Buzz
In modern usage, the term blockbuster is most often linked to films, whether you're referring to a movie that has achieved massive box office earnings or recalling a now-defunct video rental chain. Although it has a harmless connotation today, back in the 1940s, it had a much darker meaning.
As reported by TIME, the term blockbuster initially referred to powerful bombs used during World War II. The word appeared for the first time in a November 29, 1942, TIME article covering an Allied bombing mission in Italy, named for the bomb’s devastating capacity to destroy city blocks. As the British Royal Air Force continued deploying these bombs, the term grew in popularity, eventually being used to describe anything intensely dramatic or extravagant.
While Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975) is often credited as the first true summer blockbuster, the term’s connection to Hollywood goes back further. Before blockbuster was synonymous with box office hits, it referred to any notable or bold production. In 1943, TIME remarked, “critics decided that Mission to Moscow is as explosive as a blockbuster,” referencing the politically charged thriller. By the 1950s, producer Max E. Youngstein had set the benchmark for a blockbuster as any film that earned over $2 million, and United Artists aimed to release one blockbuster per month.
There’s no universally agreed-upon revenue figure that defines a movie as a blockbuster. Typically, it refers to commercial films that generate massive box office earnings, even if their content isn’t overly dramatic. You can explore the highest-grossing blockbusters of the past five decades here.
