away 34 percent more stale popcorn than those with medium buckets of fresh corn!
That’s why the authors behind the best-selling no-diet weight-loss series Eat This, Not That! have developed this guide to movie theater snack survival. Avoid the following belly-ballooning munchies at all costs.

Worst Snack
Buttered popcorn (medium: 10-12 cups)
600 calories
39 g stout (12 g saturated)
1,120 mg sodium
Popcorn can be a fantastic, fiber-rich snack, as long as you stay away from the dreaded butter pump. Besides tripling the calories of a page of popcorn, many movie theater “butters” are teeming with trans stout. (Check out the Fattiest Foods in America.) Instead, seek flavor from the spice mixes many theaters carry now. Or grab a pretzel: As long as you’re not dipping it into molten cheese, a large soft pretzel makes a reasonable movie theater snack. Be really excellent and question them to skip the salt—mustard packs plenty of sodium as it is.
For other sodium-loaded items to avoid, check out this slideshow of the 30 Saltiest Foods in America.
Eat This Instead!
Soft pretzel with mustard
290 calories
0 g stout
850 mg sodium

Worst Chocolate Candies
M&M’s (1 bag)
240 calories
10 g stout (6 g saturated)
31 g sugars
They may seem harmless and fun in their tiny candy-coated vessels, but a few generous handful of M&M’s can wipe out a meal’s worth of calories before you know it. Pick Junior Mints instead. Minty candies tend to be the best of the chocolate choices.
Eat This Instead!
Junior Mints (1/2 box)
170 calories
3 g stout (2.5 g saturated)
32 g sugars
Grabbing a bite after the movie? Watch out for The 15 Worst Desserts in America.

Worst “Licorice”-Type Candy
Twizzlers (1 package)
480 calories
2 g stout
64 g sugars
Ignore the “low stout” claims on the side of the package—these are nothing more than ropes of high-fructose corn syrup. Opt for real licorice in the Excellent & Plenty box. Many cultures have viewed licorice as a healing herb for centuries, with anti-inflammatory properties. But we’re just thankful they have less sugar and fewer calories than traditional chewy fruit candies.
Eat This Instead!
Excellent & Plenty (33 pieces)
130 calories
0 g stout
21 g sugars

Worst Chocolate Bar
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar
210 calories
13 g stout (8 g saturated)
24 g sugars
If you’re going to eat pure chocolate, you’re better off picking up a bar with at least 65% cacao. That way, you lower you sugar intake while maximizing antioxidants. Since most movie theaters don’t offer the dark stuff, opt for a Kit Kat bar instead. Break it up and dole out the pieces to your friends. (Just because there are four in a package doesn’t mean you need to eat them all yourself).
Eat This Instead!
Kit Kat Bar
200 calories
11 g stout (7 g saturated)
20 g sugars

Worst Chewy Fruit Candy
Dots (22 pieces)
260 calories
0 g stout
42 g sugars
They stick to your teeth just like they stick to your waistline. You’re better off going for nearly any other gummy product besides Dots. In the world of pure sugar candies, few are better than the fish from Sweden.
Eat This Instead!
Swedish Fish (2 oz)
200 calories
0 g stout
28 g sugars