Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 10/20/24

See you soon, Betsy Wolfe and Joy Woods!

As expected, Maybe Happy Ending seems to be DOA, and the positive word of mouth that has started to develop probably won’t mean much. I’d like to try and catch this one before a potential pre-holiday closing.

Also unsustainable numbers for A Wonderful World.

If Tammy Faye can get same gross for each of their performances this week I’d say that’s not a bad start.

Smaxie said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "Also unsustainable numbers forA Wonderful World."

$637K for seven performances in its first week of performances at a$109 ATP in a theatre with 1000 seats is a very decent, respectable start."

Not necessarily for a show that has a weekly running cost of close to $800K.

Wick3 said: "If Tammy Faye can get same grossfor each of their performances this week I’d say that’s not a bad start."

I only noticed a modest number of empty seats, so I assume the second balcony was not crowded. I do find it surprising that the first preview of a new Elton John musical, on a Saturday night no less in the newly reopened Palace Theatre, was not sold out. I would not expect great grosses for a full week.

i am really going to be interested in seeing what happens with SB in the coming weeks. While the show did get mixed reviews, there were an awful lot of rapturous reviews from critics who I personally regard highly. Even most of the mixed reviews acknowledged the ‘highs’. In the really old days, the reviews would have had lines of ticket purchasers outside of the theatre longer than the lines to actually get into the show.

Is Aaron Tveit now a box office attraction? ST did better than anyone expected and the impact of his return to and exit from MR was pretty amazing.

Most seem to be doing excellently or at the very least maintaining (with a few exceptions).

-Alyssa Milano is clearly not the draw producers assumed she’d be. She only has two weeks left anyhow, here’s hoping they have someone good coming in after her!

-Maybe Happy Ending is going to struggle, yes, but the word of mouth has been off to a strong start, and that’s helpful. Don’t forget, the show also frontloaded with lottery entries for ALL preview performances and aggressively pushed discount codes and rush, so expect the Avg Ticket Price to be low for a few weeks.


-(Woof) Left On Tenth & Hills of California. Those numbers are rough. LoT made the mistake of barely advertising itself, and then having a middling to negative word of mouth among those who did know….if it lasts a month post-opening, it’ll be a gift. Hills of California….i know someone said Sonia Friedman doesn’t close shows early typically, but if this trend continues, maybe she should. The interest appears to be barely existent. And getting rid of/being stingy with the MTC under 35 code was a big mistake.


-Poor W4E. I know it’s not a lot of people’s favourites, but it didn’t deserve to go out this soft. Seems PigPen didn’t realize how much of the draw wasn’t necessarily the show, but Grant Gustin.


-Tammy Faye has a LONG road ahead of it. I was at the 2nd preview, and it was abundantly clear that it was being heavily papered; the ticket windows were WRAPPED. And while the audience also seemed to like it (myself included), it definitely needs edits and some re-writes. We shall see!

The fact that Tammy Faye’s balcony is closed for the rest of the run is not a good sign it will sell as well as the first preview, which already wasn’t the best. I wish it well.

Those AWW grosses aren’t exactly promising. This show is selling at a high price point to begin with even though it’s not coming in with much fanfare or hype. The lack of a sufficient discount is not enticing many theatregoers, to say nothing of their stingy rush policy. ($49 for the Rear mezzanine or $79 for “upgraded” rush in the orchestra - it’s easier to buy the rear mezz seat and move down at intermission).

I do think converting the Wednesday evening show into a matinee might be a smart move since the crowd I see is definitely a “Beautiful Noise/The Roommate”-aged crowd. I think other shows will capitulate first, but I don’t see this having a life beyond last January.

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "RW3 said: "Do we know what company Maybe Happy Ending is using for their marketing?"

AKA - advertising
Situation - digital
Super Awesome Friends - digital content
Polk & Co - press"

Is there a valid reason for why there has to be 4 separate entities for these things?

quizking101 said: "I do think converting the Wednesday evening show into a matinee might be a smart move since the crowd I see is definitely a “Beautiful Noise/The Roommate”-aged crowd. I think other shows will capitulate first, but I don’t see this having a life beyond last January."

Two matinees a week isn't usually possible in previews because shows need to rehearse during the day. WONDERFUL WORLD is already running on a reduced schedule in previews.

By having Tuesday as the dark night, it would be borderline cruelty -- but not illegal -- to have a Monday night show, Tues dark, then a Wednesday matinee less than 48 hours later. It'll be a tough enough schedule on the cast as it is.

Producers agonize over performance schedules but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. If a show isn't selling tickets, whether they offer shows at 2pm Thursday or 8pm on Wednesday or 11am on Monday won't mean a thing.

Call_me_jorge said: "Is there a valid reason for why there has to be 4 separate entities for these things?"

Two companies doing digital/social is really the only unusual part. It's common to have separate companies doing Press, Advertising and Social. Sometimes the ad agency also handles social/digital. Occasionally there's also a different agency doing marketing partnerships on a show.

But as the person above implies, these are all different budget lines, and no one agency handles everything. Each company brings their own strengths.

Updated On: 10/22/24 at 04:07 PM

GoldenGiggery said: "ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "LEFT ON TENTH's only mistake is coming to Broadway in the first place. Anyone with even a slight knowledge of the climate for plays right now could have told you this was going to crash and burn given the thin subject matter and the stars."

This feels/sounds like the sort of show that might’ve done well in an Off-Bway house. I’m not sure why the producers thought this depressing/treacly play would sell consistently into February in the near 1100-seat Jones."

I'm not accusing Left On Tenth of being good, but depressing? It's very much an "...and we all lived happily ever after" play.