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• box office
  box office

  noun

  the office of a theater, stadium, or the like, at which tickets are sold.
• box-office
  box-office

  adjective

  of or relating to the box office or to the business and commercial aspects of the theater.

box office

¹ American  

noun

1. the office of a theater, stadium, or the like, at which tickets are sold.

2. Theater.

   1. receipts from a play or other entertainment.

   2. entertainment popular enough to attract paying audiences and make a profit.

      This show will be good box office.

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box-office ² American  

[boks-aw-fis, -of-is] / ˈbɒksˌɔ fɪs, -ˌɒf ɪs /

adjective

1. of or relating to the box office or to the business and commercial aspects of the theater.

   a box-office window; box-office receipts; a box-office attraction.

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box office British  

noun

1. an office at a theatre, cinema, etc, where tickets are sold

2. the receipts from a play, film, etc

3. 1. the public appeal of an actor or production

      the musical was bad box office

   2. ( as modifier )

      a box-office success

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box office Idioms  

1. The office where seats for a play, concert, or other form of entertainment may be purchased, as in Tickets are available at the box office . It is so called because originally (17th century) it was the place for hiring a box, a special compartment of theater seats set aside for ladies. [Second half of 1700s]

2. The financial receipts from a performance; also, a show's relative success in attracting a paying audience. For example, You may not consider it great art, but this play is good box office . [c. 1900]

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Etymology

Origin of box office¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Origin of box-office²

First recorded in 1805–15; adj. use of box office

Example Sentences

The box office will be open during the festival at Gate 29.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2026

Its box office is expected to tail off once the finale becomes officially available online.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

Sixteen minutes into “Obsession” — the massively popular, shoestring-budget horror film breaking box office records and bucking expectations left and right — writer-director Curry Barker gives it all away.

From Salon • Jun. 4, 2026

“Backrooms” dominated the box office last weekend, opening with $81.5 million in the U.S. and Canada and $118 million worldwide.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026

The true sign that something was wrong, however, was not the darkness, but that the front doors remained open, despite the fact that there was no one at the box office window.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• gate