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

And as new movie Send Help continues to defy box office expectations, its anti-elite plot deserves some of the credit. —Alexa Beck, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026

However, filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s decidedly unconventional literary adaptation of Emily Brontë’s iconic novel is at risk of coming in behind expectations at the domestic box office and not hitting the $40 million mark. —Pamela McClintock, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026

The coming-of-age boxing drama opened to strong box office results in Taiwan in January and stars Golden Horse best new performer nominee Lin Yi-ting alongside veterans Tsai Chen-nan and You An-shun. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 14 Feb. 2026

Last year, Momoa starred in Warner Bros/Legendary’s near $1 billion grossing A Minecraft Movie, arguably the first movie to wake up the 2025 global box office. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 11 Feb. 2026

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