Film Accounting Glossary
Gross box office
What is gross box office?
Also called box office gross, or GBO.
Gross box office is total ticket revenue at the theater before the exhibitor's share is deducted, and it is the number reported publicly.
It is not what the distributor receives: after the exhibitor keeps roughly half domestically, the distributor's share is film rental. Participation deals are almost never written on gross box office, so the widely reported figure and the money that reaches a picture are very different numbers.
Example
A picture reports $100M gross box office. The exhibitor keeps roughly half domestically, so film rental to the distributor is around $50M, and the distribution fee comes off that. The number in the press and the money reaching the picture are far apart.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Trade reporting and marketing, almost never the basis of a participation deal.
Common mistake
Reading reported box office as money the picture received. The exhibitor keeps roughly half domestically before the distributor's share is even calculated.
Related questions
- Is gross box office what the distributor receives?
- No. The exhibitor retains a large share, and what reaches the distributor is film rental, from which the distribution fee is then deducted.
- Why are participation deals not written on box office?
- Because the picture never receives it. Deals are written on gross receipts, meaning revenue actually received by the distributor.