Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 1/1/23- Page 2

[jo]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 11:20pm

I wonder if there is no error on the stats submitted by The Lion King?

THE LION KING
MINSKOFF

$4,315,264 (gross receipts for 9 shows)

$2,590,306 (gross receipts for 7 shows)

$1,724,958 (this is the differential between the 2 weeks -- did the show average $ 862 Thousand each for each additional show the past week?  Or assuming it was a trend for the last week, did it average $ 479 thousand per day in the past week? It was averaging much less then $ 400 thousand per day in the past)

******************

$284.89 ( did average price exceed the top price charged of $199 - does not seem logical? Especially so that it did not hit 100% in attendance)

$199.00 

*****************

15,147 (it did not even hit full capacity)

15,264

 

Just wondering if there is an error in the stats submitted to Broadway League or as declared by Broadway League?

Updated On: 1/3/23 at 11:20 PM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 11:28pm

 

[apetricc12]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 11:33pm

While I know there's a lot of people on this board that didn't like The Music Man, I continue to be impressed by the numbers the show has put up week after week. Hugh Jackman is a BEAST and boy does his name, personality, talent, and likability sell tickets!

I thoroughly enjoyed the show, more than once, and I'm thrilled that it continues to pull in those kind of numbers a year after opening. Yes, I realize ticket prices are high, but it's obvious people are willing to spend money on shows that interest them or have a name involved. The show is joyous and heartfelt and I'll be sad when it closes.

I'm also happy to see that Kimberly Akimbo seems to be holding its own. What a gem of a show!

[jo]

Posted: 1/3/23 at 11:47pm

The Music Man has recorded total gross receipts of :
Total Current Gross: $153,448,869.47  (Per Playbill)

It looks like it can hit $ 160 Million when the show closes on January 15, 2023.

 



 

 

 

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 12:17am

Fabulous week! How great for Broadway. I hope next week isn't a huge let down.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 12:35am

BCfitasafiddle said: "Fabulous week! How great for Broadway. I hope next week isn't a huge let down."

Girl…

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 12:52am

SouthernCakes said: "BCfitasafiddle said: "Fabulous week! How great for Broadway. I hope next week isn't a huge let down."

Girl…"

I'm just saying. We know it won't be great, but I hope not every show PLUNGES. Don't be so dramatic. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 1:22am

Strictly from a numbers standpoint, every show that did 9 perfs last week will plunge this week because they'll have 8 or 7 perfs. Add to that thousands fewer tourists and people being tighter with pocket books after Christmas.

At best, this winter will be as bad as any other on Broadway; at worst, we'll see a mass exodus of shows hoping to limp through to June.

Updated On: 1/4/23 at 01:22 AM

[Lot666]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 8:53am

Phantom beating Hamilton 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 9:00am

Hamilton being out of the top 5 is quite a red herring given they performed 8 shows and all of the top 5 performed 9. This week is always an outlier due to the varying performance schedules show to show. 
 

All in all a great thing to see after the doldrums of Omicron last year. 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 9:09am

As a friend noted (who attended), two of the three Benko performances were intended to be Michele's, and the last minute (same day) change should be considered. Most folks who buy holiday week tickets make special plans -- it's often event theatergoing -- and don't have the luxury of seeking refunds. My friend from out of town didn't*. It's great for the show, and for Broadway, that Benko is now considered more than a decent standby. But Funny Girl's numbers went up because that was a hot week to purchase often expensive seats. 

 

*Michele canceled the two Friday shows incrementally. Someone on Instagram swapped out her matinee seat for the evening, only to find out that Benko was to cover that one, too, when she arrived. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 12:55pm

How much do shows operating costs go up when they add a ninth performance in the week? Is it a substantial amount? 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 1:07pm

OhHiii said: "Hamilton being out of the top 5 is quite a red herring given they performed 8 shows and all of the top 5 performed 9. This week is always an outlier due to the varying performance schedules show to show.


All in all a great thing to see after the doldrums of Omicron last year."

It’s also in a considerably smaller theatre and can’t command the ridiculously high premium prices it once did.  

[bdn223]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 3:01pm

Call_me_jorge said: "How much do shows operating costs go up when they add a ninth performance in the week? Is it a substantial amount?"

Per the actors equity contract during the weeks between Christmas and New Years so long as the actors are off for either Christmas Eve or Christmas day they are allowed to do a 7 performance week and a 9 performance week in either order,  like we saw last week,  with no additional overtime costs incurred. I'd assume the same is true for at least 90% of those working on the production. As such both the 7 and 9 performance weeks cost producers the same amount as a standard 8 show week.  Due to the fact that both weeks cost producers the same amount of money we need to combine this weeks and last weeks grosses for shows that did 7 shows last week and 9 this week and divide by two to see how much the show truly benefitted from the 9th performance. 

The exception to this is Equity does allow if I understand correctly 2 additional 9 performance weeks throughout the year without requiring the week proceeding or following to only consist of 7 performances. In this circumstances all actors receive overtime for the 9th performance, equating to 2/8's their weekly salary. I am assuming the same is true for all of the other unions, so during these weeks in order to have a 9th performance producers have to pay for 10 performances. Due to these additional costs productions that utilize this stipulation are typically long running productions that have consistent sales patterns where producers know when there is enough demand to justify/offset these additional running costs. As such we typically only see Disney productions and Wicked utilize this stipulation on a regular basis in July (peak tourist season), Easter, or Thanksgiving. Note it also is not uncommon for long running productions to also do a 9 performance week during the weeks of Easter and Thanksgiving, especially if they are more family oriented.

Other shows will also use the stipulation depending on how the New Years Eve falls on the Calendar due to school vacations. A basic rule of thumb is if New Years Eve falls on Friday or Saturday most shows will do 7 performances during the week of Christmas and a 9 performances during the week of New Years. If New Years Eve falls on a Sunday most shows will just do typical 8 performance during both the weeks of Christmas and New Years Day. Lastly if New Years Eve falls on a Monday-Thursday shows will do a 8 performances during the week of Christmas and 9 performances during the week of New Years. 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 3:04pm

Call_me_jorge said: "How much do shows operating costs go up when they add a ninth performance in the week? Is it a substantial amount?"

Very little when preceded or followed by a 7 show week, which is often the case. 
 

If straight up adding a 9th show, it will cost somewhere between an additional 1-1.5 of 1/8th of the weekly operating budget. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 4:26pm

I am not being sarcastic when I say this thread is a fascinating insight into the holiday week performances. Thank you to everyone who knows so much about this! 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 6:29pm

SLIH may have gone up in gross, but on an 8-performance week, it grossed less than Almost Famous, which played in a smaller theatre AND commanded a considerably higher average ticket price AND is closing.  I have been hoping this would make it to May (my next trip) because it sounds like a lot of fun, but I can't see that happening, based on Christmas week.  Will be interesting to see.  I would imagine that they could lose a lot more $$ on a weekly basis than, say, A Gentleman's Guide, which had to have a dramatically lower break-even, even taking inflation into consideration.  If so, they need to be careful not to throw all caution to the wind in hopes of a Tony Award.  After all, we still have a Kander & Ebb musical (& LMM), an ALW musical (although he has not really had a hit in decades, you just never know) and Shucked (it is either going to be great or rotten, I suspect).  Bottom line: it might still not come true and does not guarantee successful payback.

 

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 7:51pm

While it didn’t run for forever, School of Rock did announce recoupment in May of 2017, taking a little more than 2 years to hit that mark, and then still ran for more than another year and a half, closing in January of 2019. So it’s been less than a decade since Lloyd Webber had a new hit show on Broadway.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/4/23 at 9:46pm

AEA AGMA SM said: "While it didn’t run for forever,School of Rockdid announce recoupment in May of 2017, taking a little more than 2 years to hit that mark, and then still ran for more than another year and a half, closing in January of 2019. So it’s been less than a decade since Lloyd Webber had a new hit show on Broadway."

You are right.  I forgot about it because it was not the typical ALW show and score.  Thanks.

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 1/5/23 at 3:04am

These figures (on the whole) are a much needed shot in the arm for Broadway, but at the same time it just shows how exorbitantly expensive Broadway tickets have become, which you can get away with over the Christmas / New Year holiday period, but when else? I do think that’s worrying for the future, especially when there’s a worldwide cost of living crisis and NY is prohibitively expensive for many now. A night out at the theater has become a luxury. 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 1/5/23 at 10:22am

Thrilling to see these numbers.....

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/5/23 at 2:15pm

Auggie27 said: "As a friend noted (who attended), two of the three Benko performances were intended to be Michele's, and the last minute (same day) change should be considered. Most folks who buy holiday week tickets make special plans -- it's often event theatergoing -- and don't have the luxury of seeking refunds. My friend from out of town didn't*. It's great for the show, and for Broadway, that Benko is now considered more than a decent standby. But Funny Girl's numbers went up because that was a hot week to purchase often expensive seats.



*Michele canceled the two Friday shows incrementally. Someone on Instagram swapped out her matinee seat for the evening, only to find out that Benko was to cover that one, too, when she arrived."

That’s true. My friends had tickets to Funny Girl on Sunday Jan 1st and they were aware she was out both performances on Dec 30th. When my friends arrived at the theater, they asked about how the refund process works in case Lea is not able to perform last minute. They were told it’s ok to get a refund if anyone above the title is not performing as long as their ticket has not been scanned. 
They waited until 5 mins before curtain to scan their tickets since by then likelihood of Lea still performing is high.

[Anshel2]

Posted: 1/5/23 at 2:21pm

Those crowing about those numbers are going to be shocked next week when the numbers crash.  $$$ typically goes way up last week of December.  The rest of the winter is going to be hard on those shows that were struggling prior to mid-December.  Ohio State Murders just announced an early closing.  There will be more.

[Wick3]

Posted: 1/5/23 at 2:21pm

WestEndGal said: "These figures (on the whole) are a much needed shot in the arm for Broadway, but at the same time it just shows how exorbitantly expensive Broadway tickets have become, which you can get away with over the Christmas / New Year holiday period, but when else? I do think that’s worrying for the future, especially when there’s a worldwide cost of living crisis and NY is prohibitively expensive for many now. A night out at the theater has become a luxury."

To me, a night out at a Broadway theater has always been a luxury given there are so many other cheaper options for live theater in nyc.

I agree Broadway tickets are expensive during its peak/busy season for sure! That’s why my friends only watched 1 Broadway show last week (they did watch other concerts and off bway shows though that were more affordable.)

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 1/5/23 at 2:35pm

I know it’s not Broadway but sad Caroline’s closed. Sad when any live entertainment venue goes under. These next week numbers will be interesting for sure.