Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 10/2/22

[Rob]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 1:28pm

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 10/2/2022 in BroadwayWorld'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.

Click Here to Visit the Broadway Grosses...

Up for the week by attendance (% of capacity) was: LEOPOLDSTADT (10.1%), THE LION KING (1.9%), COST OF LIVING (1.6%), COME FROM AWAY (1.3%), FUNNY GIRL (1.2%), ALADDIN (0.8%), INTO THE WOODS (0.8%), 1776 (0.3%),

Down for the week by attendance (% of capacity) was: BEETLEJUICE (-30.8%), CHICAGO (-17.1%), A STRANGE LOOP (-14%), WICKED (-13.5%), THE PIANO LESSON (-10.7%), HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD (-8.9%), DEATH OF A SALESMAN (-8.4%), THE KITE RUNNER (-7.7%), SIX (-6%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-2.4%), MOULIN ROUGE! THE MUSICAL (-1.9%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (-1.6%), THE MUSIC MAN (-1.4%), HADESTOWN (-1.2%), MJ THE MUSICAL (-0.4%), HAMILTON (-0.3%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 1:30pm

Edit - what the hell was i looking at? lolol

Updated On: 10/4/22 at 01:30 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 1:32pm

Is that meant to be sarcastic, Jordan? Most shows lost money this last week from what I see.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 1:33pm

Really? Overall attendance, grosses, and average ticket prices are down. 

Updated On: 10/4/22 at 01:33 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 1:38pm

Dag, 1776. Dag. 

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 1:45pm

I guess the Funny Girl attendance indicates that Julie's Thursdays are doing very well, but I'm still wondering how many people are thinking they're seeing Lea, until they get there, and just decide to stay. On the SeatGeek app, the casting notice alert pops up briefly, then disappears, and you have to hit the Info button to see it anyway, so I have no doubt it's happening, but to what extent?

In any event, it's great for the production.

Updated On: 10/4/22 at 01:45 PM

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:10pm

The Theater-Tok mob has definitely drastically increased the amount of phones out visibly recording shows these days. I know they insist that this increases sales and it makes people see a video on Tiktok and say "golly I have to get a ticket to that show in person" but I don't believe that is in the case. I think it is the opposite. People are avoiding Broadway because of the incessant phone usage and the tacit approval by ushers and producers to use phones/social media posts as free marketing. I don't think there is any way to measure this I suppose. I get the feeling that more people are saying ok cool I saw the good song/cool scene in that show on Tiktok so now I don't need to see it in person, at least not anytime soon, and certainly not full price. And they consider themselves to have "seen" a show even if they only saw it online. 

And the other thing is proshots. That seems to be the only topic of theater conversation these days. Why bother paying to see a show in person, especially at full price, when they will be releasing a proshot soon that you can see in your living room (note Hamilton at a relatively low 89% when people were sleeping on the sidewalk for a week for a chance to see it not long ago) There is no sense of urgency to see a show anymore since they can easily be consumed at home on your own time. And then add the nonstop NYC crime-is-insane stories on Fox News and the NY Post and you have more bad weeks like this for Broadway.  And yes I recognize this is a slow time of year but still......this week was bad. 

I know this all makes me sound out of touch and curmudgeonly but I guess that's how it is. 

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:11pm

I really wonder about Piano Lesson and Leopoldstadt. Similar grosses, neither of which seem particularly strong.

Seems like Piano Lesson isn't drawing the crowds / ticket prices they were hoping for, but maybe buzz just needs time to build. I could also imagine some of the bigger stars taking a pay cut, if they feel passionate about getting it to recoup. 

As for Leopoldstadt, normally I'd say a prestige play with no huge stars should be happy with 700k, but that cast is so huge, I can't imagine it's cheap to run. 

[DAME]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:34pm

Phantom4ever said: "The Theater-Tok mob has definitely drastically increased the amount of phones out visibly recording shows these days. I know they insist that this increases sales and it makes people see a video on Tiktok and say "golly I have to get a ticket to that show in person" but I don't believe that is in the case. I think it is the opposite. People are avoiding Broadway because of the incessant phone usage and the tacit approval by ushers and producers to use phones/social media posts as free marketing. I don't think there is any way to measure this I suppose. I get the feeling that more people are saying ok cool I saw the good song/cool scene in that show on Tiktok so now I don't need to see it in person, at least not anytime soon, and certainly not full price. And they consider themselves to have "seen" a show even if they only saw it online.

And the other thing is proshots. That seems to be the only topic of theater conversation these days. Why bother paying to see a show in person, especially at full price, when they will be releasing a proshot soon that you can see in your living room (note Hamilton at a relatively low 89% when people were sleeping on the sidewalk for a week for a chance to see it not long ago) There is no sense of urgency to see a show anymore since they can easily be consumed at home on your own time. And then add the nonstop NYC crime-is-insane stories on Fox News and the NY Post and you have more bad weeks like this for Broadway. And yes I recognize this is a slow time of year but still......this week was bad.

I know this all makes me sound out of touch and curmudgeonly but I guess that's how it is."

Actually;  I think you  are wrong.  At least with Funny Girl I don't think anyone is avoiding the show because of the recordings.  On the contrary.  It is selling tickets.  However.. it needs to stop.  If I am paying a large amount to see a show and you have the audacity to film anywhere near me.. you will have to deal with me.  I wont sit there and take it.  Last night around 1 am West Coast time..practically the entire show was on that site.  From overture to curtain call.  Things are getting out of hand. 

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:41pm

That's what I mean.  The videos are annoying you AND they're showing you everything that's in the show. But are you buying a ticket?  

[DAME]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:53pm

For Funny Girl... yes.  a few.  

[David10086]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:56pm

Fosse76 said: "Really? Overall attendance, grosses, and average ticket prices are down."

I wonder what attributed to this downslide last week for most shows ?

Possibly tourists were concerned that Hurricane Ian was going to blow it's way right up the east coast this weekend (as was originally forecasted on Sept 25-27 on RI stations) , and decided to cancel / postpone a NY get-away for this past weekend ? 

[dearalanaaaa]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 2:59pm

A Strange Loop's grosses make me so sad because it's taking a dive despite winning the Tony. Such a small, great, artistic work on Broadway that possibly won't have a great life after this. Also, what happened to Beetlejuice? 

[angoradebs]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:01pm

David10086 said: "Fosse76 said: "Really? Overall attendance, grosses, and average ticket prices are down."

I wonder what attributed to this downslide last week for most shows ?

Possibly tourists were concerned that Hurricane Ian was going to blow it's way right up the east coast this weekend (as was originally forecasted on Sept 25-27 on RI stations) , and decided to cancel / postpone a NY get-away for this past weekend ?"

Or they live in the affected areas and couldn't travel. A lot of flights were cancelled

[GoldenGiggery]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:02pm

I don’t feel like it’s that hard to figure out why attendance is steeply down in multiple shows. Hurricane Ian has greatly impacted the east coast, specifically Florida and the Carolinas. Not to mention, it’s October; we’re going to see a bit of a pullback before the November/December holiday rush of tourists. People are going to save money for that, hence why more touristy/child oriented shows (Wicked/Beetlejuice/Harry Potter/Chicago) are seeing sharp drops right now.

 

I’m not worried, these numbers will bounce back

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:10pm

COME FROM AWAY goes out with over $1 million in grosses. YEAH!

[David10086]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:11pm

angoradebs said: "
Or they live in the affected areas and couldn't travel. A lot of flights were cancelled"

I was thinking that as well - just wasn't sure the percentage of potential NYC tourists were planning on flying up to NYC from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:14pm

Phantom4ever said: "I know they insist that this increases sales and it makes people see a video on Tiktok and say "golly I have to get a ticket to that show in person" but I don't believe that is in the case. I think it is the opposite. People are avoiding Broadway because of the incessant phone usage and the tacit approval by ushers and producers to use phones/social media posts as free marketing. I don't think there is any way to measure this I suppose. I get the feeling that more people are saying ok cool I saw the good song/cool scene in that show on Tiktok so now I don't need to see it in person, at least not anytime soon, and certainly not full price. And they consider themselves to have "seen" a show even if they only saw it online.”

 

Genuinely curious if you have a shred of evidence to support any of this. Do you even have anecdotal evidence? Just really wondering how you arrived at this conclusion, while nearly all signs have pointed to the exact opposite being the case. 
 

(note Hamilton at a relatively low 89% when people were sleeping on the sidewalk for a week for a chance to see it not long ago)


That was 6-7 years ago. That’s a long time, in Broadway terms. Chances to see Hamilton, even outside the proshot, have become much more abundant. I don’t the proshot made anything more than the slightest of dents in their sales. And as for your larger point: even if proshots did harm a show’s sales, I don’t think they’re even common enough to have a broad effect on the economy of Broadway. I think maybe 3 shows currently playing have been professionally filmed? And of those 3 proshots, I think Hamilton is the only one that’s widely available. 

 

[Lot666]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:14pm

Seeing Phantom at #6 in the Million Dollar Club both warms my heart and simultaneously makes me very, very sad.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 3:22pm

angoradebs said: "David10086 said: "Fosse76 said: "Really? Overall attendance, grosses, and average ticket prices are down."

I wonder what attributed to this downslide last week for most shows ?

Possibly tourists were concerned that Hurricane Ian was going to blow it's way right up the east coast this weekend (as was originally forecasted on Sept 25-27 on RI stations) , and decided to cancel / postpone a NY get-away for this past weekend ?"

Or they live in the affected areas and couldn't travel. A lot of flights were cancelled"

Re Beetlejuice, I will forever believe that it is a 'large niche' project, whose audience was never going to go beyond the niche.  I don't know anyone -- including myself -- who has any interest in seeing this show.  The performance on the Tony Awards (I think it was the Tony's) even lowered my interest in seeing the show.  Maybe if I saw it, I would end up liking it, but I am not willing to use a limited 'slot' -- I only get to see about 15 - 18 shows a year on Broadway -- on a show that holds no interest for me.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 4:19pm

That $33.25 average ticket price for Cost of Living...

[bholtzinger544]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 5:12pm

After 7 years years on Broadway, 4 in Chicago, and 3 tours running, it's about time it's slowed down. Average ticket price is down to $203 which is high for such a show that's accessible so many other ways. The Broadway production is still wildly profitable. I think for a lot of us, all the Pro Shot did was make us retire our Hamilton boots. 

[CatLady3]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 5:20pm

Beetlejuice. Ouch.

[MattieIce2018]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 5:23pm

Just a thought regarding these drops - the 2-for-1 Broadway Week promo ended last weekend. I know that Beetlejuice came close to selling out the weekend of the 24th per some of the cast members' social media and looking at the ticket maps that weekend. This week seems a little more in line with how their capacity has been, maybe a little lower.

Updated On: 10/4/22 at 05:23 PM

[David10086]

Posted: 10/4/22 at 5:40pm

JBroadway said: "I really wonder about Piano Lesson and Leopoldstadt. Similar grosses, neither of which seem particularly strong.

Seems like Piano Lesson isn't drawing the crowds / ticket prices they were hoping for, but maybe buzz just needs time to build. "

 

Have no fear - Danielle Brooks is a scheduled guest on 'The View' the end of this week, so that will give Whoopi a chance to kiss her rear, and tell everyone what 'an amaaaaaaaaazing show' this is, and Brooks is 'amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing' in it - and everyone needs to do themselves a favor and run out and get tickets to this 'amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing' show. She will then mention Brooks was also in 'The Color Purple' on Broadway, and she was 'amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing' in that 'amaaaaaaaazing' show, as well. 

Then Sunny will chime in and say she's seen it three times already, because it really is an amazing show, and she plans on going with her Sorority Sisters this weekend but get drunk on margaritas before the show. 

Sara will bring up she suffers from anxiety, she loves motherhood, and that she has a gay brother, and somehow try to tie these into the conversation about 'The Piano Lesson'. 

Joy will shrug and say she didn't see this yet, but she plans to before it closes (and Brooks will raise an eyebrow, wondering if Joy knows something the cast doesn't know), while Ana will toss some word salad hoping it sounds like a compliment. 

And all will be right with the box office after this segment !