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Bank Night

American  
[bangk nahyt] / ˈbæŋk ˌnaɪt /

noun

Informal.
  1. (in the 1930s) an evening when prizes were awarded by lottery to members of the audience at a movie theater as part of a promotion to encourage theater patronage.


Etymology

Origin of Bank Night

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Hardest hit by the Bank Night ban was the Balaban & Katz chain of 39 Chicago theatres whose Bank Night profits are estimated at $60,000 a week.

From Time Magazine Archive

The simplicity of Bank Night makes all the more remarkable the way in which it has functioned, not merely to the advantage of theatre owners, but also to that of its shrewd young promoters.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bank Night owners dropped an infringement of copyright suit against the McCollum circuit when the circuit agreed to substitute Bank Night for the "Cash Night" it had been running.

From Time Magazine Archive

Most important news of Bank Night last week came from Des Moines where the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that Bank Night was not illegal.

From Time Magazine Archive

The value of Bank Night to the exhibitor is obvious: it helps fill his theatre on off nights, permits him to run cheap films to packed houses.

From Time Magazine Archive

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