Hamilton has been a top grosser its entire run, but it's been a second since it's been the number-one top grosser—until now. The show celebrated 10 years on Broadway earlier this month, which has led to renewed interest in the landmark Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical both on social media and at the box office. As for that latter bit, the show regained its perch atop all other Broadway shows last week with a gross of $2.2 million. That's also a hefty, $400,00+ increase from the week prior. As the show enters its second decade on the Main Stem, it's clear that theatregoers are still eager to be in the room where it happens.
But Hamilton's success comes as Broadway's box office on the whole is starting to show signs of slowing with the end of summer. School is already back in some states, and clearly the summer vacation boom is approaching its end. The 29 currently running shows brought in a cumulative $29.79 million last week, a nearly 4% drop from the week previous, and this is the second week we've seen a downward trend. But the end-of-summer of it all is a pretty normal part of the Broadway life cycle, and the silver lining is the slower periods are a great time for New York locals to get cheaper tickets to shows. Broadway Week is back September 8-21 this year, which means theatregoers can get buy-one-get-one tickets to most of what's running on Broadway—a true steal! Deals like that let local diehards help Broadway get through to the winter holidays, the busiest season on the boards.
Also getting a big boost last week compared to the week before was Gypsy. Theatregoers eager for one last chance to see six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald taking on Rose in the classic musical boosted its sales more than $400,000, putting it in the top-five highest grossers for the first time in weeks. The total take of $1.6 million fell short of its highest gross of the run, which it achieved in January. But it was still a fitting send off to true theatrical royalty taking on a titanic character in the musical theatre canon.
In fact, last week was a big week for long-runners and revivals of old favorites. The top five—Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King, Gypsy, and Mamma Mia!—are all Broadway juggernauts. Mamma Mia!, which opened its first-ever Broadway revival back at its original home at the Winter Garden Theatre August 14, actually had the highest-grossing week of the musical's entire run last week. Most of that is thanks to rising ticket prices thanks to inflation and other increasing costs, but still—Broadway is kickin' it with tried and true favorites right now. Mamma Mia!'s triumphant Broadway return is also extra notable because the production did not cast any major stars. Largely bringing its national tour cast intact to the Winter Garden, the revival has much of its leading cast making their Broadway debuts. And that should tell you just how powerful Mamma Mia! is as a Broadway brand.
Attendance has been slipping along with box-office returns, but not by as much. Last week saw 245,807 people going to the theatre, a just-over-2% drop from the week before. But that meant that 88% of seats were filled across Broadway, and that's nothing to worry about—special thanks to the seven shows that were total sell-outs (Just in Time; John Proctor is the Villain; Maybe Happy Ending; Hamilton; Mamma Mia!; Oh, Mary!; and Wicked). Average ticket price held steady at $121, too. Winter will be here before we know it. And until then, we get to cross some shows off our list with some excellent ticket deals.
Take a look at the full report here.
The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):
- Hamilton ($2.2 million)
- Wicked ($2.02 million)
- The Lion King
- Gypsy
- Mamma Mia!
- Maybe Happy Ending
- Just in Time
- Aladdin
- Death Becomes Her
- MJ The Musical
- Oh, Mary!
- The Outsiders
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
(13 of 29 currently running productions)
The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):
- Just in Time (103.03%)
- John Proctor is the Villain (102.27%)
- Maybe Happy Ending (102.22%)
- Hamilton (101.42%)
- Mamma Mia! (100.62%)
- Oh, Mary! (100%)
- Wicked (100%)
- The Outsiders
- Purpose
- Hadestown
- Death Becomes Her
- The Lion King
- Gypsy
- & Juliet
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Moulin Rouge! The Musical
- Aladdin
(17 of 29 currently running productions)
