Blockbuster

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.

• flop
• commercial failure
• dud

• 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.