It's been a long time since popcorn was the only course at the movies. Now, it's not uncommon to see a coffee bar or a hot dog vendor propped comfortably next to the traditional concession options.

Developments in the food choices are being embraced by companies like Gold Medal, who want to offer as much variety as possible to movie goers. Their new caramel corn machines, for example, coat kernels of popcorn with a gooey caramel glaze before popping into fresh, soft caramel corn. A breed entirely different from the packaged variety familiar to most modern consumers.

Gold Medal also has a variety of cotton candy machines, mostly with weather-related names like the Tornado, the Hurricane, and the Breeze which develop quality-specific cotton candy marketables from a concession stand. The idea of cotton candy at the movies may not seem so foreign in the near future.

There are also companies like IttiBitz producing theater-friendly ice cream. IttiBitz in particular has ice cream "dots" in convenient, pre-packaged containers with an array of gourmet flavors that appeal to every degree of critic.

The choices don't stop there. Along with newer, better pretzels, hot dogs, nachos, and other concession staples, vendors express hopes of moving forward with ventures like freshly baked goods at the movies in the near future. Four-course meal, Anyone?