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.

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Etymology

Origin of Bank Night

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

In Augusta, the Supreme Court refused to review a Superior Court decision that Bank Night was not a violation of the Maine lottery law.

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

"Bank Night," invented by a Colorado theatre manager in 1931, is now prevalent in 4,000 of the 15,000 U. S. cinemansions.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bank Night is a copyright scheme invented by a onetime Fox booking agent named Charles U. Yaeger, who leases it to theatres for from $5 to $50 a week depending on their size.

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