block booking
n.— «As Ladd explained in Blockbuster, Star Wars got into the theaters because of a now illegal practice called “block booking,” which involved studios essentially holding a big movie hostage in exchange for theaters agreeing to play one of the studio’s smaller films. Fox told theater owners if they wanted “The Other Side of Midnight,” a potboiler based on the Sidney Sheldon bestseller, they had to show this little movie “Star Wars” too.» —“Star Wars: A Box Office History Lesson” by David Konow Tom’s Games Aug. 13, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Quiz Guy John Chaneski presents a puzzle about fanciful sequels to real movies. John proposes new movies using a synonym of each of two words in a real title. For example, Vulgar Velour would be the title of what remake? This is part of a complete...
The slang phrase someone ate and left no crumbs means the person did something really well. In a previous call, a listener who works in theater noted the use of ate to mean “did something well,” as in they really ate that haircut! This is part of a...