Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One of the poles used to hold up a tent.
  • noun US, attributive, figuratively, film, television, theater Of or pertaining to a large-scale entertainment production which is a major source of revenue for its studio, television network, or investors.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

tent +‎ pole

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Examples

  • Jobs spent a good chunk of the event discussing the seventh "tentpole" - a centralized mobile ad network called (as rumored) "iAd."

    Ars Technica Chris Foresman 2010

  • (More time is given, it seems, to the studio's first real star -- and original "tentpole" -- Rin Tin Tin.)

    Innocent Bystander 2008

  • TDTESS is described as a tentpole film for WB so I think they are expecting big things.

    First The Day the Earth Stood Still Remake Banner Discovered « FirstShowing.net 2008

  • They don't answer the larger questions: Are movie studios simply better at giving us the sequels we want -- the so-called tentpole films: Spider-Man, X-Men, Bourne, Harry Potter -- or are we clinging to the familiar and escapist more than ever this decade, because, in this decade, we have more to escape?

    Erik Lundegaard: Why We Stopped Seeing Best Picture Nominees -- Part II 2008

  • In recent years Hollywood studios have become increasingly reliant on so-called "tentpole" movies, which are given huge production budgets in the hope of making very large profits.

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2011

  • When a high-quality, full-length work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine surfaced on Internet bittorrent sites last night, early speculation was that this was a doomsday scenario for Fox and the filmmakers behind the tentpole, which is not due to be released until May 1.

    Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider 2009

  • When a high-quality, full-length work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine surfaced on Internet bittorrent sites last night, early speculation was that this was a doomsday scenario for Fox and the filmmakers behind the tentpole, which is not due to be released until May 1.

    Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider 2009

  • When a high-quality, full-length work print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine surfaced on Internet bittorrent sites last night, early speculation was that this was a doomsday scenario for Fox and the filmmakers behind the tentpole, which is not due to be released until May 1.

    Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider 2009

  • "tentpole" - filled keynote if it was all ready to go on it, but the eternal optimists within us would like to believe that the merest glimpse of the app would instantly reveal a front facing camera on whatever new iPhone hardware is in the works, therefore relegating the app to secrecy.

    Engadget Paul Miller 2010

  • Apple adds seven major features, 100 minor features in iPhone 4.0 (AppleInsider) iPhone OS 4 will introduce seven major "tentpole" feature and a long list of minor enhancements this summer, Steve Jobs has announced at Apple's release preview event.

    Daily Dispatch: Apple adds 7 major features to iPhone 4.0; Ninja is the new hot job title 2010

Comments

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  • "n. something, such as a commercial undertaking, a story franchise, or a fictional character, that serves as primary support (for a company, television program, etc.), especially a blockbuster movie which compensates for a studio’s flops."

    Source: http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/tent_pole/

    April 8, 2011

  • "“This pigment is of major importance, since it represents the bright red color desired by purchasers,” reads “Lawrie’s Meat Science,” one of the tentpole books for students and professionals in the meat industry. Some producers have even gone so far as to treat their meat with carbon dioxide gas in order to lock in this red color far past its normal lifespan."

    That blood in your meat Isn't what you think it is

    October 12, 2016