Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 12/23/18

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.

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Up for the week by attendance was: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (18%), THE ILLUSIONISTS - MAGIC OF THE HOLIDAYS (9.6%), ANASTASIA (9.1%), ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (8.4%), SCHOOL OF ROCK (6.3%), CHOIR BOY (5.5%), THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (3.5%), KINKY BOOTS (2.3%), THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT (2.1%), KING KONG (2.1%), SUMMER (1.7%), CHICAGO (1.3%), MEAN GIRLS (1.1%), FROZEN (0.8%), THE NEW ONE (0.6%), THE LION KING (0.5%), COME FROM AWAY (0.2%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (0.1%), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (0.1%), WICKED (0.1%),

Down for the week by attendance was: THE CHER SHOW (-17.8%), BEAUTIFUL (-13.1%), THE FERRYMAN (-11.3%), PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL (-8.6%), THE WAVERLY GALLERY (-6.9%), AMERICAN SON (-6.8%), HEAD OVER HEELS (-5.9%), TORCH SONG (-3.8%), RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR (-3.5%), MY FAIR LADY (-3.3%), THE PROM (-2.3%), THE BAND'S VISIT (-2.1%), NETWORK (-1.9%), CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY (-1.2%), WAITRESS (-1.1%),

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quizking101 said: "$1.5 Million+ for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD has to be some kind of record for a play. At the very least, I am thoroughly impressed"

Harry Potter is currently the record holder and I don't see them losing that title anytime soon, but nonetheless still very impressive. 

Edit: I stand corrected, it set the record for the Shubert ogrnazaiton for highest gross for a play. 

Updated On: 12/26/18 at 04:03 PM

LesWickedly said: "quizking101 said: "$1.5 Million+ for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD has to be some kind of record for a play. At the very least, I am thoroughly impressed"

Harry Potter is currently the record holder and I don't see them losing that title anytime soon, but nonetheless still very impressive.

Edit: I stand corrected, it set the record for the Shubert ogrnazaiton for highest gross for a play."

I sorta think you are both right.  IMO TKAM is a real play, whereas HP is first and foremost a spectacle.  Were it not for the spectacle, I suspect that it would not haver had the legit clearly has, because the play itself is pretty lame. Just read it if you have not.

I think the key point is what a spectacular season this has been for plays, and the season has four more months to go in Tony terms.  I think that is great, and am even willing to endure too many juke box and / or stupid new musicals, to have this wealth of dramas.  (IMO, the combination of dramas is the main reason for the current wealth options, i.e., HP (from last season, but still selling like a major hit musical) and TKAM are among a small list of 20th / 21st century non-fiction that have entered the American zeitgeist; The Ferryman came already blessed with incredible reviews in London and matched them here (and isn't it great to have a large cast all giving terrific performances); Brian Cranston is probably at the highpoint in his career and the director's vision has gotten huge press on its own; American Son is not doing great, but is certainly benefiting from Kerry Washington's presence; Elaine May's reviews alone spurred sales for Waverly Gallery; by all accounts, Choir Boy is going to get great reviews (I see it on Sunday night), etc.  And we still have so many plays to open before the end of the season.  I also think this season's musicals thus far are also probably helping business for some of these plays; really, other than die hard movie fans, does anyone really care if Pretty Woman even opened; or King Kong.  The Cher Show is certainly selling a lot of discounted tickets, which would indicate to me at least that a lot of people (other than Cher fanatics) are viewing it as a must-see.  So, in a perverse way, I do think that non-musical business is benefitting from the miserable new musicals thus far this season.  (I am seeing The Prom on Friday night because the reviews were much better than I expected, and am hoping that this will prove to be a modest hit).

Only Torch Song did not seem to benefit from anything, which is a shame.  And proves that a goodly is never guaranteed anything.  Maybe if Arnold had been played by...

It's incredible that "The Cher Show" grossed over 125, 000 less than the previous week.  I sat in the mezzanine section and noticed  a significant number of empty seats.   It is an enjoyable show.  The first act is kind of long.  But the singing and dancing numbers are amazing!  

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "It's incredible that "The Cher Show" grossed over 125, 000 less than the previous week. I sat in the mezzanine section and noticed a significant number of empty seats. It is an enjoyable show. The first act is kind of long. But the singing and dancing numbers are amazing!"

 

the Cher Show made the mistake of jacking their prices up to ridiculous levels for the holidays including $169 for mid-mezz. The $69 seats are all sold-out yet the $169 (in the mezz) remain somewhat unsold. It's been up at TKTS since last week at 50% off for those seats.

 

Patti LuPone FANatic said: "I agree with you ACL. I got one of those $69 seats. With fees, it came up close to $100.The prices for other seats in Mezz were ridiculous. After intermission, I moved down a few rows so I could get a better view. Have you seen the show?"

 

yes, the day after it opened. loved it.

South Florida said: "The ups and downs of the ticket sales of this show are making me a little nervous.

Why? Are you an investor? 

 

THE CHER SHOW continues to make over $1 million a week. That $169 price tag for mid mezz seats though are crazy. Their prices go down after New Year's, so we shall wait and see what their numbers look like during the winter.

NYCblurb said: "How long does PROM keep printing the dough its losing on a weekly basis? They taking on investor loans at this point? January coming.

I liked the show. It is not clicking on a sales front.

Wonder what their 12 week out sales picture is looking like. Rough and BroadwayBox.com is featuring specials and ad promos. Deep discounting."

I'm planning a trip in June and am interested in seeing The Prom, but I don't want to:

a) Buy a ticket at full price, only to have them discounted in a few months.

b) Buy a ticket for this show instead of another, only to have them close between now and then, causing me to miss out on another show on my list.

Lot666 said: "b) Buy a ticket for this show instead of another, only to have them close between now and then, causing me to miss out on another show on my list."

How would you miss another show if this one closes? The week it closes, buy a ticket for something else?! There are a scant few shows out there that will be 100% sold out, not to mention the number of shows holding back more premium seats than people who may want them...

Lot666 said: "NYCblurb said: "How long does PROM keep printing the dough its losing on a weekly basis? They taking on investor loans at this point? January coming.

I liked the show. It is not clicking on a sales front.

Wonder what their 12 week out sales picture is looking like. Rough and BroadwayBox.com is featuring specials and ad promos. Deep discounting."

Question: you mentioned their 12 week out sales picture. Is there a way to see this? Also, how do you find out if a show has recouped and when? Is there somewhere that this info is accessible??

 

Jarethan said: "My point was simply that, as a play, it is pretty mediocre. The outstanding staging has made it the hit that it is."

You're entirely skipping over the whole idea that it is also a stage version of Harry Potter, and the continuation of a series of seven books that sold more than 500 million copies, with a movie franchise that was estimated to be worth $35B, so its ginormous built-in audience is even more of a factor than what actually happens on the stage.

What happens onstage is almost secondary to them going to see it happen...