cold open

noun

variants or less commonly cold opening

plural cold opens also cold openings

: a scene of a film or television episode that precedes the title sequence or opening credits and that typically takes place in medias res

Cold opens are a bold move in any medium. When a movie or TV show drops the audience into its world without so much as a "here's the title," it speaks to a confidence that whatever's about to happen on screen is sufficient enough to immerse, intrigue, and otherwise hook them.

—Alexis Nedd

For fans of NBC's "The Office," the cold open from season five's "Casual Friday"—where Kevin spills his famous chili—is one of the show's most beloved scenes.

—Addy Bink

The film lost me right from the overacted cold opening …

—Alexa Chipman

Examples of cold open in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Martin concluded, before listing all the famous faces viewers had seen thus far, including musical guests Sabrina Carpenter and Paul Simon, who led the show’s cold open moments earlier. —Toria Sheffield, People.com, 17 Feb. 2025

The best of the bunch was a cold open that saw Ferrell’s Bush describing his reasonings behind bombing Iraq, a choice many deemed irrational, but were forced to get behind due to the temperature of the country and Bush’s popularity. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 15 Feb. 2025

This week’s cold open began with a setup that promised a founding fathers rap battle as Lin-Manuel Miranda appeared to great fanfare as Hamilton. —Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2025

Oh, to time-travel through these series cold opens with an apartment down payment in hand). —Glynnis MacNicol, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cold open

• reopen