Do YOU know what ‘blockbuster’ really means? Thousands lose it after publicist reveals its true meaning

• A TikToker was gobsmacked after learning what a ‘blockbuster’ film really means
• Melbourne publicist Alice James, 30, explained the origin in a video on TikTok
• Films were a hit if the line of people buying tickets went around the block
• The slang term is deemed to originate back in American newspapers in 1940
• But others believe the slang term was coined from ‘blockbuster bombs’

Thousands have been baffled after discovering why successful Hollywood movies are called ‘blockbusters’ in the box office.

Melbourne publicist Alice James, 30, shared a video on TikTok explaining she only recently learnt the interesting fact and was left gobsmacked.

‘Are you ready to have your mind absolutely blown? I learnt what the term “blockbuster” meant the other day and I haven’t stopped thinking about it,’ she said. 

Alice claims that in the ‘olden days’, a movie was deemed to be a blockbuster if the line of people waiting to buy a ticket went onto the street and around the block.

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Melbourne publicist Alice James, 30, (pictured) shared a video on TikTok explaining she only recently learnt the interesting fact and was left gobsmacked

‘Are you ready to have your mind absolutely blown? I learnt what the term “blockbuster” meant the other day and I haven’t stopped thinking about it,’ she said

Alice claims that in the ‘olden days’, a movie was deemed to be a blockbuster if the line of people waiting to buy a ticket went onto the street and around the block (pictured: people waiting outside the cinema to see Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) 

The short video quickly caught the attention of the masses and was viewed more than 182,000 times, with many admitting they had ‘no idea’ about the meaning. 

‘I didn’t know this either and I’m 59,’ one person wrote, another added: ‘And people say TikTok doesn’t teach you stuff, that’s amazing news.’  

‘It started with Jaws in the 1970s,’ a third added. 

Another admitted: ‘I had absolutely no idea omg.’ 

Images from the 70s and 80s show dozens of people lining up to see new movies, such as Star Wares and Jaws, the first weekend it was released.

Other theories about the true meaning and origin have also been considered.

Some believe the term first surfaced in American newspapers in the 1940s when publications drew the analogy from the huge impact from a ‘blockbuster bomb’ could destroy an entire block. 

Connotations and phrases including ‘hits the heart like a two-tonne blockbuster’ were used to review films.

Images from the 70s and 80s show dozens of people lining up to see new movies, such as Star Wares and Jaws, the first weekend it was released

Some believe the term first surfaced in American newspapers in the 1940s when publications drew the analogy from the huge impact from a ‘blockbuster bomb’

Regardless of the fact, others on TikTok seemed insulted when Alice described the 70s and 80s as the ‘olden days’. 

‘Olden days? I feel very old now. Happened plenty of times in the 80s and still happening at drive-ins occasionally, purely for nostalgia,’ one person wrote. 

‘The olden days???? oh dear god,’ another added. 

‘Oh dear I must be very old,’ a third said.

What does the term ‘blockbuster’ mean?

A ‘blockbuster’ is a Hollywood movie that’s made with a large budget and big stars. A true blockbuster is extremely popular and brings in a lot of money

Typically, a blockbuster is a fabulous summer movie that audiences line up to see the first weekend it’s released

Less often, a huge bomb is a blockbuster – this is the word’s original, 1940s meaning, from the fact that such a bomb could destroy an entire city block.

The entertainment meaning, from the 1950s, began as theater slang.

Source: vocabulary.com

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