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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

box offices plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• box offices
  plural

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

A strong showing by Pixar’s latest “Toy Story” sequel would help the cause, with analysts forecasting a domestic opening weekend box office of $150 million to $175 million.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

The franchise’s previous installment, “Toy Story 4,” brought in almost $1.1 billion in global box office in 2019.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026

Hollywood’s summer box office sales since May 1 are outpacing last summer by about 11% thanks to the movie release calendar—and even a few unexpectedly strong showings.

From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026

Two horror films by two young directors have outmuscled an honest-to-Grogu Star Wars to become the early box office surprises of the summer.

From Slate • Jun. 15, 2026

There was a grinding sound, like when movie tickets shoot up through the slot at the box office.

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• gate