Box Office Poison (magazine article)

Not to be confused with the series of comic books Box Office Poison.

Box Office Poison is the title given in popular culture to a trade magazine advertisement taken out on May 4, 1938, in The Hollywood Reporter by the Independent Theatre Owners Association.[1][2] Penned by the group's president, Harry Brandt, the title of the red-bordered ad[3] was WAKE UP! Hollywood Producers. The ad named several actors "whose box office draw is nil", and added that "Dietrich, too, is poison at the box office" which led to the moniker that it is popularly remembered by.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference time was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Stars Pouting over Protests". Madera Tribune. Madera County. May 5, 1938.
  3. ^ "Exhibitors Score Big Film Names". The San Francisco Examiner. May 5, 1938. Retrieved February 1, 2021. At a recent board meeting the association appropriated $300 to insert a red bordered advertisement in the Hollywood Reporter