Wiktionary

box office

See also:box-office

English

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A theatrical box office
A cinema box office
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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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1786,[1]presumably from sales ofboxes,box seats(“separated private seating”).[2][3]Sense of “total sales” from 1904.[1]

Folk etymology is that this derives fromElizabethan theatre,where theater admission was collected in a box attached to a long stick, passed around the audience.[2][3]However, first attestation is over a century later (theaters were closed in 1642), making this highly unlikely.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK)IPA(key):/ˈbɒksˌɒfɪs/
  • (US)enPR:bäksʹä'fĭs,bäksʹô'fĭs,IPA(key):/ˈbɑksˌɑfɪs/,/ˈbɑksˌɔfɪs/
  • Audio(US):(file)

Noun

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boxoffice(countableanduncountable,pluralbox offices)

  1. (countable,film,theater)A place whereticketsare sold in atheatre/theaterorcinema.
  2. (uncountable,by extension,film)The total amount of money paid by peopleworldwideto watch a movie atcinemas/movie theaters.
    • 2005,Barry Day,Coward on Film: The Cinema of Noël Coward,page88:
      If any further insurance was required, the popularity of the three "Topper" films in the 1930s — based on Thorne Smith's characters — would seem to indicate that amusing ghosts made goodbox office.
  3. (uncountable)Quality of an entertainment or spectacle that makes it very popular with the public, or likely to be so.
    His performance last night was purebox office.

Derived terms

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Derived terms
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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑1.01.1Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “box-office”,inOnline Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ↑2.02.1William and Mary Morris,Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins,HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988
  3. ↑3.03.1Robert Hendrickson,Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins,Facts on File, New York, 1997

Further reading

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