Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play Purpose finished its Broadway bow last week with the highest gross of its entire run, $1,020,309. And that sum was record-breaking, too. That gross was the highest weekly take in Hayes Theater history. And who did that stat dethrone? None other than Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate, proving the playwright has turned into something of a Broadway box-office darling.
Purpose saw the most dramatic uptick in its grosses of all 28 of Broadway's currently running plays and musicals compared to the week prior, but Broadway on the whole recovered nicely from an end-of-summer slump. Grosses were up 7% across Broadway last week, and that's mostly thanks to a dramatic increase in average ticket price, up $9.55 from the week prior to $128.95.
That figure was particularly helped by Art at the Music Box, which began previews last week. Even though the revival played just three previews, it did so completely sold out and at an average ticket price of $223. Looks like we've got another star-powered play revival on the boards (James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris, and Bobby Cannavale are starring). Once the show is giving full, eight-performance weeks, we can expect that to give Broadway's fortunes a nice boost, as long as it keeps up that strong start.
And by the way, I'm spotlighting that rise in average ticket prices because attendance was actually ever-so-slightly down last week compared to the week prior, by just under 1%. And yet this season is currently beating the same period from last season (which was the highest-grossing on record) by a jaw-dropping 20%. If we can keep that going through April, there will be lots to celebrate when the season totals come in.
Luckily, Art's box office seems to imply we have nothing to worry about when it comes to the season's new shows. We've also got Mamma Mia! newly back on the boards, continuing to break its own records week after week at the Winter Garden Theatre. Even with no A-listers above the title, the ABBA musical was the fourth highest-grossing show on Broadway last week, bringing in the top gross of the musical's entire run for the third straight week (usual suspects Hamilton, Wicked, The Lion King, and Maybe Happy Ending filled in the other top-five slots). That's a pretty rosy outlook when it comes to Broadway's newest crop, and we love to see it!
Take a look at the full report here.
The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):
- Hamilton ($2.26 million)
- Wicked ($2 million)
- The Lion King
- Mamma Mia!
- Maybe Happy Ending
- Death Becomes Her
- MJ The Musical
- Just in Time
- Oh, Mary!
- The Outsiders
- Aladdin
- Buena Vista Social Club
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Purpose
(14 of 28 currently running productions)
The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):
- Just in Time (103.61%)
- Maybe Happy Ending (102.45%)
- John Proctor is the Villain (102.4%)
- Hamilton (101.33%)
- The Outsiders (101.12%)
- Mamma Mia! (100.88%)
- Art (100%)
- Oh, Mary! (100%)
- Purpose (100%)
- Wicked (100%)
- Hadestown
- Operation Mincemeat
- Buena Vista Social Club
- The Book of Mormon
- Death Becomes Her
- The Lion King
- & Juliet
- Moulin Rouge! The Musical
- MJ The Musical
- Aladdin
(20 of 28 currently running productions)
