the·at·ri·cal
thē-ˈa-tri-kəl 
variants
or less commonly theatric
1
a
: of or relating to the theater or the presentation of plays
a theatrical costume
a theatrical troupe
a powerful theatrical performance
b
: of, relating to, or occurring in a movie theater
the theatrical release of a new film
"Give Me Liberty," the Milwaukee-made movie that received good notices at this year's Sundance Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, will come home for its U.S. theatrical premiere, Aug. 22 at the Oriental Theatre.—
Chris Foran
Chris Foran2
: having qualities suggestive of a stage play or of an actor's performance : deliberately or exaggeratedly dramatic or emotional : histrionic
a theatrical gesture
a theatrical way of speaking
… pulls an enormous handkerchief from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and opens it with a theatrical flourish …—Robert Little
Robert Little1
2
British
: a professional actor
3
theatricals plural
: showy or extravagant gestures
Synonyms
Examples of theatrical in a Sentence
Adjective
a politician who has a highly theatrical manner of speaking
after stepping out of their hired limousine, the prom couple made a theatrical entrance in their evening clothes
Recent Examples on the WebTIME, 17 Apr. 2024
An important question mark looming over A24’s rise is the state of the market for theatrical movies more broadly.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
In place of the grand theatrical installations that have defined Hermès presentations in years prior, the room was bathed in darkness and at first appeared relatively spartan.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2024
Escapade Media has come on board to take international sales rights to ‘Follow the Rain,’ a feature-length documentary about unknown species of mushroom that has enjoyed theatrical release in its native Australia.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
Originally designed as a a series of theatrical works inspired by the lives and works of six San Diego County Jewish women each year, the Women of Valor program will grow to include two more post-festival Women of Valor events.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
China’s 2024 theatrical box office revenue total currently sits at $2.55 billion, up 6 percent on 2023 over the same period.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Apr. 2024
However, despite the acclaim, the film still has no official theatrical release date.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 14 Apr. 2024
One thing that does not appear to be changing anytime soon is Netflix’s strategy regarding theatrical release, a bone of contention with some filmmakers and stars — not to mention theater owners.
—Nicole Sperling, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Caroline Brew, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has taken the world by storm since its July 21 theatrical release, grossing over $1.38 billion at the global box office.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 4 Dec. 2023
Shift from the botanical to the theatrical at ASU Gammage, the city’s premier venue for the performing arts.
—Sunset Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
In a new strategic partnership that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav helped shepherd, Cruise will team with movie studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy in jointly developing and producing original and franchise theatrical films starring the world-famous actor.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2024
And Chinese titles have come to dominate the country’s own theatrical and streaming markets to such a point that the long-standing import quotas may have fallen into abeyance.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024
However, Majors was quickly dropped by both his management and publicist teams in the wake of the accusations, and Searchlight Pictures indefinitely postponed Magazine Dreams’ December theatrical release.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon After its October theatrical release, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2023
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously warned the actors union that if a deal could not be reached by the end of this week, the networks would have to cancel certain TV shows and there would be further delays in 2024 summer theatrical releases.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
Adjective
The 2024 Maison Margiela show represented a call back to a once-great period of Galliano fame, as the collection displayed familiar techniques of staging, choreography, and theatrical makeup that typified his runway shows in the 1990s.
—TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
An important question mark looming over A24’s rise is the state of the market for theatrical movies more broadly.
—Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
In place of the grand theatrical installations that have defined Hermès presentations in years prior, the room was bathed in darkness and at first appeared relatively spartan.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 Apr. 2024
Escapade Media has come on board to take international sales rights to ‘Follow the Rain,’ a feature-length documentary about unknown species of mushroom that has enjoyed theatrical release in its native Australia.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
Originally designed as a a series of theatrical works inspired by the lives and works of six San Diego County Jewish women each year, the Women of Valor program will grow to include two more post-festival Women of Valor events.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Apr. 2024
China’s 2024 theatrical box office revenue total currently sits at $2.55 billion, up 6 percent on 2023 over the same period.
—Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Apr. 2024
However, despite the acclaim, the film still has no official theatrical release date.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 14 Apr. 2024
One thing that does not appear to be changing anytime soon is Netflix’s strategy regarding theatrical release, a bone of contention with some filmmakers and stars — not to mention theater owners.
—Nicole Sperling, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Noun
The 2024 movie musical will stream on Paramount+ beginning March 5, following its January theatrical release.
—Caroline Brew, Variety, 4 Mar. 2024
Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie has taken the world by storm since its July 21 theatrical release, grossing over $1.38 billion at the global box office.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 4 Dec. 2023
Shift from the botanical to the theatrical at ASU Gammage, the city’s premier venue for the performing arts.
—Sunset Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023
In a new strategic partnership that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav helped shepherd, Cruise will team with movie studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy in jointly developing and producing original and franchise theatrical films starring the world-famous actor.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2024
And Chinese titles have come to dominate the country’s own theatrical and streaming markets to such a point that the long-standing import quotas may have fallen into abeyance.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 3 Jan. 2024
However, Majors was quickly dropped by both his management and publicist teams in the wake of the accusations, and Searchlight Pictures indefinitely postponed Magazine Dreams’ December theatrical release.
—Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 18 Dec. 2023
Killers of the Flower Moon After its October theatrical release, Killers of the Flower Moon is now available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
—Rebecca Aizin, Peoplemag, 18 Dec. 2023
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had previously warned the actors union that if a deal could not be reached by the end of this week, the networks would have to cancel certain TV shows and there would be further delays in 2024 summer theatrical releases.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 3 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'theatrical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Theatrical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theatrical. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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