Given the snowstorm that blanketed many parts of the country—including New York City—grosses were unsurprisingly down for the week ending January 25. The 31 currently running productions took in a total of $29,950,531 for the week ending January 25, down 13.68% from the previous week.
That decline can mostly be attributed to the storm, which dumped a record-breaking 11.4 inches in Central Park January 25, causing the cancellation of 10 Broadway shows and 13 performances. Those productions included the matinee and evening performances of Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, and The Lion King; the matinees of MJ The Musical and Ragtime; and the evening performances of & Juliet, All Out: Comedy About Ambition, Mamma Mia!, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
Even though it did cancel one performance, Harry Potter still managed to take in $2,124,053 over seven performances, making it the highest-grossing production of the week. The play has been riding high ever since the arrival of Harry Potter film star Tom Felton, who is making his Broadway debut reprising his screen role as Draco Malfoy. Others in the top five included the Pulitzer-winning Hamilton ($1,948,375), the international hit Wicked ($1,792,224), the revival of the ABBA-scored Mamma Mia! ($1,429,269), and the revival of Chess ($1,409,759)—which is proving one of the season's biggest hits, a major turnaround for the title which was short-lived during its original run.
One of the week's other high notes was the new musical Just in Time, which welcomed the return of its leading man, Jonathan Groff, who had taken his first week's vacation. The musical, which plays the 690-seat Circle in the Square Theatre, played to 101.74% capacity, taking in $1,393,464 over eight performances with an average paid admission of $248.12, the highest of any show of the week. Fans have until March 29 to catch Groff's Tony-nominated performance as Bobby Darin; Tony nominee Jeremy Jordan steps into the role April 21.
The grosses may have also been affected by the launch of Broadway Week, a program that makes two-for-one tickets available for the majority of Broadway titles during the Main Stem's historically slowest season. The initiative began January 20 and continues through February 12.
Overall, 250,682 theatregoers attended a Broadway show, down 8.73% from the previous week, but less than 1% down from this week last season. The average paid admission was $119.48.
Although grosses were down for the week due to the inclement weather, when looking at season totals to date, grosses are still up by 7.93% from this point last season, attendance is up by 2.84%, and average paid admission is up by 4.95%. Despite the cold, the Broadway landscape still remains sunny.
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 ($2.12 million)
- Hamilton ($1.95 million)
- Wicked ($1.79 million)
- Mamma Mia! ($1.43 million)
- Chess ($1.41 million)
- Just in Time ($1.39 million)
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow ($1.31 million)
- The Lion King ($1.16 million)
- Maybe Happy Ending ($1.01 million)
(9 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 (101.74%)
- Ragtime
- Hamilton
- Operation Mincemeat
- Wicked
- Hadestown
- Oh, Mary!
- Oedipus
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow
- Maybe Happy Ending
- The Lion King
- Marjorie Prime
- Mamma Mia!
- Bug
- Chess
- Hell's Kitchen
(17 of 31 currently running productions)
