block booking

American  

noun

1. a practice among motion-picture distributors of contracting with an exhibitor to show a predetermined series of films.

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Etymology

Origin of block booking

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

But James Strachan KC, for the Home Office, said block booking rooms "does not change its use as a hotel".

From BBC • Oct. 15, 2025

And when a major venue announces its next block booking, what do we call it?

From New York Times • Aug. 17, 2022

The Supreme Court outlawed block booking in 1948’s United States v.

From Slate • Jul. 14, 2017

One of the key techniques of the studios, and the one that eventually brought them down, was called "block booking" - selling films to theatres in a bundle.

From The Guardian • Apr. 5, 2013

Official explanation: the divorce threat was merely a means to a lesser end�the end of block booking.

From Time Magazine Archive