Chinatown Theatre Deluxe Snack Box
with Asian Cinevision
A day at the theatre is an experience that has transcended generations with memories grounded in sidestepping your way into a seat, intense emotional rollercoasters filled with gasps, laughter, and crying, and of course — selecting your favorite movie theatre snacks to create the ultimate movie experience.
The Asian American movie experience is no different, and these memories were an integral part of Manhattan Chinatown’s historical Chinese language theatres that have since shuttered their doors: Music Palace (early 1970s-2000, Sun Sing Theatre (1950-1993), Pagoda Theatre (1964-1992), and Rosemary Theatre (1992-1996). Chinatown residents have nostalgic memories of attending the theatre, whether going to see the Chinese opera or the latest Hong Kong melodramas at two tickets for $6.
This nostalgia and yearning for institutions that exclusively celebrated foreign films and cultural awareness is what inspired Welcome to Chinatown’s Theatre Deluxe Snack Box. We reimagined the popcorn and candy to be a blend of Asian snacks our parents used to have at the theatre and a fun take on American movie theatre classics, while sourcing everything at fair market value from Chinatown to keep core to our mission of supporting Chinatown’s small businesses.
Our inspiration was drawn from the stories of Chinatown residents and visitors that were kind of enough to share their anecdotes. When reading their stories, we hope you will feel that overwhelming sense of nostalgia they all had when retelling their theatre experiences.
All profits from this collaboration will go towards Welcome to Chinatown’s Longevity Fund, a relief fund exclusively for Manhattan Chinatown’s small businesses, like the shuttered theatres, that are the microcosm of the community.
Photo provided by Hector Martinez
Hector Martinez
I went to Chinatown because they would have the uncut versions of Bruce Lee films. Back then, it was an event. Something you look forward to on the weekends. The first thing you would see stepping off the #9 bus (Ave B) and getting off on East Broadway is a gigantic billboard of Bruce Lee in all of its glory. Films were promoted back in the day with gigantic billboards hand painted by artists. When you walked into the lobby, you would see some wonderful lobby cards with the current movies and what was playing a week later. Everything was classy, including the person collecting your ticket and the usher.
I remember the concession stand in Chinatown. It was so unlike the American theatres. You're not gonna buy dried squid and soy bean milk in an American movie theatre. When you sat there, it was special, because it was fragrant. You had that smell of Chinese snacks....all of those wonderful scents while you were watching the movie. Believe it or not, we would watch two or three movies for the price of one.
My favorite part: everyone participated in the Kung Fu movies. That was an experience. People would stand up, yell, cheer. Now, everyone sits. Back then, it was a celebration.
Photo provided by Hector Martinez
Elaine Wong
Event Planner, 28 year resident of Chinatown.
The floors felt really sticky. All the Chinese theatres would have a double feature: a kung fu movie, a romance movie, a comedy or a soft porn movie depending on the time. The food was Asian food stand like with Asian beef jerky, baos (though you wouldn’t buy the bao there because better at bakery), and maybe shrimp chips. All the stuff was adapted from Hong Kong. I remember one day we went when the theatre was pretty empty. My sister sat in the aisle seat, my mom in the middle, and I was inside. We were watching the movie but my sister kept getting distracted and looking down in the aisle. My mom asked my sister, in her Chinese name, what she was looking at.
My sister pointed next to her in aisle and said, “I’m looking at the woman next to me crying”.
No questions asked, my mom got up, grabbed us, and we hightailed it outta there. It’s funny because when we try to talk to my mom about it, she goes, “No, no don’t talk about it.” But my sister and I just laugh about it now. I also remember being deathly afraid of the ladies room. It was so bad that you would wait until the very last minute to pee. The lighting was very cold and you would pray to god that there would be a stall free so you could do your business, wash your hands and run out.