First, the bad news: grosses across Broadway tumbled by more than 34% last week, with the 31 currently running shows bringing in $34 million, down from the previous week's $52 million. The good news: that's entirely expected, and we can actually now say pretty solidly that this season is doing really well. It's expected because last week included the New Year's Eve and New Year's Day holidays, together with Christmas, Broadway's highest-grossing weeks historically. Even though attendance was down, too, most of the grosses decline is due to people no longer paying premium holiday ticket prices. Last holiday week, theatregoers were paying an average of $166 per ticket. Last week, they were paying an average of $126. That's a big drop, but $126 is nothing to sneeze at.
Also keep in mind that we are also in a period where Broadway tends to lose shows, which means an automatic hit to cumulative grosses. Shows often close at the end of the winter holidays if they don't plan to stick it through the leaner months at the top of the calendar year. Just last week, there were two less shows than the week prior. And, because of expanded holiday schedules, there were 20 less performances to sell, all of which contributes to that "loss." It should also be mentioned that Broadway didn't lose as many productions as often happens this time of year, which is, by itself, pretty fantastic news. Part of that is because some shows, like The Queen of Versailles, unfortunately closed before the holidays. But for the most part, the fall season on Broadway turned out to be pretty robust.
But the really exciting news comes when looking at the season as a whole. So far, we've been regularly beating last year's numbers, putting Broadway well on track to best even last year's historic total take. That has continued, but that gains a new significance this week, because now we're comparing the current season to a period from last season that newly includes its own bonanza New Year's and Christmas holidays. The gap between last season and this season did shrink slightly, but we're still ahead by almost 8.5%, which is an excellent place to be as we look forward to the spring.
No surprise, the top five included the most recent beloved usual suspects, led by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with $2.65 million. Hamilton brought in $2.18 million, with Wicked bringing in $2.07 million, Mamma Mia! $1.78 million, and The Lion King $1.71 million.
Take a look at the full report here.
The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($2.65 million)
- Hamilton ($2.18 million)
- Wicked ($2.07 million)
- Mamma Mia!
- The Lion King
- Chess
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow
- Just In Time
- Ragtime
- MJ The Musical
- The Great Gatsby
- Aladdin
- Death Becomes Her
- The Outsiders
- Maybe Happy Ending
(15 of 31 currently running productions)
The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):
- Just in Time (102.83%)
- Hamilton (100.56%)
- Mamma Mia! (100.36%)
- Hadestown (100.35%)
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow (100.06%)
- Ragtime (100%)
- Wicked (100%)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Bug
- Marjorie Prime
- The Outsiders
- Oh, Mary!
- The Lion King
- Chess
- Aladdin
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Maybe Happy Ending
- Oedipus
- Death Becomes Her
- The Great Gatsby
- The Book of Mormon
(21 of 31 currently running productions)
