Sky Box Office is the name of BSkyB's pay-per-view (PPV) system. There are three branded divisions of Sky Box Office - Sky Movies Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and Sky 3D Box Office. Until 1 February 2011, the system ran under unified Sky Box Office branding.

History[link]

Sky Box Office launched on 16 March 1996 on Sky Analogue. At the time it carried mainly sporting events, such as major boxing fights. The first of these was Frank Bruno's WBC World Heavyweight Championship defence against Mike Tyson. Initially events were ordered by telephone, either on the day of broadcast for £14.95 or in advance at a reduced price of £9.99. Ordering an event charged the viewer and then the subscriber's VideoCrypt viewing card would be activated over the air, enabling the viewing of the broadcast. The charge would be levied unless the viewer cancelled prior to broadcast, or returned the viewing card as proof that the event hadn't been watched.

Four dedicated Sky Box Office channels were launched on 1 December 1997 on Sky Analogue. At this time multiple showings of selected movies, shown in advance of their broadcast on Sky's existing subscription movie channels, were added. Initial movies included The Long Kiss Goodnight and Courage Under Fire. However, at least one hour pre-ordering was required, and for most movies one purchase at £2.99 only bought one viewing.

With the move to Sky Digital in 1998, where the Sky Digibox provided a data return path, events and movies - the latter now copy protected - could be bought minutes before or even during the event either by telephone or through an on-screen menu and PIN system.

A range of pay-per-view 3-D films are also screened on Sky 3D.

On 1 February 2011, Sky Box Office was rebranded as Sky Movies Box Office for Movies.^[1] Later in the year, Sky Sports Box Office branding was added for sports and Sky 3D Box Office for 3D.

Content[link]

Although at launch it showed mainly sporting events, since the launch of Sky Digital, movies along with concerts have become the predominant content. However, Sky Movies Box Office's limited movie choices and relatively high prices have increasingly left it suffering in comparison to online DVD rental systems. Films are currently first shown on Sky Box Office on the same day as DVD release as of 2011, prior to the there was a 2 to 3 month window between DVD release and Sky Box Office release. Some films still retain the 2 to 3 month window between DVD and Sky Box Office releases.

It can be purchased directly through a Sky remote control. This can be accomplished by pressing "Box Office", purchase an event, confirm the order and enter the PIN if prompted.

World Wrestling Entertainment[link]

This section reads like a news release, or is otherwise written in an overly promotional tone. Please help by either rewriting this article from a neutral point of view or by moving this article to Wikinews. When appropriate, blatant advertising may be marked for speedy deletion with {{db-spam}}. (August 2010)

Since 1997, the channel has also shown World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (formerly World Wrestling Federation) events. From 1997 to 2003 it showed UK only WWF PPV events. However, when the deal with Channel 4 to show 4 WWE events (Royal Rumble, Backlash, Fully Loaded, and Armageddon) broke down in 2002, Sky picked up the 4 events and showed them on Sky Box Office, with a charge of £14.95 (or €21.95 in Ireland). This angered many fans^{[citation needed]} as previously these events had been shown on Sky Sports. Others^[who?], however, were glad the events were back on Sky, despite the cost, because they believed Sky's coverage was superior to Channel 4^{[citation needed]}. Sky showed the events live and uncut, whereas Channel 4 showed the 2000 Royal Rumble live with adverts inserted, consequently losing footage. Other events were shown on a 50-minute delay in order to insert adverts without losing footage. Backlash 2000 was edited, despite the fact it broadcast at 1.50am. After viewer complaints about this editing^{[citation needed]}, Channel 4 showed the remaining events unedited. However, they were still shown on a delay.

As of 2012, seven WWE events are shown on the channel. The other five WWE PPVs are shown on Sky Sports. The price is now £14.95 even for WrestleMania, and all events shown are available in HD at no additional charge, despite the fact that in the USA the WWE charges $54.95 (£35), and more for High Definition).

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sky Movies Box Office at sky.com

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Box office at the Iao Theater, Maui, Hawaii.

A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket.

By extension, the term is frequently used, especially in the context of the film industry, as a synonym for the amount of business a particular production, such as a film or theatre show, receives. The term can also mean factors which may influence this amount, as in the phrases "good box office" and "bad box office".^[1]

Usage[link]

Box office business can be measured in terms of the number of people who see it or the amount of money raised by ticket sales (revenue). The projection and analysis of these earnings is very important for the creative industries and often a source of interest for fans. This is predominant in the Hollywood movie industry.

Some complain that industry focus on profit has diminished the attention given to film as an art form. However, analysis of the financial success of films is very influential for the production and funding of future works.

There are numerous websites that monitor box-office receipts, such as ShowBIZ Data and Box Office Mojo. For a list of films which are major box-office hits, see List of highest-grossing films.

On average, the movie's distributor receives more than half of the revenue, with the remainder kept by the movie theater. The split varies from movie to movie, and the percentage for the distributor is generally higher in early weeks. Usually the distributor gets a percentage of the revenue after first deducting a "house allowance" or "house nut". It is also common that the distributor gets either a percentage of the gross revenue, or a higher percentage of the revenue after deducting the nut, whichever is larger.^[2][3]

Related film industry terminology[link]

The following is film industry specific terminology as defined by Box Office Mojo.^[4] For movies released in North America, box office figures are usually divided between domestic, meaning U.S. and Canada, and foreign which includes all other countries. Weekly box office figures are taken to be from Friday through Thursday to allow for the fact that most movies are released on a Friday. A large component of this is the weekend box office, defined as the box office receipts from Friday through Sunday. In particular, the weekend box office for the initial week of release, or opening weekend, is often widely reported. (See List of biggest opening weekends.)

Theaters is the number of theaters in which the movie is showing. Since a single theater may show a movie on multiple screens, the total number of screens is used as another measure. The theaters measure is used to determine whether a movie is in wide release, meaning at least 600 theaters, or limited release which is less than 600 theaters. Occasionally, a movie may achieve wide release after an initial limited release; Little Miss Sunshine is an example of this.

Etymology[link]

Look up box office in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The term is attested since 1786,^[5] presumably from sales of box seats or "boxes" (private seating areas).^[6][7] The sense of “total sales” is attested from 1904.^[5]

A folk etymology is that this derives from Elizabethan theatre, where theater admission was collected in a box attached to a long stick, passed around the audience;^[6][7] compare the "bottle" in Punch and Judy, where money was collected in a bottle. However, first attestation is over a century later (theaters were closed in 1642, the term is recorded 1786, 144 years later), making this highly unlikely.

See also[link]

Economics portal

• Box office bomb
• List of highest-grossing films
• Will call

References[link]

Sky Movies is the collective name for the premium subscription television movie channels operated by Sky Television, and later British Sky Broadcasting. It has around 5 million subscribers, via satellite, cable and IPTV in the UK and Ireland.^[1] In addition to the television channels, it has an interactive 'red button' service, a website (sky.com/movies) and in 2005 launched a 3G mobile service via Vodafone. Sky Movies is said^{[by whom?]} to be the largest television movie service in the world.^{[citation needed]}

Sky Movies channels[link]

The current Sky Movies channels are Sky Movies Action, Sky Movies Classics, Sky Movies Comedy, Sky Movies Drama & Romance, Sky Movies Family, Sky Movies Indie, Sky Movies Modern Greats, Sky Movies Premiere, Sky Movies Premiere +1, Sky Movies SciFi/Horror, Sky Movies Showcase and Sky Movies Thriller.

All of the channels are available in high-definition with the exception of Sky Movies Premiere +1.

History[link]

1989-2003: Launch and early years[link]

Sky Movies was originally a single movie channel offered as part of Sky's original 4-channel package on the Astra 1A satellite on 5 February 1989. First showing of the film is Dirty Dancing. Prior to its launch, Sky Movies signed first-run deals with 20th Century-Fox, Warner Bros. Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Orion Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution Co.

After one year of broadcasting free-to-air, in February 1990^[2] it became the first Sky channel to scramble its signal, using a card-encryption system called VideoCrypt which rendered the picture totally obscured to anyone attempting to view it without a decoder and smart card. During 1990, Sky Movies also started broadcasting for 24 hours per day.^[3] The main channel was rebranded as Sky Movies Screen 1 on 1 November 1997.

The Movie Channel[link]

When Sky merged with rival British Satellite Broadcasting it acquired BSB's The Movie Channel, and with the launch of the second Astra satellite (Astra 1B) in 1991 The Movie Channel became part of the Sky package. First showing of the movie is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. During the launch branding, The Movie Channel was used with NBC's Movie intros up until 1993. The channel was closed on 31 October 1997 and replaced with Sky Movies Screen 2 the following day.

Sky Movies Gold[link]

On 1 October 1992, The Comedy Channel is replaced with Sky Movies Gold, a "classic movies" channel was added as a 3-channel Sky Movies package. First showing of the movie is Rocky. In 1997, Sky Movies Gold kept using its name before Sky Cinema was relaunched the following year.

Other dates[link]

On 8 April 1991, music channel The Power Station closed down on BSB's satellite and Sky Movies subsequently launched on that transponder.

The digital era[link]

After a rebrand on 10 September 1998 Sky Movies Screen 2 became Sky Premier, Sky Movies Screen 1, became Sky Moviemax, and Sky Movies Gold was renamed Sky Cinema.

The launch of Sky Digital from the new Astra 28.2°E satellite position in October 1998 was accompanied by a dramatic expansion of channels. Sky Premier 2 through 4, Sky Moviemax 2 through 5 and Sky Cinema 2, along with Sky Premier Widescreen – at the time, the only channel devoted to showing widescreen movies, were all launched exclusively on digital satellite.

On 1 July 2002 saw yet another re-branding exercise. The Sky Premier channels were renamed Sky Movies Premier, the Sky Moviemax channels became Sky Movies Max, and the Sky Cinema channels became Sky Movies Cinema.

Eventually in June 2003 Sky listened to demands for more widescreen movies. The Sky Movies Premier Widescreen channel was closed and the majority of films on the remaining channels were shown in widescreen.

2003-2007: Rebrand[link]

On 1 November 2003, the Sky Movies Premier and Sky Movies Max channels were all brought under one banner as Sky Movies 1 through 9. At the same time, Sky Movies Cinema 1 and 2 became Sky Cinema 1 and 2.

From 30 January 2006, Sky Movies 9 and the new Sky Movies 10 started broadcasting from 5 pm to 3 am. They were PIN-protected, meaning that for the first time 15 rated films were able to be shown as early as 5 pm. With the launch of Sky HD, the two channels were also available in a high definition format.

2007-present: Sky Movies goes categorised[link]

From 4 April 2007, Sky Movies channels were revamped with each channel covering a different genre. Sky Cinema 1 and 2 merged to become Sky Movies Classics.^[4] The names of the new channels became, Sky Movies Premiere, Sky Movies Premiere +1, Sky Movies Comedy, Sky Movies Action & Thriller, Sky Movies Family, Sky Movies Drama, Sky Movies Classics, Sky Movies Sci-Fi & Horror, Sky Movies Modern Greats, Sky Movies Indie, Sky Movies HD1 and Sky Movies HD2. Three of the HD channels have launched already before the other.

Sky Movies also got a new logo, where the V is supposed to be from searchlights, similar to the searchlights used by Fox (which is also owned by Sky's parent company, Newscorp). The new idents for the channels were also based on the searchlight theme.