Popcorn, Half-Term Blockbusters & The Art of Cinema Snacking

20 January 2026

Popcorn, Half-Term Blockbusters, and the Art of Cinema Snacking: A Chat with Emma at Cineworld Didsbury

Phil

PHIL ROBERTS
The Morning Show: 19th January 2026

So there I was, having a proper natter with Emma Kilgannon at Cineworld Didsbury, and somehow we ended up having this brilliant conversation about popcorn.

National Popcorn Day over in the States had got me thinking – do we still love the stuff here in the North West, or has it gone the way of cassette tapes and civility on social media?

Turns out, popcorn’s doing just fine, thank you very much.

The Sweet, The Salty, and The Completely New to Me

Emma reckons popcorn is THE classic cinema snack. Can’t argue with that, really. But here’s where my education began – apparently, I’ve been living under a rock (or possibly just eating my popcorn too vanilla).

“There’s something for everyone,” Emma told me. “Sweet, salted, mixed. You can add jalapeños or cheese…”

Hold on. Jalapeños? In popcorn? I’m stood there like some bloke who’s just discovered fire, going “I’ve never heard of jalapeños. Is that a thing?”

“Yeah,” says Emma, probably wondering if I actually get out much. And then she drops another bombshell: “We offer adding M&Ms to your popcorn.”

I mean, come on. M&Ms in popcorn? What fresh madness is this? Emma’s probably looking at me thinking I need a proper night out. Which, to be fair, I clearly do.

Popcorn: The Classic Cinema Snack

Popcorn, Half-Term Blockbusters & The Art of Cinema Snacking Phil Roberts

Classic Never Goes Out of Style

The thing is, while my mind’s being blown by cheese and jalapeños and M&Ms, Emma’s making a brilliant point about why popcorn works. It’s versatile. Whatever your taste, you can mix it up, add your own twist with these little extras, find your perfect combination.

But – and I love this – she doesn’t think it needs reinventing. “Popcorn is just quintessential cinema,” she says. “You can’t beat just classic popcorn.”

She’s a mix person herself – sweet and salty together. Which, if we’re being honest, is the only correct answer. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong and we can fight about it in the comments.

The Rustling Controversy

Now, because I’m clearly on a roll asking questions I should probably know the answers to, I had to ask about the elephant in the room. Or should I say, the rustling in the auditorium.

Do people complain about popcorn munching?

Emma laughed. “It is quite a common complaint actually. More often it’s the rustling of the bag. People get so invested in eating their popcorn, it can be quite distracting.”

But here’s the thing – it’s part of the experience, isn’t it?

Unless you’re sat next to someone who’s treating their popcorn bag like a percussion instrument, it’s just cinema ambience. Emma says it’s not like they get complaints every day, but yeah, occasionally someone’s eating too loud or the bag’s making a racket.

Part of me wonders if these are the same people who tut at you for laughing in comedies.

Popcorn: Complaints about noise

Popcorn, Half-Term Blockbusters & The Art of Cinema Snacking Phil Roberts

What’s Coming Up

We also got chatting about what’s on the horizon at Cineworld. January’s an interesting month – you’d think it’d be quiet, but all the Oscar buzz brings people in for films they might not have considered. Things like Marty Supreme picking up steam (which has been really popular, apparently).

Then February half term’s got Wuthering Heights landing, which Emma reckons will be massive.

And here’s the proper local angle – we’ve got our very own Warrington lad, Owen Cooper, playing young Heathcliff in it.

The same Owen who’s just won an Emmy for Adolescence and is basically the hottest young actor in the country right now. From Warrington. Playing Heathcliff. On the big screen. That’s pretty brilliant, isn’t it?

And as we head towards Easter, there’s some big stuff coming. She mentioned “goat” which I’m assuming is GOAT (the film, not the animal, though frankly I’d watch both).

Coming up at Cineworld

Popcorn, Half-Term Blockbusters & The Art of Cinema Snacking Phil Roberts

The Takeaway

Sometimes the best conversations are the ones where you discover you’ve been doing something the wrong way your whole life. I’ve been eating plain popcorn like some sort of culinary caveman while the rest of the world’s been adding jalapeños and M&Ms and living their best cinema life.

Next time I’m at the pictures, I’m branching out. Maybe not jalapeños – I’m adventurous, not reckless – but definitely seeing what all this fuss is about.

And to answer my original question: yes, we in the North West still love popcorn. Possibly more than ever, if the available toppings are anything to go by.

Cheers to Emma for the education. And cheers to whoever invented putting M&Ms in popcorn. You absolute genius.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and check what else I’ve been missing in life!

Written by: Phil Roberts