Broadway Grosses Analysis: Sweeney Todd Breaks House Record, Inches Closer to Joining The $2 Million Club | Playbill

Industry News Broadway Grosses Analysis: Sweeney Todd Breaks House Record, Inches Closer to Joining The $2 Million Club

Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford lead the Tony-nominated revival at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Graphic by Vi Dang

Cumulative grosses on Broadway are still hovering around $30 million, with last week's total coming in at $31.28 million. Figures took a notable fall after the week of April 16, indicating that we are still strongly feeling the loss of The Phantom of the Opera, or at least of its record-setting final weeks. The performance makes it even more clear how much the industry needs a boost in ticket sales from The Tony Awards, which, as of May 15, appear to be back on despite the WGA strike.

But that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't winners currently on the board. Sweeney Todd set a house record at the Lunt-Fontanne last week with $1.84 million, notably achieving that figure with just seven performances despite the prior record holder being for an eight-performance week. The Josh Groban- and Annaleigh Ashford-led revival has been a consistent top grosser, with the weekly nut inching the production ever closer to joining The $2 Million Club. With both of its stars up for Tony Awards and the production contending for Best Revival, this year's Tonys could well turn an already successful production into a superstar.

Sweeney was the week's third highest-grossing show, behind usual chart toppers The Lion King and Hamilton. While both were well-sold, neither sold out, proving that high top and average ticket prices, combined with high-capacity theatres, are the best road to success on Broadway. The top five was rounded out by Funny Girl, with $1.64 million; and the recently recouped MJ The Musical, with $1.61 million.

An interesting show to watch at the box office is A Beautiful Noise. The Neil Diamond biomusical has been undeterred by its total shutout in this year's Tony Award nominations, continuing to bring in grosses hovering around and often exceeding $1 million, even with around 20% of its seats empty at the Broadhurst. The musical has one of Broadway's larger top ticket prices—$347.50—while the average ticket price is sitting at a healthy $138.64. Apparently, Neil Diamond fans do not care about the opinions of the Tony Nominating Committee.

Take a look at the full report here.

The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):

(13 of 35 currently running productions)

The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):

(16 of 35 currently running productions)

 
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