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box office

noun
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Definition of box office

1a : 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 film struggled at the box office, collecting just $26 million worldwide after its April release. — oregonlive, "Hillsboro animation studio Laika follows Golden Globe win with its sixth Oscar nomination," 13 Jan. 2020 The Korean film, seen as a take on class warfare as well as a genre thriller, has earned more than $23 million at the domestic box office and a massive $130 million globally. — Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Parasite' HBO Limited Series in the Works From Bong Joon Ho, Adam McKay," 9 Jan. 2020 Tickets can also be purchased in person at the NRG Park box office, with no service charge, beginning at 10 a.m. Jan. 17. — Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle, "RodeoHouston 2020: NCT 127, Willie Nelson, Gwen Stefani, Khalid, Becky G," 9 Jan. 2020 After a month in theaters, the racing drama with Christian Bale and Matt Damon amassed $91 million at the domestic box office. — Rebecca Rubin, chicagotribune.com, "Box Office: ‘Frozen 2’ remains victorious, ‘Playmobil’ bombs," 8 Dec. 2019 The same goes for Dark Phoenix, the tepid conclusion of Fox’s X-Men films that eked out $65 million at the domestic box office this year. — David Sims, The Atlantic, "Martin Scorsese’s Warning," 11 Nov. 2019 Tickets for the Fillmore show go on sale 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at LiveNation.com, by calling 800-745-3000 and at the venue box office, 1700 Washington Ave. — Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, "With postponement of Miami Beach Pop Festival, Raconteurs to play Fillmore," 10 Oct. 2019 Fast Fact: $96 Million That's how much money Joker made at the domestic box office last weekend. — Wired, "Ancient Sippy Cups, A Full-Control Android Hack, and More News," 7 Oct. 2019 Tickets also can be purchased at the festival box office, which will be in the Cobb Plaza lobby during the festival. — Hal Boedeker, orlandosentinel.com, "Walt Disney documentary opens Orlando Film Festival," 3 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'box office.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of box office

1786, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Time Traveler for box office

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The first known use of box office was in 1786

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Statistics for box office

Last Updated

17 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Box office.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/box%20office. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for box office

box office

noun

English Language Learners Definition of box office

: an area in a theater where tickets are sold for a movie, play, etc.
—used to describe how many tickets have been sold for a movie, play, etc. —often used before another noun

See the full definition for box office in the English Language Learners Dictionary

box office

noun

Kids Definition of box office

: a place where tickets to public entertainments (as sports or theatrical events) are sold

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More from Merriam-Webster on box office

Spanish Central: Translation of box office

Nglish: Translation of box office for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of box office for Arabic Speakers

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