Blockbuster

n.joyful, energeticeveryday

What it means

A film, book, event, or product that achieves exceptional popular success.

Reach for it when celebrating unusually large reach and commercial impact

The independent studio produced a summer blockbuster on a modest budget.

playful
megahit
very large audience success needs contemporary commercial language
not when A dignified cultural work needs less promotional wording.
playful
smash
immediate emphatic success suits an energetic voice
not when Smash is highly informal and can suggest sudden fashion rather than lasting reach.
everyday
hit
broad success or popularity is the simple point
not when Hit can describe a modest success and gives no sense of exceptional scale.
warm
sensation
public excitement and attention spread rapidly
not when A sensation may attract curiosity without earning strong sales.
professional
phenomenon
success becomes a wider social or cultural event
not when Phenomenon overstates a work that merely sold extremely well.
formal
commercial triumph
strong revenue and successful execution both deserve emphasis
not when The phrase excludes influential work that reached millions without commercial aims.

summer blockbuster
The summer blockbuster kept the town's last cinema open.
box-office blockbuster
A box-office blockbuster funded three smaller documentaries.
blockbuster success
The exhibit became a blockbuster success without extending its opening hours.

The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.