bums in seats

• bums on seats

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bums in seats pl (plural only)

1. (informal, chiefly Commonwealth) Spectators, passengers, or customers in attendance at a venue or other place where people assemble.

   Synonym: warm bodies

   • 1989 February 28, Rob Carrick, “Wardair Offer Urged Executives to Pay $18,000 for Year's Travel”, in Toronto Star (Canadian Press), page B8:

     Travel industry analyst Doug Galbraith of Runzheimer Canada speculated the airline came up with the card because it was simply "in need of getting bums in seats.

   • 2000 October 6, Daniel Girard, “Ottawa to Double Canadian Film Funding”, in Toronto Star, page F13:

     "It's all about bums in seats," Copps said in a downtown Vancouver theatre.

     While Canadians' movie going is among the highest in the world, films made in Canada earned only 2.1 per cent or $13.8 million of box office receipts last year, the lowest among comparable filmmaking nations.

   • 2007 October 26, “Meet the Pro-Wrestlers of Auckland”, in New Zealand Herald‎, retrieved August 31, 2010:

     Wrestlers and promoters began to realise opportunities for gimmicks with broad appeal which would be used to put bums in seats.

   • 2010 April 27, “Former Liverpool and Leeds Star Robbie Fowler on the Move Again”, in Daily Mail‎, London, retrieved August 31, 2010:

     'He's a quality player and puts bums in seats.'

• Often preceded by the verb put.
• Often used to suggest the importance of satisfactory attendance or occupancy for success or profitability, but sometimes suggestive of the opposite – the importance of attendance regardless of economic advantage.

• eyeballs