Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular and/or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry.

Origin of the term

Although some entertainment histories apparently cite it as originally referring to a play that is so successful that competing theaters on the block are "busted" and driven out of business, the OED cites a 1957 use which is simply as a term of "biggest", after the bombs. Whatever its origin, the term quickly caught on as a way to describe a hit, and has subsequently been applied to productions other than plays and films, including novels and multi-million selling computer/console game titles.

In film, a number of terms were used to describe a hit. In the 1970s these included: spectacular (The Wall Street Journal), super-grosser (New York Times), and super-blockbuster (Variety). In 1975 the usage of 'blockbuster' for films coalesced around Steven Spielberg's Jaws, and became perceived as something new: a cultural phenomenon, a fast-paced exciting entertainment, almost a genre. Audiences interacted with such films, talked about them afterwards, and went back to see them again just for the thrill.