Meaning of blockbuster. A Dec. 22, 1950, British Daily Mirror article predicted that Cecil B. DeMille’s Samson and Delilah (1949) would be a “box office blockbuster” when it opened in the U.K.; a review in the Nov. 14, 1951, issue of Variety called the movie Quo Vadis (1951) “a blockbuster” that was “right up there with The Birth of a Nation and Gone With the Wind for box office performance.” When the film opened in Italy in March 1953, TIME reported that it cost more than $6,500,000 to make (more than $60 million today) and was the third biggest-grossing film in movie history, boasting a take of $10.5 million (about $100 million today). 4. one who practices blockbusting. blockbuster 1. noun Something, typically a movie or book, that is very popular and makes a large profit. At the Academy Awards on Sunday, Hollywood will learn which of 2019’s movies will walk away with Oscars. According to Cambridge Dictionary online, a blockbuster is defined as “a book or movie that is very successful.” Merriam-Webster is a bit less specific and defines it as “one that is notably expensive, effective, successful, large, or extravagant.” Meaning The meaning of "blockbuster" is originally from the Second World War. Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com. Although no one would want to admit it, Blockbuster didn’t make much money from the simple rental of movies. a very successful product, film, etc. Blockbuster definition is - a very large high-explosive bomb. Please try again later. a motion picture, novel, etc., especially one lavishly produced, that has or is expected to have wide popular appeal or financial success. Step Into History: Learn how to experience the 1963 March on Washington in virtual reality, Eventually, the idea of a blockbuster movie became associated with summer action flicks, especially after Steven Spielberg’s shark attack thriller Jaws, released June 20, 1975. That fact is somewhat appropriate, as the word blockbuster has wartime origins — though not from the First World War, but the Second. Several theories have been put forward for the origin of the term in a film context. It was perceived as a new cultural phenomenon: a fast-paced, exciting entertainment, inspiring interest and conversation beyond the theatre (which would later be called "buzz"), and repeated viewings. We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website, including to provide targeted advertising and track usage. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. lamenting the death of the author-driven, "more artistic" small-scale films of the New Hollywood era (despite criticism of the praise the latter set of films received). Dictionary entry overview: What does blockbuster mean? The movie looked so stupid in the previews, but it turned out to be a real blockbuster. Julien Stinger. Redbox now has 24,000 kiosks nationwide, eight times as many locations as Blockbuster. In the May 9, 1943, issue, TIME used the word to describe a movie, not for its box-office take but for its content: the film adaptation of former Ambassador Joseph E. Davies’ best-selling Mission to Moscow was “audacious in the extreme” such that critics called it “as explosive as a blockbuster.”, Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter. ‘This film delivers blockbuster action, but its blistering pace leaves the story as soulless as the monsters that inhabit it.’ Origin 1940s (denoting a huge aerial bomb capable of destroying a whole block of streets): from block + buster . • BLOCKBUSTER (noun) The noun BLOCKBUSTER has 2 senses:. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget production intended for "blockbuster" status, aimed at mass markets with associated merchandising, sometimes on a scale that meant the financial fortunes of a film studio or a distributor could depend on it. ... 'Godfather' was the first that I remember, movie, that was like a big blockbuster, then came other movies. 3. a person or thing that is overwhelmingly impressive, effective, or influential. As the renowned film critic Roger Ebert wrote for TIME 1998: “Spielberg changed the course of modern Hollywood history. Blockbuster Movies. A particularly powerful, forceful, or effective person or thing. that is a huge financial success, typically one that has been extensively publicized and expensively produced. Blockbusters May Leave Summer — Here’s What That Means for Theaters. I have just been reading Wiki on the term "Blockbuster" popularly used to describe a highly popular action movie. Typically, a blockbuster is a fabulous summer movie that audiences line up to see the first weekend it's released. Neale, Steve. [8], The next fifteen years saw a number of high-quality blockbusters released including the likes of Alien (1979) and its sequel, Aliens (1986), the first three Indiana Jones films (1981, 1984 and 1989), E.T. Audiences interacted with such films, talked about them afterwards, and went back to see them again just for the thrill." They earned their profits by charging late fees to customers. “Continual use detached the word from its linguistic origins and ensured that it came to be associated primarily with popular entertainment in general and with the big-budget, high-impact Hollywood hit in particular.”. 2. adjective Describing something that experiences such popularity and financial success. These two films were the prototypes for the "summer blockbuster" trend,[7] in which major film studios and distributors planned their annual marketing strategy around a big release by July 4. It’s barely a secret that if Hollywood finds success with a feature film, especially a summer blockbuster, a sequel will launch within a couple of years. that has wide popular appeal or financial success. [14] In his book The Long Tail, Chris Anderson talks about blockbuster films, stating that a society that is hit-driven, and makes way and room for only those films that are expected to be a hit, is in fact a limited society.[15]. Synonyms for blockbuster include hit, megahit, smash, success, supernova, winner, bestseller, chartbuster, epic and runaway success. Another trade advertisement in 1944 boasted that the war documentary, With the Marines at Tarawa, "hits the heart like a two ton blockbuster". Hall posits that it took a few years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for writers to feel comfortable using a bomb-based metaphor in such a lighthearted way, but it soon became clear that the entertainment meaning of blockbuster would win out over the military one. You can unsubscribe at any time. [5] Two years later, Star Wars expanded on the success of Jaws, setting box office records and enjoying a theatrical run that lasted more than a year. Blockbuster: a person or thing that is successful. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), the Back to the Future trilogy (1985, 1989 and 1990), Top Gun (1986), Die Hard (1988), Batman (1989) and its sequel Batman Returns (1992), and The Hunt for Red October (1990). [6] After the success of Jaws and Star Wars, many Hollywood producers attempted to create similar "event" films with wide commercial appeal, and film companies began green-lighting increasingly large-budget films, and relying extensively on massive advertising blitzes leading up to their theatrical release. Blockbuster drugs … blockbuster meaning, definition, what is blockbuster: a book or film that is very good or succ...: Learn more. (Today, 2015’s Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens remains the highest-grossing film in North America ever.). Streaming websites don't give you that same thrill. the highest-grossing film in North America ever. A blockbuster is a film or book that is very popular and successful, usually because it is very exciting. that makes a lot of money: A Hollywood studio releases dozens of films in search of that one blockbuster. Information and translations of blockbuster in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. All Rights Reserved. The term has also come to refer to any large-budget production intended for "blockbuster" status, aimed at mass markets with associated merchandising, sometimes on a scale that meant the financial fortunes of a film studio or a distributor could depend on it. Meaning you didn't know much about it besides the title. For a piece in the anthology The Return of the Epic Film: Genre, Aesthetics and History in the 21st Century, film historian Sheldon Hall dug up some of the earliest uses of the word blockbuster to describe movies. You can also call a successful play or a new, popular video game a blockbuster. The trade press subsequently appropriated the term as short-hand for a film's commercial potential. The release of Jaws was timed to come out well into summer to intentionally spook beachgoers. Definition of blockbuster noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Anything … Find another word for blockbuster. Was Martin Luther King Jr. a Republican or a Democrat? Blockbuster Drug: A blockbuster drug is an extremely popular drug that generates annual sales of at least $1 billion for the company that sells it. This film was the biggest blockbuster of the summer. Netflix could completely Here is an excerpt: "...a fast-paced exciting entertainment, almost a genre. The term arose during World War II as a large bomb, so powerful that it was capable … What does blockbuster mean? 1. a huge aerial demolition bomb. But it wasn’t long after that the word started to refer specifically to movies that were commercially successful. A film, novel, etc. Any movie can be a blockbuster, it doesn't have to have a mega-budget and be loaded with big name movie stars. However, this practice was outlawed in 1948 before the term became common parlance; while pre-1948 high-grossing big-budget spectacles may be retrospectively labelled "blockbusters", this is not how they were known at the time. With some oldies but goodies and even some from the last decade, grab some popcorn because these are the best blockbusters available to stream on Amazon Prime right now, ranked by IMDb. By signing up you are agreeing to our, Why 'The Great Gatsby' Now 'Belongs to the People', Save on the cover price and get Free Issues, Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know now on politics, health and more, © 2021 TIME USA, LLC. Among the Best Picture nominees is the World War I epic 1917, which was also a hit with ticket-buyers. [3], The term fell out of usage in the aftermath of World War II but was revived in 1948 by Variety in an article about big budget films. One explanation pertains to the practice of "block booking" whereby a studio would sell a package of films to theaters, rather than permitting them to select which films they wanted to exhibit. The original sense of bombs that blast the entire block, the term was used figuratively in the fifties referring to very successful movies, from which the contemporary meaning. Throughout 1943 and 1944 the term was applied to films such as Bataan, No Time for Love and Brazil. "Hollywood Blockbusters: Historical Dimensions." The word “was ultimately rendered safe not only by the fact of its obsolescence as a military weapon, but also by its very pervasiveness as an expression during the postwar period,” writes Hall. ", Movie Blockbusters - Google Books (pg.108), Heroes, Monsters and Values: Science Fiction Films of the 1970s - Google Books, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blockbuster_(entertainment)&oldid=997140571, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 December 2020, at 04:57. [3], In 1975, the usage of "blockbuster" for films coalesced around Steven Spielberg's Jaws. That transition too can be seen in the pages of TIME. aerial bombs capable of destroying a whole block of buildings, List of highest-grossing openings for films, "blockbuster | Definition of blockbuster in English by Oxford Dictionaries", "Pass the ammunition : a short etymology of "Blockbuster, "Celebrating the Original STAR WARS on its 35th Anniversary", "Did 'Jaws' and 'Star Wars' Ruin Hollywood? How to use blockbuster in a sentence. Ed. The Meaning of ‘Blockbuster,’ From ‘Wonder Woman’ to Scoops on Trump A term often invoked for movies, politics and sports has its roots in World War II bombing raids In December 1950 the Daily Mirror predicted that Samson and Delilah would be "a box office block buster", and in November 1951 Variety described Quo Vadis as "a b.o. [4] The film is regarded as the first film of the "blockbuster era", and founded the blockbuster film genre. Before then, movie theaters saw low-turnout in the summer months, when people preferred to be outside than indoors. As the term continued to appear in the context of media reports on Allied aerial bombings, it entered the American lexicon as a metaphor for something shocking an explosive and shocking. Blockbusters Today So what constitutes a blockbuster in today’s world? 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