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

The cinematic and box office achievement Golden Globe award was introduced for the 2024 ceremony as part of an effort to give mainstream blockbuster movies more of a presence in awards season. —Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 8 Dec. 2025

The running annual domestic box office just this weekend surpassed $8 billion. —Lindsey Bahr, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025

The cumulative success of those films helped redeem the domestic box office, which had been winding down to a disappointing close. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 7 Dec. 2025

Way of Water grossed $401M at the domestic box office in the final 16 days of 2022 for a final take of $684M in its first cycle (its lifetime cume is at $688M after this past fall’s rerelease). —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 7 Dec. 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