tentpole
noun
tent·pole
| \ ˈtent-ˌpōl
\
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Definition of tentpole
: a big-budget movie whose earnings are expected to compensate the studio for its less profitable movies
Examples of tentpole in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Apple has been tight-lipped about exactly when The Morning Show and other projects will be dropping, and this teaser offers the first public look at one of the service's tentpole shows. — Harper's Bazaar Staff, Harper's BAZAAR, "Apple TV+ Drops the First Teaser for The Morning Show," 12 Aug. 2019 The decision essentially scraps everything that isn’t a major tentpole franchise — including Avatar and Planet of the Apes — and indie projects from Fox’s prestigious Searchlight division. — Julia Alexander, The Verge, "Disney is drastically changing Fox’s future after a number of flops," 8 Aug. 2019 The tentpole is roaring into almost every foreign territory this weekend, with the exception of Hong Kong (July 25), Japan (Aug. 9) and Italy (Aug. 21). — Pamela Mcclintock, Billboard, "Box Office: 'The Lion King' Bites Off Huge $78.5M Friday," 20 July 2019 There’s absolutely nothing inherently wrong with being a curatorial fan; in fact, many fans fall between both tentpoles, or are transformative fans in one fandom and curatorial fans in another. — Aja Romano, Vox, "Why the ending of Game of Thrones elevated the worst of fan culture," 20 July 2019 Enter Hearn, who has significant resources and a mandate to bring tentpole fights to DAZN. — Chris Mannix, SI.com, "Sources: Kovalev's Promoter Engages Eddie Hearn to Help Finalize Canelo Showdown," 10 July 2019 The difference in this case is that Arnold was working on a prestigious HBO drama, not a studio tentpole. — Meredith Blake, chicagotribune.com, "Analysis: Andrea Arnold reportedly losing control over ‘Big Little Lies’ isn’t just about gender," 16 July 2019 The difference in this case is that Arnold was working on a prestigious HBO drama, not a studio tentpole. — Meredith Blake, latimes.com, "Andrea Arnold reportedly losing control over ‘Big Little Lies’ isn’t just about gender," 15 July 2019 Sure, Thompson and her team didn’t need to compile a fortnight’s worth of cool outfits to get audiences interested in a summer studio tentpole. — Vogue, "Tessa Thompson's Men in Black Press Tour Wardrobe is Next Level," 14 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tentpole.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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