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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

Christopher Nolan's latest blockbuster, "The Odyssey," retained the top spot at the North American box office in its second week, taking in an additional $87 million, industry estimates showed Sunday.

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

Be it measured by box office gross or word of mouth buzz, popularity isn’t enough to define a classic.

From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026

The total domestic box office gross last year was $8.9 billion, which is how much all movies made in ticket sales.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

As it turned out, the film was a box office dud, bringing in only $40,000; it did make additional revenue from DVD sales and television licensing.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Though their big-screen adventures could not capture the comedic chaos of their stage act, Martin and Lewis transformed even the most pedestrian screenplay into box-office gold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

Opening-weekend box-office figures were a record $52 million, the company said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026

Here’s a look at some of the biggest earners of all time, with background courtesy of IMDb and North American box-office receipts, adjusted for inflation, from Box Office Mojo:

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

UTA‘s roster includes Alix Earle, Jake Shane and Markiplier — the last of whom recently landed his own box-office breakthrough with “Iron Lung.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

There does not seem to be a particular section for the circus; bits of it are mixed in with books of theater receipts and lists of box-office returns.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• gate