Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 10/20/19

[Rob]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:07pm

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 10/20/2019 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 was: THE SOUND INSIDE (10.5%), LINDA VISTA (8.3%), AMERICAN UTOPIA (5.6%), FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME (4.4%), TOOTSIE (2.3%), WICKED (0.9%), THE ROSE TATTOO (0.6%), WAITRESS (0.6%),

Down for the week by attendance was: THE LIGHTNING THIEF (-15.7%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-10.1%), THE INHERITANCE (-8.3%), DERREN BROWN: SECRET (-6.6%), THE GREAT SOCIETY (-5.4%), OKLAHOMA! (-5.1%), CHICAGO (-4.6%), MEAN GIRLS (-4.1%), AIN'T TOO PROUD (-3.2%), SLAVE PLAY (-2.7%), BEETLEJUICE (-2.6%), THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM (-2.4%), BEAUTIFUL (-2.1%), BETRAYAL (-2%), FROZEN (-1.4%), ALADDIN (-0.8%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (-0.8%), THE LION KING (-0.5%), HADESTOWN (-0.2%), COME FROM AWAY (-0.2%), HAMILTON (-0.1%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

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[ljay889]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:15pm

Tootsie!!!

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:17pm

Another good to great week for most shows except for: Derren Brown, Linda Vista, Oklahoma!, Slave Play, The Great Society, The Height Of The Storm, The Inheritance, The Lightning Thief, and The Sound Inside.

[magictodo123]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:24pm

I saw the number for TLT and literally said “oof” our loud. I have to wonder if they’ll make it to January. Yes, I usually don’t like speculating on closings, that’s true. But I’m just wondering how full a house a show has to play to in order to remain open, and when it will pull the plug. Even if it is a limited engagement.

[little_sally]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:30pm

I am still convinced it'll start to sell better because it'll get raves but I wonder if The Inheritance should've opened in the spring instead.

[Sebby150]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:32pm

Any chance The Lightning Thief could announce closing today and close on Sunday, October 27th with Beautiful, or is that too short of a window?

Updated On: 10/21/19 at 03:32 PM

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:33pm

Four shows opened last week: Lightning Thief, Sound Inside, American Utopia, and Rose Tattoo. I'd presume they gave out a lot of complimentary tickets especially on opening night, hence the tendency for lower grosses compared to the week before. Out of those four shows, however, The Sound Inside actually grossed higher this past week than the week before. That's a good sign and hopefully its positive reviews and word of mouth will help the show's grosses in the future.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:41pm

TINA's off to a great start.

LIGHTNING THIEF's drop is due to a 7-show week + a mostly-comped opening (so only 6 real performances). Though I doubt it'll rebound much next week.

{{Insert comment about TOOTSIE and BJ's bouncing grosses}

[Wick3]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:45pm

little_sally said: "I am still convinced it'll start to sell better because it'll get raves but I wonder if The Inheritance should've opened in the spring instead."

I'm also curious of the audience demographics for The Inheritance. Among my friends here in NYC, only my gay friends have seen the play. The play really needs great word of mouth in the straight community in order for it to do well in the box office after it opens.

[bdn223]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:45pm

ModernMillie3 said: "<<deleted by BWW staff>>"

How dare Tootsie play to $1M+ during a holiday week!! Also it just goes to show how much of a barn the marquee is  and/or how high ticket prices have risen that Tootsie can break a million dollars, but only sell 62% of its gross potential. 

Updated On: 10/21/19 at 03:45 PM

[little_sally]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:52pm

Wick3 said: "little_sally said: "I am still convinced it'll start to sell better because it'll get raves but I wonder if The Inheritance should've opened in the spring instead."

I'm also curious of the audience demographics for The Inheritance. Among my friends here in NYC, only my gay friends have seen the play. The play really needs great word of mouth in the straight community in order for it to do well in the box office after it opens."

Come to think of it, I only know gay men who have seen it so far. I guess the realistic problem is the title isn't a known entity, there's no names in the cast, and it's a long, two-parter. 

 

[Dublin2]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:53pm

Columbus Day is barely a holiday, and would not impact a Monday night viewing of "Tootsie" so.....

Grosses are good and have continued to increase, the theater is full, and people love the show. That's all that matters. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 3:59pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "TINA's off to a great start.

LIGHTNING THIEF's drop is due to a 7-show week + a mostly-comped opening (so only 6 real performances). Though I doubt it'll rebound much next week.

{{Insert comment about TOOTSIE and BJ's bouncing grosses}"

LIGHTNING THIEF still did 8 shows. It's just to be assumed any tickets on opening night were comps. If opening night was sold out, then that inflates their capacity %.

[little_sally]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 4:00pm

ACL2006 said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "TINA's off to a great start.

LIGHTNING THIEF's drop is due to a 7-show week + a mostly-comped opening (so only 6 real performances). Though I doubt it'll rebound much next week.

{{Insert comment about TOOTSIE and BJ's bouncing grosses}"

LIGHTNING THIEF still did 8 shows. It's just to be assumed any tickets on opening night were comps. If opening night was sold out, then that inflates their capacity %."

But press nights are usually the days leading up to opening night, so it's not just opening night that comped. 

[Joe Mayo]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 4:17pm

little_sally said: "Wick3 said: "little_sally said: "I am still convinced it'll start to sell better because it'll get raves but I wonder if The Inheritance should've opened in the spring instead."

I'm also curious of the audience demographics for The Inheritance. Among my friends here in NYC, only my gay friends have seen the play. The play really needs great word of mouth in the straight community in order for it to do well in the box office after it opens."

Come to think of it, I only know gay men who have seen it so far. I guess the realistic problem is the title isn't a known entity, there's no names in the cast, and it's a long, two-parter."

The latter is the biggest issue for me. If the dialogue is strong and well acted, it will find an audience, but at what, 7+ hours? Thats a marathon, even for theatre junkies.

I see everything and HP is about my limit which was a fast moving play. I'd never do the inheritence in a single day, the length would ruin my level of enjoyment/appreciation. 

As others have stated in other threads it owuld have been better starting out off-broadway with a mid sprint opening. Between the aforementioned decisions and the length, I won't be surprised if it drowns under its own ambition.

[little_sally]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 4:22pm

Joe Mayo said: "little_sally said: "Wick3 said: "little_sally said: "I am still convinced it'll start to sell better because it'll get raves but I wonder if The Inheritance should've opened in the spring instead."

I'm also curious of the audience demographics for The Inheritance. Among my friends here in NYC, only my gay friends have seen the play. The play really needs great word of mouth in the straight community in order for it to do well in the box office after it opens."

Come to think of it, I only know gay men who have seen it so far. I guess the realistic problem is the title isn't a known entity, there's no names in the cast, and it's a long, two-parter."

The latter is the biggest issue for me. If the dialogue is strong and well acted, it will find an audience, but at what, 7+ hours? Thats a marathon, even for theatre junkies.

I see everything and HP is about my limit which was a fast moving play. I'd never do the inheritence in a single day, the length would ruin my level of enjoyment/appreciation.

As others have stated in other threads it owuld have been better starting out off-broadway with a mid sprint opening. Between the aforementioned decisions and the length, I won't be surprised if it drowns under its own ambition."

Great point. I mean look at Wolf Hall--it was based on very popular books (and widely-known history), got pretty strong reviews, and a slew of Tony award nominations and still closed at a loss. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 4:55pm

ModernMillie3 said: "<<deleted by BWW staff>>"

If you think a show is bad, the grosses are not going to really change your mind. I've never been fond of Wicked, and it's longevity hasn't made me rethink my position.

Updated On: 10/21/19 at 04:55 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 4:56pm

I also think The Inheritance - unlike HP - isn't quite an "epic." It's epic in its length, but it's simply staged. HP feels like an event and therefore warrants the time, but this is just a really long play, ha. I saw the first part and mostly enjoyed it, but I don't think the story that was told needed to be the length it was. 

[msmp]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 4:58pm

Has Cursed Child had a sub-$1mn week yet? Seems like it might be headed in that direction if it hasn't already happened. Not that that should mean it's in trouble per se, but I am curious.

[sm33]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 5:24pm

Just got back from a NYC theater trip. 

As far as Broadway shows, I saw Betrayal, Slave Play, Moulin Rouge and Oklahoma, all of which were pretty packed from what I could see. I was able to get discounted or lottery seats to all except MR. 

I wish that Oklahoma was doing better. I saw it for the third time this week, and even with alternates for Annie and Laurey, it was still the best show I saw out of seven on my trip.

I was interested in seeing The Inheritance, but I couldn't find discounts good enough to incentivize a purchase.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 5:32pm

ACL2006 said: "LIGHTNING THIEF still did 8 shows. It's just to be assumed any tickets on opening night were comps. If opening night was sold out, then that inflates their capacity %."


For the purposes of Grosses (which run Mon-Sun), it played 7 perfs last week:
- Mon eve
- dark Tue
- Weds eve (opening, mostly comped)
- Thur eve
- Fri eve
- Sat x2
- Sun x2

Also, just realized how BIZARRE its post-opening schedule is. Three 2-show days (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday), dark Mon-Tues, Wednesday matinee (no evening), Friday 7pm. So the only weeknight show is Thursday. I wonder if the extra weekday matinee is kicking them in the you-know-what. There's something to be said for a traditional Broadway schedule –– these kinks have been worked out over decades. Once On This Island had a similarly silly schedule, iirc.

Updated On: 10/21/19 at 05:32 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 5:35pm

The extra weekday matinee is really odd. I assume they thought they may capture a hitherto unaccommodated number of theatregoers longing for another chance during the workweek to see a show, or maybe to accommodate school groups, but there's no way that was ever going to sustain. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 5:45pm

Actually just realized: the two-weekday-matinee schedule hasn't even begun yet for Lightning Thief! It kicks in starting in November, and the charts look abysmal for many of the matinees. There are some performances where not a single seat has been sold in the center of the Mezz.

Updated On: 10/21/19 at 05:45 PM

[SomeOtherMe]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 5:46pm

Although those numbers for "The Inheritance" aren't great, I can't imagine the show costs much to run. The set consists almost entirely of just a white platform. Does anyone have any idea of the running costs? 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/21/19 at 5:57pm

SomeOtherMe said: "Although those numbers for "The Inheritance" aren't great, I can't imagine the show costs much to run. The set consistsalmost entirely of just a white platform. Does anyone have any idea of the running costs?"

I'd give it a rough estimate of $450k per week to run, which isn't cheap. 22 actors (incl. understudies), overtime (because it's over 3 hours), and the British actors probably need housing.