Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 2/17/19 — Page 2

Wick3 said: "I'm glad Be More Chill broke the house record at the Lyceum but then it made me think --- is it normal for first week of previews to be only 7 performances (rather than 8?) Also, was it an 'easy' record to break given the previous 7-day record was set back in 2008. Either way, they broke the record and good for them. I hope they keep it up!"

I'd say it was likely a very easy house record to break. Grosses are higher than they've ever been, so many theatres have had house records broken in the last few years, and the only other musicals to play the Lyceum since 2000 are Title of Show, Scottsboro Boys, A Night With Janis Joplin and The Visit, all of which lasted less than 4 months.

That being said, 93% of potential is impressive regardless of breaking a record, and much higher than many on here (including myself) likely would have predicted. I'm interested to see whether they can sustain it.

JBroadway said: "They did not break THE house record, they broke A house record. The record they broke is specifically for a 7-performance week, which I imagine has very little competition.

Pretty soon we’ll hear about how they broke the house record for “highest gross on a Wednesday Matinee for a musical about teenagers”"

I mean, if they end up beating Dear Evan Hansen for a Wednesday matinee, I'd be impressed.

TheSassySam said: "I mean, if they end up beating Dear Evan Hansen for a Wednesday matinee, I'd be impressed. "



Ah but don’t forget we’re talking about a HOUSE record, so it’s specific to the Lyceum. Lowering the competition even more - not just because it’s only 1 theatre, but also, as Something Peculiar mentioned, because it has a history of low-grossing shows.

I’m not trying to diminish Be More Chill’s successful first week. Congrats to them! But let’s just keep things in perspective, and make sure everyone knows the facts so people don’t go around saying that they “broke THE house record” and leave it at that.

Wick3 said: "I wish the Ferryman numbers were higher given it was the last week of the majority of the British cast.

I'm glad Be More Chill broke the house record at the Lyceum but then it made me think --- is it normal for first week of previews to be only 7 performances (rather than 8?) Also, was it an 'easy' record to break given the previous 7-day record was set back in 2008. Either way, they broke the record and good for them. I hope they keep it up!

"



In reality it means nothing just a marketing ploy for press! Anyway, we shall see how grosses continue over the weeks and if it become a bonafide hit!?

dwwst12 said: "With the Prom stabilizing around 50% of potential gross, is it safe to assume they'll stick it out at least until the Tony nominations come out? I'll be in town April 13-20 and am hoping to eek it out."

I assume, and hope so that way they can get nominations (likely a best musical one) and hopefully make money in may and june, and then if they dont win anything big they could close in early summer, or labor day. I really dont know what The Prom could win especially with Hadestown and the performances in Tootsie, Oklahoma etc but I think they could definitely pull out many of nominations.

Their grosses remind me a lot of Gentleman's Guide..

Updated On: 2/20/19 at 10:38 PM

JSquared2 said: "JBroadway said: "T

Ahbut don’t forget we’re talking about a HOUSE record, so it’s specific to the Lyceum. Lowering the competition even more - not just because it’s only 1 theatre, but also, as Something Peculiar mentioned, because it has a history of low-grossing shows.

I’m not trying to diminish Be More Chill’s successful first week. Congrats to them! But let’s just keep things in perspective, and make sure everyone knows the facts so people don’t go around saying that they “broke THE house record” and leave it at that."



But they did break THE house record --- not sure what distinction you're trying to make? The Lyceum is THE house. It'd be different if they were saying they broke a Broadway record."



I can't believe people are even talking about house records anymore, given the ridiculous ticket inflation that has occurred on Broadway. House records have become meaningless. To put in perspective, in 1964, you could see Hello Dolly in the Front Mezzanine for $7.50, while you could see a non-reserved seat attraction for $3.00 in a first class Times Square movie house. (The movies My Fair Lady and Cleopatra, which were playing at the time charged $5.50).. So, for a normal movie, you paid 2 1/2 times the price of HD in the front mezzanine (orchestra was $9.60, just over 3 times the cost of a movie).

Today, that movie ticket for a normal movie is now about $15 in Manhattan, while I paid $199 (plus fees) to see DEH from the same kind of seats (and they were NOT premium prices seats). That means that the multiple has gone from 2 1/2 to 3 times the price of a movie to 13 - 14 times the price of a movie today. With that kind of inflation, I imagine that every show that opens a hit is likely to break the house record pretty quickly, unless it is a drama following a musical like last year's Hello Dolly; and that is only because of the Bette premium on ticket prices and the even larger number of premium seats, both of which naturally lead to house records being broken.

Would be more meaningful to know how many seats were sold at full price...that would at least take ticket inflation out of the equation.