box office

noun

1

a

: an office (as in a theater) where tickets of admission are sold

b

: income from ticket sales (as for a film)

2

: the ability (as of a show) to attract ticket buyers

also : something that enhances that ability

any publicity is good box office

Examples of box office in a Sentence

The box office will open at 10:00 a.m.

Recent Examples on the Web

Warfare has earned $21.8 million in domestic ticket sales and $4.6 million internationally for a worldwide box office take of $26.4 million to date against a $20 million production budget before prints and advertising costs, per The Numbers. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 3 May 2025

Nothing too complicated, nothing that could generate headlines about a bad box office or even a bad performance. —Lizzie Logan, Vulture, 2 May 2025

Releases so far in 2025 have included Snow White, which made 9 million yuan ($1.24 million) at the Chinese box office, and Captain America: Brave New World, which pulled in 104 million yuan. —Casey Hall and Sophie Yu, USA Today, 1 May 2025

Since its April 18 release, Sinners has grossed more than $167 million at the worldwide box office. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 1 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1741, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for box office

• interoffice

Kids Definition

box office

noun

: an office in a public place (as a theater or stadium) where admission tickets are sold