tent pole
n.— «The industry term for a movie (usually but not always a franchise flick) that a major studio expects will be a blockbuster (but often isn’t), “tent pole” is a particularly evocative buzzword to toss around these days, especially for those brushing up on ancient texts or history in preparation for a pitch meeting with a major studio.» —“Studios scurry to make movies with international legs” by Jennie Punter Globe and Mail (Toronto, Can.) May 31, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Brian from Lafayette, Indiana, wonders why chicken is abbreviated CHX in the restaurant industry. Using X as a substitute or shortener has a long history. Medieval scribes sometimes drew a line through the final stroke of an abbreviated word. This...
Tom Harris from Bluebell, Pennsylvania, wonders: In baseball, when a batter is said to take a ball, what exactly does take mean in that context? Batters have been advised to take a ball since the mid-1850s, when rule changes established the modern...