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

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

John Krasinski’s imaginary friends movie ‘IF’ claimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times

The latest film, "Transformers One," was released earlier this fall, and was being considered for the first of a trilogy, although it had underperformed at the box office due to competition.

From Salon

Related Words

• gate