Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 1/24

[Rob]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:08pm

Click below to access all the grosses from all the shows for the week ending 1/24/2010 in BroadwayWorld.com's grosses section.

Also, you will find information on each show's historical grosses, cumulative grosses and other statistics on how each show stacked up this week and in the past.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/grosses.cfm

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:19pm

Wow, horrible week. Chicago, what the hell happened? In the Heights has to hope that Corbin increases their sales a lot otherwise, their future doesn't look so good.

[tking001]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:20pm

Ouch for Phantom, Mary Poppins, Chicago & Hair,
Actually bad week overall

How much longer does Hair have left? Do you think they'd close on 3-7 when most of the cast leaves for London?

I hope not I love the show too much

[massofmen]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:24pm

even though i was WRONG about Hair i don't think they will close before the summer. Their Op costs are low and I am sure they have a solid reserve fund from grossing over a million numerous times.
I am sure they will stick around at least until this upcoming labor day.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:24pm

How come every week we have the discussion about Hair? Of course it is not doing as good as it was in the beginning of the run, but they are still covering their nut and already recouped. They aren't going anywhere.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:26pm

As the song in Hair goes, evrybody goin' down, down, down --

[adamgreer]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 3:40pm

I'm sure Hair will be around until Labor Day, when I could forsee it closing (if they don't have much of an advance for the fall).

It appears most of the naysayers were wrong about next to normal, which had another solid week, and should recoup any day now. It looks to be settling in for a lengthy run at the Booth.

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 4:21pm

For the Brazillionth time, having recouped doesn't lower the operating costs for a show! Its weekly nut is its weekly nut, if it's covering that and then some, it will stay open, if it's not, it won't. Recoupment or not.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 4:28pm

Actually, it does actually matter A LOT! Producers don't have to worry about returning the money back to the investors. Also, when they have recouped and are grossing over their nut, that extra money is usually used when the show is under the nut a week so it all balances out. So yeah, it does matter.

[wickedfan]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 6:04pm

Producers don't want to use the profit to keep a show open.

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 6:48pm

"Actually, it does actually matter A LOT! Producers don't have to worry about returning the money back to the investors. Also, when they have recouped and are grossing over their nut, that extra money is usually used when the show is under the nut a week so it all balances out. So yeah, it does matter. "

I'm sorry, but this is just wrong. I mean that in a polite way, but it's just . . . wrong. Why would ANYONE invest in a Bway show if the best case scenario was that they got their money back and nothing more? Besides people who just loooooooooove theater and can have no regard for money, why would you ever do that? Makes no sense. These aren't just interest free loans, they are equity stakes in the shows.

Once the show recoups, assuming it continues to make a profit - the producers still pay $$ to investors - just not 100% of the profit - it drops down significantly, to something like 50%, with the producers getting the rest.

Of course, there is a reserve, in case of down weeks like in the late winter, but if a show chews through that reserve, it's probably gotta close, and sometimes, the producers will shutter a show before that reserve gets eaten up, so they can return more $$ to investors and themselves (usually producers are also investors).

It's not like the show recoups, then the producers suddenly stack all future profits and never pay them out to themselves or investors.

So again - no, it doesn't matter. I mean, it matters when determining if the show was a "hit", but recoupment doesn't lower operating costs one bit, so in that sense, it doesn't matter at all.

I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall, I explain this at least once a month. Every time, I tell myself I'm gonna let the blissfully ignorant remain so the next time, but then I can't help it.

[massofmen]

Posted: 1/25/10 at 11:55pm

barney stinson there is really no point in trying to educate them. See unless you put "i love Idina" or, "legally blonde got robbed! it should still be open" in your thread they kinda just don't get it.

when you try and use facts and figures their heads get all gooked up and they run to their musical theater albums, put on "get out and stay out" and rock back and forth until the world seems calm again.

Let the adults talk about economics and let the kids play with the dolls. It's easier that way.

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 1/26/10 at 12:05am

I agree with all Barney has said, but would like to add that once a show recoups the creative staff get a larger share of the weekly take, so the "nut" actually goes up after recouping.

Adam...where are you hearing that NEXT TO NORMAL is anywhere near recouping? Last report I heard was that it still has a long way to go?

You cannot take the total gross, deduct the weekly nut and assume all the rest is credited to production costs. There is a royalty pool that gets about 40% of the weekly gross above operating costs, and as I mentioned the royalties jump after a show recoups.

Why do you think it took BILLY ELLIOT so long to recoup?

[AlfieByrne]

Posted: 1/26/10 at 12:22am

I thought Billy Elliot recouped so much earlier than I was expecting.

However, once the show does recoup, the tension is definitely off and it most likely means that the show has found its target audience and therefore considered a success. Needless to say, they are looking to make money. But simply because they see few off weeks where it went in the red, the producers aren't going to immediately think "Oh, time to close the show" without looking for ways to try to get more bucks out of the show.

[Barney Stinson]

Posted: 1/26/10 at 12:43am

Yep, frontrow, that's all correct, but way too complicated (and variable) to try to add to my monthly recoupment =/= cheaper op costs rant. Just trying to hammer the basics home.

AB, as for "tension off" - maybe in a reputational sense - and maybe in the sense that your investors won't feel burned, but not in a pure financial sense.

And of course a few bad weeks aren't going to sink a show, that's what the reserve is for. But once the producers decide that they can do no more to boost revenue above costs - they'll close it - whether it's recouped or not.