box office

¹

noun

1. the office of a theater, stadium, or the like, at which tickets are sold.
2. Theater.
   1. receipts from a play or other entertainment.
   2. entertainment popular enough to attract paying audiences and make a profit:

      This show will be good box office.

box-office

²

[ boks-aw-fis, -of-is ]

adjective

1. of or relating to the box office or to the business and commercial aspects of the theater:

   a box-office window; box-office receipts; a box-office attraction.

box office

noun

1. an office at a theatre, cinema, etc, where tickets are sold
2. the receipts from a play, film, etc
3. 1. the public appeal of an actor or production

      the musical was bad box office

   2. ( as modifier )

      a box-office success

Word History and Origins

Origin of box office¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Origin of box office²

First recorded in 1805–15; adj. use of box office

Example Sentences

And with a projected opening weekend domestic box office haul of $120 million, that adds up to quite a bit of patience.

From Los Angeles Times

Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” and Paramount Pictures’ “Gladiator II” are expected to post gravity-defying numbers at the domestic box office this weekend.

From Los Angeles Times

Warner Bros. did not report box office figures for “Juror #2,” which reportedly played in only a few dozen U.S. cinemas.

From Los Angeles Times

Propelled by a strong box office performance by “Deadpool & Wolverine” and profits in streaming, Walt Disney Co. reported strong fourth-quarter results.

From Los Angeles Times

And so far, these decades-later legacy sequels — or “lega-sequels” — have helped boost a box office still recovering from the pandemic and fewer big titles due to last year’s dual Hollywood strikes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• gate