succès de scandale

American  

[syk-sed^uh skahn-dal] / sük sɛdə skɑ̃ˈdal /

noun

French.

1. success won by reason of topical, usually scandalous, subject matter rather than by merit and critical respect.

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succès de scandale British  

/ syksɛ də skɑ̃dal /

noun

1. success of a play, book, etc, because of notoriety or its scandalous character

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Etymology

Origin of succès de scandale

literally: success of scandal

Example Sentences

Last week, a new play inspired by Schnitzler’s succès de scandale premiered at the Salzburg Festival, where it was one of two reworked classics during the event’s opening days.

From New York Times • Aug. 4, 2022

But after its success and the succès de scandale of “Last Tango in Paris,” released in the United States the following year, Brando went back to doing movies for cash.

From Washington Post • Oct. 17, 2019

“The Real Lolita” incorporates interviews with surviving neighbors and family members of Horner and La Salle, court documents and prison records, newspaper accounts of the crime and archival material relating to Nabokov’s succès de scandale.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2018

And then came the breakthrough: Portnoy’s Complaint, the succès de scandale that made Roth the most famous writer of his day.

From Slate • May 23, 2018

She had a real succès de scandale on her Wednesdays, notwithstanding the fact that a more highly respectable lady had never existed in the world.

From The Limit by Leverson, Ada