Box office

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This article is about the movie term; Box Office is also the name of a magazine published since 1920.

Image:Box-office-6692.JPG A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to a venue. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall, or at a wicket.

The term is often used, especially in the context of the film industry, as a synonym for the amount of business a particular production, such as a film or theatre show, receives. This can be measured in terms of the number of people who see it or the amount of money raised by ticket sales. The projection and analysis of these earnings is very important for the creative industries and often a source of interest for fans.

Some complain that industry focus on profit has diminished the attention given to film as an art form. However, analysis of the financial success of films is very influential for the production and funding of future works.

There are numerous websites that monitor box-office receipts and profits, such as Box Office Mojo. For a list of films which are major box-office hits, see List of highest grossing films.

[edit] Etymology

The term "box office" originates from the early days of the theatre. Entry into cheaper sections of the performances cost a single coin, and this fee was collected in small, locked boxes with coin slots in the top. Upon the boxes being filled up, a runner would take the coin-filled box to a back room where it was counted and stored. Hence, the room associated with the financial aspects of the theatre became known as a box office. ^{[citation needed]}