tentpole movie
- noun
- /ˈtɛntˌpoʊl ˈmuːvi/
- Jargon
- Marvel's tentpole movie released last summer became the highest-grossing film of all time.
Would you say a lot of tentpole movies are hand holding and maybe some people want that.
- Would you say a lot of tentpole movies are hand holding and maybe some people want that.
Examples
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The studio invested heavily in a new tentpole movie expected to generate over a billion dollars at the box office.
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Would you say a lot of tentpole movies are hand holding and maybe some people want that.
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Here was a woman who actually succeeded in having a tentpole movie, so, wow, maybe this other girl can.
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Prior to that, if you want a major tentpole movie, it must be geared toward 13-year-old boys.
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It'll no doubt be a "big tentpole" movie, and with these two storytellers leading the way, it is definitely something to watch for.
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The immutable Laws of Corporate Synergy (they're like the Three Laws of Motion, but for money) require tentpole movies to have video game adaptations.
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Each year, Hollywood studios release several tentpole movies to ensure profitable earnings and support smaller projects.
Synonyms
A very popular film or book that earns a lot of money
A main event or product that brings most attention and money to a company
A very popular movie or song many people enjoy
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'tentpole' (a principal/supporting event or product) with 'movie' (a film), so its meaning—a film that supports or drives a studio's slate—is directly inferable from the constituents. The metaphor of a tentpole as something that supports other things is transparent in this construction, so a learner who knows both words can readily deduce the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Tentpole movie comes from the picture of a big circus tent: a single pole holds up the tent so the whole show can run. A 'tentpole movie' is a very large film that 'holds up' a studio by bringing in lots of money and helping to pay for smaller projects.