It hits all the salty and sweet notes, and is easy to eat in the dark.
Movie theater snacks tend to fall into two categories: the default classics (popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, maybe Milk Duds if you’re feeling nostalgic) and whatever chaotic new candy that’s been invented since the last time you went. Ryan Coogler’s pick is neither.
Coogler is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers working today; the director of Black Panther and Creed has a reputation for blending blockbuster scale with real emotional weight. His films have shaped the past decade of modern studio filmmaking, earning critical praise, major awards and a substantial cultural footprint.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that when it comes to movie theater snacks, Coogler goes slightly off-script.
This Is Ryan Coogler’s Favorite Movie Theater Snack
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On a recent episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler, Coogler was asked what he was like as a kid—specifically, what he’d eat at the movies. His answer? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
He offers it with a grin, saying that he “cannot confirm or deny any snack smuggling,” though if he were the type, he “might’ve brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or two.” It’s the kind of oddly wholesome confession that makes perfect sense: sweet, salty, comforting and genuinely smart for movie-theater snacking. No buttery fingers, no sticky candy situation, no mid-movie scramble for napkins. Just a neatly contained sandwich you can eat in the dark while the movie plays.
And while he jokes that he’s “not a big soda person,” he does admit that once theaters started letting you mix and match drinks, he got “involved in that”—a detail that will feel familiar to anyone who takes their soda remixes seriously.
It turns out that one of Hollywood’s most celebrated directors keeps his moviegoing pleasures deliciously humble.
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