Box office

So called because this was where tickets were sold for theatre boxes, generally the most expensive type of theatre seats. The term dates from the mid-to-late 18th century. A more modern usage, when something is described as either good or bad ‘box office’ depending on the amount of money that it makes, is first attested from 1904. Origins and dates for both these uses are confirmed by the OED. Although money boxes made from glazed clay were in use from medieval times, and were used to collect money from theatre audiences in Elizabethan times, their connection to the meaning or use of 'box office' has not been proven.