A Cultural and Economic History of the Movie Theatre Concession Stand

This book uncovers the history of the concession stand in American moviegoing, which was coined 'The Second Box Office' by trade press magazines in the 1930s, such was its importance to the economic viability of movie theatres. Even today, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that, without it, cinemas would struggle to continue in their current form. Yet the history of the concession stand is anything but simple. Despite its stable presence within movie theatres in recent decades, its history is complex, and it took several decades for it to develop into the model we recognise today. This book focuses on the contentious period between 1905 and 1955, and explores key developments within the concession stand and film exhibition, but also America more generally, in an attempt to understand how and why the concession stand grew as it did.