blockbusters
Massive commercial successes
Blockbusters are hugely successful commercial products, especially films that draw massive audiences and generate enormous revenue.
The term originated from World War II bombs powerful enough to destroy entire city blocks, then shifted to describe anything with explosive popular impact.
A blockbuster movie or blockbuster novel dominates its market: The summer blockbusters kept theaters packed.
The word often implies spectacle over substance—big budgets, wide releases, and mass appeal rather than artistic ambition.
Theater's ticket-selling counter
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- summerYear's warmest season
- franchiseLicensed business operation
- sequelContinuation of prior work
superhero · premiere · Marvel · tentpole · CGI · spectacle · Spielberg · Avatar
High-volume publication
- novelNew and unusual
- authorCreator of written works
- publishingDistributing written works publicly
- hardcoverRigid-bound book format
paperback · sales · thriller · fiction · printing · rights · adaptation · chart-topping
Public exhibit space
- exhibitionPublic display of items
- attendanceRecord of who's present
- MonetFrench Impressionist surname
- queueOrdered waiting line
crowds · tickets · gallery · retrospective · collection · touring · Vermeer · Picasso
Active chemical compound
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- medicationTherapeutic substance for illness
- LipitorBranded cholesterol-lowering statin
- ViagraBranded impotence medication
prescription · pharmaceutical · revenue · sales · FDA · approval · molecule · therapy
box-office
Theater's ticket-selling counter
- HollywoodAmerican film industry center
- summerYear's warmest season
- franchiseLicensed business operation
sequel · superhero · premiere · Marvel · tentpole · CGI · spectacle · Spielberg · Avatar · Titanic
bestseller
High-volume publication
- novelNew and unusual
- authorCreator of written works
- publishingDistributing written works publicly
hardcover · paperback · sales · thriller · fiction · printing · rights · adaptation · chart-topping · mass-market
museum
Public exhibit space
- exhibitionPublic display of items
- attendanceRecord of who's present
- MonetFrench Impressionist surname
queue · crowds · tickets · gallery · retrospective · collection · touring · Vermeer · Picasso · installation
drug
Active chemical compound
- patentObvious; inventor's monopoly
- medicationTherapeutic substance for illness
- LipitorBranded cholesterol-lowering statin
Viagra · prescription · pharmaceutical · revenue · sales · FDA · approval · molecule · therapy · generic
bomb
Explosive device or disaster
- explosiveProne to sudden detonation
- demolitionDeliberate structural destruction
- WWII1939-45 global conflict
bunker · aerial · British · Luftwaffe · ordnance · crater · destruction · RAF · blitz · ammunition
- filmmovies, film, filmmaking, cinematography, film editing
- filmsfeature films, action films, horror films, comedies, dramas
- film industryfilm studios, film production, film distribution, Hollywood, Bollywood
- entertainment historyvaudeville, silent films, talkies, Hollywood, movie palaces
- modern cinemasuperhero films, Marvel, reboots, sequels, prequels
- success in filmOscar winners, critical acclaim, smash hits, billion dollar club, opening weekend
blockbustersflops
Unsuccessful ventures or releases
bombs · duds · turkeys · busts · underperformers
blockbustersniche films
Movies with narrow appeal
art films · indie films · cult films · foreign films · obscurities
blockbustersguerrilla filmmaking
Ultra-low-budget independent production
- summer blockbusterHigh-grossing warm-season theatrical release
- blockbuster filmsCommercially dominant movies
- blockbuster albumHugely successful music release
- blockbuster drugExceptionally high-selling medication
- blockbuster tradeMassive player exchange
- blockbuster showHugely successful entertainment production