Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/10/15- Page 2

[Sunny11]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:02am

 The bad reviews and Tony snubbing seem to have dampened Finding Neverland momentum  a bit but they are still doing great, grossing over a million. Since its numbers spiked over the spring break period I think that it should do well after the schools closes for the summer next month. 

 

[FishermanBob]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:07am

"Why are people shocked by It Shoulda Been You?"

Shocked?  I think the only thing in this thread related to It Shoulda Been You that shocked people was that Muscle thinks averaging 39% of gross potential is "doing great".

It Shoulda Been You got very mixed reviews, has only been open for 4 weeks and has shown no signs of strength whatsoever at any time. I think it is pretty clear, at least to most, that it is doing poorly and it's reasonable to wonder how long it can last. Les Miz has been open 14 months, has done very well most of that time and even though the last 2 weeks have been a bit soft, is still averaging over 60% of gross potential for the year. I'm thinking that may account for the difference you are observing.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 3:02am

"Gigi is not doing THAT bad, and maybe the fact that Vanessa won the broadway.com awards for breakthrough performance of the year by a female will boost their numbers a bit."

 LOL

Updated On: 5/12/15 at 03:02 AM

[Musical Master]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 11:41am

How come no ones commenting on THE KING AND I's grosses which are doing very well? Is is because Lincoln Center Theater is non-profit and it shouldn't count?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 1:00pm

There is no denying that it's a very hot ticket right now but yes, I do not believe it raises much attention or praise simply because they're a subscriber house. They have a built-in audience, along with extremely generous supporters/benefactors, so it should be making those numbers. That is expected. 

[Jonwo]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:04pm

"There is no denying that it's a very hot ticket right now but yes, I do not believe it raises much attention or praise simply because they're a subscriber house. They have a built-in audience, along with extremely generous supporters/benefactors, so it should be making those numbers. That is expected. "

Given how successful South Pacific was for LCT, it's not that surprising that another R&H revival with the same female lead and director has done very well. 

 

[Musical Master]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:20pm

True, very true. I guess once again LCT and Bartlett Sher have struck gold for the second time in a row. But it's cool that when November comes around this year, Sher will have two revivals running at the same time on Broadway: THE KING AND I and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 5:46pm

A few passing comments:

1. Percentage of gross is an almost irrelevant metric to anyone except the landlord. The only meaningful metric for this discussion is the one that's not officially reported: the ratio of the grosses to the weekly expenses. 

2. From what we know or can reasonably guess, Shoulda is doing semi-ok (at or not far from its nut, though certainly not raking in the dough), Gigi is drowning in red ink as is The Visit, with On the Town bad but not quite as bad.

3. The only way Harvey can cook the books would be by buying tickets. He has no control over or access to the selling of tickets. And while it might have been plausible that he bought tickets very early on to prop up sales, it is beyond belief that he still is in any significant way. First, it would make no sense. Second, it would require that he give those tickets away to seat fillers. Third, the idea that he is using a massive number of seat fillers without a single person here knowing about it is ridiculous.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 6:20pm

Not saying this is what happening but can producers of musicals not "fudge" their numbers to make them look better than they actually are? I know movie studios do that quite often.

[Fantod]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 6:36pm

Garth Drabinsky did it a lot and ended up in jail

[skies]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 7:01pm

"A few passing comments:
1. Percentage of gross is an almost irrelevant metric to anyone except the landlord. The only meaningful metric for this discussion is the one that's not officially reported: the ratio of the grosses to the weekly expenses. 
2. From what we know or can reasonably guess, Shoulda is doing semi-ok (at or not far from its nut, though certainly not raking in the dough), Gigi is drowning in red ink as is The Visit, with On the Town bad but not quite as bad.
3. The only way Harvey can cook the books would be by buying tickets. He has no control over or access to the selling of tickets. And while it might have been plausible that he bought tickets very early on to prop up sales, it is beyond belief that he still is in any significant way. First, it would make no sense. Second, it would require that he give those tickets away to seat fillers. Third, the idea that he is using a massive number of seat fillers without a single person here knowing about it is ridiculous."

 

I'm guessing a musical like Finding Neverland has a break even point of , say, 500-600 thousand a week? Just a guess, but Im thinking half a  million at the minimum.

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 8:01pm

Producers cannot fudge the grosses other than by buying tickets either from the box office or from the ticketing service, because they are not involved in the process. That's the box office treasurer and he or she is not even employed by the producer (not to mention that most revenue comes through telecharge or ticketmaster). Ultimately, the books have to balance.  Regarding Garth-he did many crooked things but his crimes were securities frauds, not box office frauds. 

[Up In One]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 8:05pm

Anything under 550k/650k for most of those musicals is a loss. They can also see their future sales so short of an impossible upset I don't see any of them going far into the summer. 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 9:17pm

For those who believe that Harvey Weinstein is cooking the books, you should know that Michael Riedel, not exactly his biggest champion, has done a story about these 'rumors' and found them baseless. Like it or not, 'Neverland' is a crowd-pleaser.

http://nypost.com/2015/03/27/finding-neverland-faring-well-at-box-office-despite-broadway-insiders-suspicions/

[Clyde15]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 9:18pm

I don't know, I think It Shoulda Been You may make it through the summer, I mean it has a pretty small cast and orchestra. The costumes aren't over the top and extravagant and it seems to be one set so they probably don't require much tech. Along with the fact that the show is only 100 minutes long. The nut for the show can't be that big. I could see the show lasting through the summer if not the holidays.

[Kad]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 9:37pm

It may be a small(er) cast, but it's a cast comprised almost entirely of people who will be making above minimum- and in several cases substantially above minimum. And they're ALL principle roles, not chorus.

[Up In One]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 9:55pm

"Along with the fact that the show is only 100 minutes long."

I forgot that shows have a per minute budget adjustment. Shoulda has two more cast members than Gentleman which also had a single set of sorts and Gentleman had no stars. It was published that  Gentleman started with a $600k a week nut to crack and then later in the winter months scaled that back a bit. Even if Shoulda is only loosing $200k a week vs The Visit's possible $400k and On The Town's $100k a week loss ( and I think I think I am being conservative)  why would anyone purposely continue to run past winning no trophies in award season?

[skies]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 9:59pm

That's assuming they are losing close to those amounts.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/12/15 at 10:04pm

Wayman, although I obviously agree that the books are not being "cooked," I'm surprised you'd give credence to Riedel as any sort of validation of that fact, especially in light of the number of typical Riedel mangling in his article. 

In the years since Cohen's quote, as an example, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. It's no longer an issue of lying to Variety; falsifying grosses is a lie to everyone who is paid based on grosses, and to every investor. And those lies are fraud, for which you go to jail. 

[jdrye222]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 12:24am

I have heard on good authority that Shoulda Been You is doing pretty well considering their weekly nut, and lack of reviews or Tony noms.    Their nut is not nearly as high as the GG nut posted above!   (I'm told it is in the neighborhood of $430K)   

I happen to think it is a really fun fluffy night at the theater with an expert cast.  I don't understand the hatred of it by so many on this board.  It's a total crowd pleaser - I've been twice, and the audience both times seemed to adore it - I haven't heard so many laugh out loud moments since Boeing Boeing.  

I don't think it will ever be a giant hit but I see it playing out til September for sure.   And I think it is adorable so I wish them the best   

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 12:39am

It Shoulda Been You - despite that awful grammatical incorrect name - will do very well in regional houses. It will make its money from regional dinner theaters. No shame. It's not doing great on Broadway because it's just not relevant. 

[Clyde15]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 12:54am

""Along with the fact that the show is only 100 minutes long."
"I forgot that shows have a per minute budget adjustment"

 While yes true its not minute by minute, you don't have to pay techs to work as long and elecrcity probably costs less due to the shorter show. So yes getting through the Holidays would definitely be pushing, but getting through the summer is a reasonable goal. This show probably would have done better as a limited engagement. With such a stellar cast and only playinh 12 or so weeks to see it I think people would go. 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 12:56am

I have to disagree. I don't think relevance is the problem here; when is a comedic family-rivalry wedding story NOT relevant? It has the cast, the director, and all the right assets, but the sour taste from the engagement a few years back out of town, the lack of award-nominations and the already crowded season made for a tough sell here. The critics didn't even slash this as harshly as some would expect, because overall it's a carefree, enjoyable night at the theater. Their problems lie elsewhere. 

That being said, I've also heard on good authority that they are doing fairly well for all things considered above. Their weekly nut is low enough to keep them afloat into summer, and as for what I'm told, that is their plan.

Clyde: that's a pretty smart idea - especially with this cast! But do limited engagement musicals exist? I just figure with the budget it takes to get them up something like that wouldn't make financial sense or allow any guarantee to make a return. 

Updated On: 5/13/15 at 12:56 AM

[Clyde15]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 1:02am

Yeah a few musicals in the last few years have done limited engagements. Newsies started out as a limited engagement before being turned into an open ended show along with Bring it On. I think the King and I was also a limited engagement because I know they just announced it was open ended as well 

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 5/13/15 at 1:09am

While they were advertised as such, I am under the impression that all three had plans and intentions to either extend or become open ended. The difference between King & I/Newsies and Bring It On is that Bring It On  had started their run with the announcement that it was a sit down in NY before bringing the tour back out (which it never did, did it?) and wasn't doing well enough financially (the massive St. James did not help) to become open-ended. The other two had open-ended runs on their sights for quite some time before they even started, I'd be willing to bet.