Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 12/7/14

[Rob]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 3:02pm

Click below to access all the grosses from all the shows for the week ending 12/7/2014 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.

Click Here to Visit the Broadway Grosses...

Up for the week by attendance was: HONEYMOON IN VEGAS (29.2%), LOVE LETTERS (13.2%), ROCK OF AGES (7.4%), A DELICATE BALANCE (6.9%), SIDE SHOW (6.2%), IT'S ONLY A PLAY (5.6%), THIS IS OUR YOUTH (3.2%), THE REAL THING (2.9%), MOTOWN THE MUSICAL (2.3%), BEAUTIFUL (2.1%), IF/THEN (1.0%), ON THE TOWN (0.9%), KINKY BOOTS (0.2%),

Down for the week by attendance was: CINDERELLA (-22.8%), MATILDA (-19.1%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-17.2%), PIPPIN (-14.8%), LES MISÉRABLES (-14.7%), MAMMA MIA! (-11.2%), CHICAGO (-9.9%), THE LION KING (-9.1%), THE ILLUSIONISTS - WITNESS THE IMPOSSIBLE (-5.3%), ONCE (-2.8%), A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER (-2.3%), HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (-1.9%), ALADDIN (-1.7%), DISGRACED (-1.7%), THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME (-1.5%), THE LAST SHIP (-0.8%), JERSEY BOYS (-0.7%), THE RIVER (-0.3%), YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (-0.3%), CABARET (-0.2%), THE ELEPHANT MAN (-0.1%), WICKED (-0.1%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[E.Davis]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 3:12pm

....Woof.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 3:13pm

I'm glad Side Show, The Last Ship, and Honeymoon in Vegas went up a bit.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 3:21pm

Interesting that Side Show and Ship are doing about the same numbers, when Side Show got great reviews and Ship's were more mixed. Guess this shows reviews really don't matter anymore.

Which is not what the Honeymoon producers want to be hearing right now. They already have a rave from the Times.

[little_sally]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 3:43pm

I saw Side Show yesterday afternoon and the mezzanine was so empty, they let us move down a few rows. It was pretty depressing, considering how much I liked the show.

[SweetLips]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 4:09pm

What on earth does ....'Woof' mean?
I've had the odd trick who liked to bark when pleased so does this mean you're thrilled with the results-or just a happy puppy ?

Thanks.x

Updated On: 12/8/14 at 04:09 PM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 4:17pm

In this context, it means "ouch"

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 5:56pm

I saw Side Show yesterday afternoon and the mezzanine was so empty, they let us move down a few rows. It was pretty depressing, considering how much I liked the show.

---
SS is doing 61% capacity that's selling 804 seats an average per show in a theater that has a capacity less balcony of 1303. Yes, I hear the mezzanine is not selling 3/4 of it empty every night.
Unfortunately, not looking good as the next 4 weeks are crucial but hopefully it will p/up to at least 70%+. Come on tourists...see SS you won't be disappointed.

As for SHIP, we shall see what STING's appearance does this week as the show now is at only 58.7% capacity selling an average of 792 seats per show in a theater that has a capacity of 1349. Will the ship sink when STING leaves in Jan?

OTT in my eyes is pretty solid even though they are only at 60% capacity selling an average of 1139 seats per show is actually pretty good if it were in a mid-sized house it would be in the 80%+ capacity BUT unfortunately it is in a HUGE theater that has a capacity of 1874...I say just close the balcony and sell orch+mezz. The chances of this lasting a bit longer than the others seems pretty good.

I/T huh!? 62% capacity that's selling an average of only 800 seats per show in a house that holds 1311 looks as if the show has run its course with Idina...will it last to March when her contract ends is the big question?

HinV increased 29% to 84.1% capacity at the box office is a great bump but it's still in previews and lots of freebies-comps are being given out reflecting the increase...verdict is still out on this one but it's previewing forever not opening till 1/15/15.

Cabaret with Emma Stone's rave reviews the box office is solid @ 99.2% capacity pretty much selling out every night...better than when Michelle was in the show telling us more people want to see Emma.

Updated On: 12/8/14 at 05:56 PM

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 6:08pm

Unfortunately, it's even worse than you state. You referred to how many seats it's selling, but that doesn't tell the true story. Side Show is grossing only 41% of potential, so the seats it is selling are selling at significant discounts. As others have pointed out, it's likely that a show needs to do a minimum of 50% of gross potential just to break even! which means that Side Show is probably losing money every week. No show can stay open very long if it's losing money every week.

Very sad. It deserved better. Much better.

[evic]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 6:09pm

I am surprised how bad the BO was last week because it usually is a great one but the lousy weather may have played a factor..The next 3 weeks will be worse, then the bonanza for New Years, then huge losses for most shows in January. Looks like there are around 6 more shows in deep trouble hence more closing notices to go up ......Could be that people just do not want to pay full prices anymore and rely on TDF and TKTS.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 6:50pm

Menzel called out the Sunday show, so I'd expect a drop from that, though I don't know just how much that absence truly affected grosses relative to the expected annual drop on this week.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 7:18pm

To Evic

Yes there definitely is a growing resistance to the escalation in prices IMO.

Updated On: 12/8/14 at 07:18 PM

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 7:53pm

and there it is.

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 8:02pm

Except all of the shows being discussed have had discount codes for the period in question, so if the increasing ticket price is the problem, every show offering discounts should be a viable solution, no?

Updated On: 12/8/14 at 08:02 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 9:08pm

I worry about ON THE TOWN in the winter. Only 60% capacity now might mean under 50% capacity come January. They really should close off the balcony and adjust their ticket prices. (OTT does have a discount for $89 orch/mezz seats AND is always at TKTS for 50% off).

[Polka Dot2]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 10:40pm

Do we think Side Show will make it through the end of the holidays?

[haterobics]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 10:43pm

Isn't the thinking that anything open now is pretty much here until January 4? Or has a show ever closed in mid-December before?

Not really asking about Side Show, just in general... it seems like the thinking is if you make Thanksgiving, you make New Year's, no?

[Robbie2]

Posted: 12/8/14 at 10:48pm

Hater, so true as now till Jan 4,2015 is the bu$iest time of year for Broadway all the tourists want to see a show.

[binau]

Posted: 12/9/14 at 1:10am

"Isn't the thinking that anything open now is pretty much here until January 4? Or has a show ever closed in mid-December before?"

Yes, The Scottsboro Boys closed December 12. But my hunch is these shows won't close until Jan.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/9/14 at 5:30am

Yet the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, prior to the actual holiday week(s), is infamously slow. The shopping season is not generally a bump, but instead a slip. So the next week wouldn't logically show much improvement. One would hope SIDE SHOW, for example, would hit the $500,000 mark. If there's good news in its numbers it was the slight increase over one of the best week's overall: Thanksgiving.

[Up In One]

Posted: 12/9/14 at 8:35am

"Except all of the shows being discussed have had discount codes for the period in question, so if the increasing ticket price is the problem, every show offering discounts should be a viable solution, no?"

Its a trickle down effect - there have always been discount tickets available and some of us only buy discount tickets but now the discount tickets cost as much as full price tickets did not that many years ago - so discount buyers are also feeling the pinch.

I store my Playbills by the year on a bookshelf and my habits have been drastically curtailed year over year. I am much more picky now about how I spend my discount dollars, heck I am more picky about how I spend my TDF dollars.

There was a time I would see my favorite shows several times now I can't afford to - and I have a decent income - the cost of living in the NY Metro area takes its toll all the way around.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 12/9/14 at 9:04am

Its a trickle down effect - there have always been discount tickets available and some of us only buy discount tickets but now the discount tickets cost as much as full price tickets did not that many years ago - so discount buyers are also feeling the pinch.

I store my Playbills by the year on a bookshelf and my habits have been drastically curtailed year over year. I am much more picky now about how I spend my discount dollars, heck I am more picky about how I spend my TDF dollars.

There was a time I would see my favorite shows several times now I can't afford to - and I have a decent income - the cost of living in the NY Metro area takes its toll all the way around.

I was wondering about this when the Thanksgiving numbers were released. Tourists take up 2/3 of the Broadway industry, yet records were posted that week. However, even with higher attendance and because of higher ticket prices, it's still possible everyone is seeing fewer shows. That doesn't seem like a good thing despite flat industry gross increases.