The Siamese twinning of movies and popcorn in our impressionable little brains is surely one of the greatest achievements executed by 20th century marketing men. If alpha male adman Donald Draper (Man Men) was actually real, he’d have spearheaded that campaign for sure.

But, the times - they are a changin’. It seems there’s a squall brewing for the popcorn peddlers who prey on the weak in big, dimmed rooms.

Here in the U.K., upmarket circuit Vue has already successfully trialled popcorn-free screenings for audiences who find the incessant munching sound of tooth-on-popcorn downright infuriating. The screenings went down a treat with film purists and delighted cinema cleaners alike.
 

And, earlier this month, Hollywood big-wig Michael Lynton (Sony Pictures’ chairman) called for cinemas to encourage healthier eating by offering stuff like granola bars and smoothies alongside popcorn: “I can almost imagine the Romans eating popcorn and drinking Coke at the Colosseum 2,000 years ago,” he told a convention of cinema owners in Las Vegas. “But by bringing healthier snacks into your concession stands you would be helping our country meet an urgent public health need.”
 

Lynton has a good point. According to The Times, the average cinema bucket of buttered popcorn has 76 grams (2.6oz) of fat — the equivalent of six McDonald’s cheeseburgers — and 1,100 calories. No wonder I felt somewhat queasy after Avatar.
 

All this anti-popcorn sentiment is bad news for cinema operators who absolutely love it that we are hard-wired to automatically start winehousin’ for popcorn as soon as we step foot in a cinema foyer. They love our love for popcorn because it is cheap as chips to produce and the dunes of salt in every bucket mean you basically have to also buy a Coke the size of Ponte Tower or your throat sandpapers up.
 

In Israel, the popcorn debate has gone political. Carmel Shama, from the governing Likud party, is hoping to butter up voters by passing a law that would limit the price cinemas can charge for popcorn. "The public should not have to mortgage their houses for a soft drink and a snack," Shama told the Yediot Aharonot newspaper.
 

Unsurprisingly, Israeli cinema owners are up in arms. Yaacov Cohen told the paper his kind made virtually no profit from ticket sales and would be hard pressed to survive if food sales were limited. "It would destroy the entire industry," he declared.
 

Don't expect popcorn to exit the foyers of the world anytime soon but also don't bet the mortgage on it maintaining its vice-like grip for another century.

Read more from Archie here.