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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

See Examples For:

box office box-office

Formed in 2013, BTS have become one of pop's biggest-selling acts, and their current world tour is expected to rival Taylor Swift's Eras concerts at the box office.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

Even within the states’ artificially narrow frame, a 27% share of feature-film box office doesn’t by itself establish that this merger will substantially lessen competition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Christopher Nolan's star-studded adaptation of "The Odyssey" has quickly become his latest box office success, capturing audiences and generating conversation around the world.

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

The massive opening for ‘The Odyssey’ provided a big boost to the summer box office at a time when the last few weeks have been uneven.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

“They run a movie theater. I’m their box office attendant. And who the heck is Rav Elazar of Worms? I don’t think that’s a person.”

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Disney’s live-action remakes have largely been box-office boons for the company, with a few exceptions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

David Ellison, backed by his billionaire father, Larry Ellison, is making a huge bet on content as the entertainment and media landscape faces higher sports-rights costs, a competitive streaming market and a risky box-office environment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

He died just one month before the release of “Enter the Dragon,” which was a box-office sensation and is considered a masterpiece of martial arts filmmaking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

A similar pattern, they said, could be seen in box-office sales.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

Then, in 1750, he premiered a controversial new work that was a box-office flop.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• gate