A
potboiler or
pot-boiler is a
novel,
play,
opera,
film, or other creative work of dubious literary or artistic merit, whose main purpose was to pay for the creator's daily expenses—thus the imagery of "boil the pot", which means "to provide one's livelihood". Authors who create potboiler novels or
screenplays are sometimes called
hack writers or hacks. Novels deemed to be potboilers may also be called
pulp fiction, and potboiler films may be called "popcorn movies."