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Madonna says she lost her post-baby bulge by snacking on it, Samuel L Jackson suspects no one can be trusted who puts sugar on it, and Patricia Arquette threw hers over Christian Slater to get him to notice her in True Romance.
Popcorn has become an integral part of cinema-going. Audiences in the UK are willing to double the price of their ticket by forking out up to £4.50 - more than BD3 - for the snack. But the dominance of popcorn may be at an end. A growing number of UK cinemas are banning it, and this month the country's largest art-house chain will introduce popcorn-free screenings in some of its theatres.
"Popcorn is a contentious issue. Lots of people absolutely hate it and have asked us to ban it, so we're going to do exactly that," said Gabriel Swartland, head of media at the Picturehouse Cinema. "If it's a success, and I've no reason to suspect it won't be, we'll roll it out across all our cinemas and make it a permanent fixture," he said.
The Picturehouse has a reputation for pioneering new cinema approaches. They introduced the first 'Mother and Baby' screenings in 1998, a concept picked up by virtually every cinema in the UK.
"Going by our experience in the past, it seems likely the bigger chains will pick up on the idea once we've tested the water," admitted Mr Swartland. "People either love or hate popcorn. It makes sound business sense to cater to both these audiences."
Some other cinemas are going further and banning popcorn altogether. Daniel Broch, owner of the Everyman cinema in London's Hampstead, recently bought 17 more venues.
"I will de-popcorn every new venue I acquire," he said. "It has a disproportionate influence on the space in terms of its overwhelming smell, the cultural idea of it and the operational problems created by the mess it produces."
Nicolas Kent, artistic director of London's award-winning Tricycle Cinema and Theatre, puts the case in even stronger terms. "Popcorn is horrible stuff and I won't have it anywhere near my cinema," he said.
"It's a form of junk food and that encourages junk entertainment. Its smell is all-pervasive, it makes huge amounts of mess, and it distracts and annoys people intensely."
Thanks to the immense amount of bulk produced from a relatively small number of kernels, popcorn is the single most profitable product a cinema sells.
Depending on its price, it can yield a huge profit. It also, conveniently, makes customers thirsty for drinks, another high-margin product.
Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK's Cinema Exhibitors' Association, said: "Because of the profit made by cinemas on ticket prices, they would struggle to be viable without popcorn."
He admitted, however, that the decision to go popcorn-free could be a canny one.
"These cinemas considering going popcorn-free are creating a radically different model to any we've had before in the industry."
But revolutionary as they undoubtedly are, the anti-popcorn brigade claim there is also a very sound financial case for their decision.
However, popcorn lovers need not despair in Bahrain. Sunil Balan, 39, marketing and public relations for Bahrain Cinema Company, Hoora, said: "Definitely there is a little bit of work involved in keeping the cinema clean but that is to be expected.
"We ensure that work is carried out whenever it's required. We don't find popcorn particularly messy although it can be if not attended to promptly.
"At the moment we are certainly not thinking of banning popcorn. The most popular items in our cinema are popcorn and a soft drink. Personally, I can't enjoy a movie without a cup of popcorn!"
YOUR SAY
Aisha Bokhamas, nine, student at Amina Bint Wahab School, from Muharaq:
I love popcorn. It is my favourite snack while watching a movie.
Jamal Bokhamas, 11, student at Tareq Muarej school, from Muharaq:
The only thing I ever have while watching a movie is popcorn and Pepsi. The drink can be changed but the popcorn can't be replaced!
Saad Alenizi, 25, hospital clerk, from Saudi Arabia:
My wife and I like coming to Bahrain to watch movies - where else would we go? My favourite movie bite is the ever-popular popcorn. If not popcorn then I'd go for my second choice of nachos and cheese.
Layla Uqaylan, 10, student at Al Qudwa Al Ahlia, from Saudi Arabia:
I love popcorn and a cup of corn. I also have to have a slushie or a Pepsi.
Waleed Uqaylan, 12, student, from Saudi Arabia:
My number one snack is popcorn and I cannot watch a movie without it. I prefer the sweet popcorn to the salted.
Hussain Al Khowaldi, 26, banker, from Saudi Arabia:
I like popcorn with honey. I am not a fan of the salted variety though.
Moosa Obaid, 21, college student, from Saudi Arabia:
I mostly go for popcorn. Sometimes I have nachos and cheese but that depends on my mood.
Hussain Haider, 27, ticket seller at Seef Cinema, from Bahrain:
I notice that a lot of people prefer purchasing popcorn and Pepsi. Most of the people at Seef Cinema are popcorn eaters. As for myself, I am a popcorn and Pepsi guy too ... but the popcorn has to be salted.
FACT-FILE
l Popcorn was integral to early 16th Century Aztec Indian ceremonies. Bernardino de Sahagun writes: "And also a number of young women danced, having so vowed, a popcorn dance. As thick as tassels of maize were their popcorn garlands. And these they placed upon (the girls') heads."
l An early Spanish account of a ceremony honouring the Aztec gods who watched over fishermen reads: "They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water."
l Writing of Peruvian Indians in 1650, the Spaniard Cobo says: "They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection."
The use of the moldboard plow became commonplace in the mid-1800s and led to the widespread planting of maize in the United States.
l Popcorn has been popular in the US since the 1890s. Street vendors used to follow crowds around, pushing steam or gas-powered poppers through fairs, parks and expositions.
l During the Depression, popcorn at 5 or 10 cents a bag was one of the few luxuries down-and-out families could afford. While other businesses failed, the popcorn business thrived. An Oklahoma land-owning banker who went broke when his bank failed bought a popcorn machine and started a business in a small store near a theatre. After a couple years, his popcorn business made enough money to buy back three of the farms he'd lost.
l During World War II, sugar was sent overseas for US troops, which meant there wasn't much sugar left in the States to make candy. Thanks to this unusual situation, Americans ate three times as much popcorn as usual.
l Popcorn went into a slump during the early 1950s, when television became popular. Attendance at movie theatres dropped and, with it, popcorn consumption. When the public began eating popcorn at home, the new relationship between television and popcorn led to a resurge in popularity as did the emergence of multi-screen cinemas and the resulting attendence boom.
l Microwave popcorn - the very first use of microwave heating in the 1940s - has already accounted for $240 million in annual US popcorn sales.
