Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 4/19/26

Ouch.

I absolutely hate being doom and gloom, but some huge red flags for some shows:

• 60% capacity for Beaches, $473k gross
• 69% capacity for DBH, $750k gross
• 68% capacity for Two Strangers, $528k gross
• 69% capacity for Six, $550k gross
   

As expected, a lousy, sleepy week all around with no holiday and lots and lots of press comps for some of the newer titles.

Happy trails to Matthew Morrison, Sadie Dickerson, Morgan Anita Wood, and the four "immortals" that just departed DEATH BECOMES HER on Sunday. 

I'd be curious to track MJ's numbers in the coming weeks / months, with the new Jackson biopic about to hit movie theaters. It's getting poor reviews so far, but it should print money nonetheless. Wonder if it'll have any effect on the musical, at best it would get a STRANGER THINGS-type rejuvenation from the winter.

A lot of us may assume many of the current shows will close soon if they keep up these kinds of numbers, but when the pipeline has dried up as well, what is there to replace them with? Theatre owners would rather have *something* playing in their venues than nothing at all, so that's why we're seeing the struggling shows get a very long lifeline.

 

 

 

musicthatmakesmedance said: "Beachesis one for the history books...when do they post closing?"

If they don't get any Tony noms, May 8th?

I loved Two Strangers but have a feeling people aren't even aware it's even still playing. I haven't seen a single ad or commercial in months. Seems Titanique is picking up the steam and has really great WOM. I hope to see it some time in May.

RIP Beaches. Even morbid curiosity can't force me to go a get a cheap ticket for this. I'm surprised by Schmigadoon not yet doing terribly. The TV show was seen by 15.5 people and I haven't heard a single positive thing about this musical except on this message board. I feel most of the critics have very little credibility left in general.

Updated On: 4/21/26 at 04:30 PM

Was Lea out of “Chess” last week? 

DaveyG said: "I don’t think any new musical this season has a real path to recoupment, except maybeTwo Strangers, and that only happens if they win Best Musical.

They’re the only show with a weekly nut and capitalization that feel even remotely reasonable. The math on everything else just doesn’t work.Death Becomes Hershould be a cautionary tale."

There is no world in which Two Strangers has a path to recoupment, even if it did happen to win a trophy or two. It's playing to a 1/3 empty theater every week, each week posts its lowest gross yet, and has recouped 0%. 

 

Are those numbers for "Wicked" accurate? Don't know that I can remember seeing its average ticket price below $100.

Ensemble1665759202 said: "DaveyG said: "I don’t think any new musical this season has a real path to recoupment, except maybeTwo Strangers, and that only happens if they win Best Musical.

They’re the only show with a weekly nut and capitalization that feel even remotely reasonable. The math on everything else just doesn’t work.Death Becomes Hershould be a cautionary tale."

There is no world in which Two Strangers has a path to recoupment, even if it did happen to win a trophy or two. It's playing to a 1/3 empty theater every week, each week posts its lowest gross yet, and has recouped 0%."

You’re describing the current numbers, not the potential path. For a show like Two Strangers, the only path is a Gentleman’s Guide or MHE trajectory. Tony win, sustained demand, gradual build. That’s unlikely, but it’s not 'no world'. 

The other shows have to dig out of 20 million dollar holes. 

Updated On: 4/21/26 at 04:57 PM

The trouble with the Maybe Happy Ending comp for Two Strangers is that MHE had already recovered from its dismal start and was posting respectable box office numbers even before Tony nominations. Plus, word of mouth was very good.

Two Strangers has just sat there, playing to one-third empty houses. It must be an inexpensive show to run, will get nominations and seems like a possible Best Musical winner. So there’s hope, I suppose, but it’s difficult for me to imagine the musical taking off even if it wins.

I think all the new musicals are doomed to lose money. 

Yikes on Bikes! What a rough report to read. 

The fact that many of these shows haven't announced closing already is a sign at how little there is waiting to come in. 

And I know many folks in another thread jumped on a "Schmigadoon is winning Best Musical" thought because of the warm reviews. But these numbers solidify to me that Best Musical is Two Strangers or Lost Boys. Schmigadoon and Titanique are limited runs. But a Best Musical win could be the only thing that saves Two Strangers or Lost Boys. Voters know that their vote in that category has power to save a struggling show and help it recoup. So are they really going to cast a ballot for a show that will be gone in a couple months whether it recoups or not?

Entirely likely that none of the new musicals from this season will still be here at this time next year. 

Other than that, it's the same things in dire straights as they are every week, and have been for some time now. Six should save itself and switch to New World Stages. Stranger Things is right back where they started before the Season 5 premiere, as I expected, the mania would only last so long. How many more of these huge dips can Book of Mormon sustain? When will Death Becomes Her try ANYTHING to reverse course?

Also, I know it’s pretty beloved on here, but Two Strangers doesn’t have the praise or word-of-mouth that Gentleman’s Guide or Maybe Happy Ending did, does it? Overall, reviews were mixed-to-positive. And while I certainly know people who loved it, I also know people who were unmoved by it. MHE definitely seemed more lovingly received on a whole, but it’s hard to know with things as subjective as this.

 

Also, coming off of Schmigadoon’s reviews last night and with a certain faction of enthusiastic Lost Boys fans, I don’t know that Two Strangers is a guaranteed Tony winner for the big prize. Time will tell!