Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26- Page 2
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#25
Posted: 5/5/26 at 3:43pm
Call_me_jorge said: "TotallyEffed said: "I'd imagine it's extremely difficult to cast the two leads in Death Becomes Her."
Bingo, I find the Chicago comparison unfair. Not only are the roles more difficult to cast, but I’d imagine just the cost of putting in a replacement is much higher. The DBH costumes are much more intricate than the single piece a Velma or Roxie has to wear."
There's no comparison whatsoever. One is a well-oiled machine that has been on Broadway for decades that costs very little to run. They throw a Housewife in and squeeze some more life out of it. Clearly the girl they most recently put in the show did some great business for them.
Death Becomes Her requires a vocal and physical prowess few performers possess, especially ones willing to replace and who also have some kind of selling power at the box office.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#26
Posted: 5/5/26 at 3:48pm
Theatrefanboy1 said: "Looking at the grosses this week my initial thoughts are:
Curious to see what will happen ones like Two Strangers and Titanique who have low operating costs and have been bumping along, with these nominations."
I think I have read elsewhere that Titanique's operating costs are close to 900K a week.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#27
Posted: 5/5/26 at 3:53pm
Re, long-running shows --- I believe I got an Instagram ad for Chicago promoting a Buy One Ticket / Get Another for $29 just for the month of May. All of the issues an earlier poster brought up I agree with + with the exception of Oh, Mary!, all theatre-related press is going to be focused on the Tony nominees. It's going to be a very rough few weeks for the long-runners.
And there's been a very steady and notable decline in Chess grosses --- last week it barely surpassed Cats / didn't beat it in how many people saw it. Probably too far out to speculate, but unless JoJo adds a major energy jolt this summer, it seems possible it'd close around Labor Day (opening up a very prime Shubert house.)
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#28
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:06pm
JoJo didn't set the box office on fire at Moulin Rouge, and thinking about August when both Aaron and Nicholas will be out at the same time? I mean, granted Aaron will be right down the street but.....that will be rough to come back from.
Leading Actor Joined: 9/25/24
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#29
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:14pm
Sutton Ross said: "JoJo didn't set the box office on fire at Moulin Rouge, and thinking aboutAugust when both Aaron and Nicholas will be out at the same time? I mean, granted Aaron will be right down the street but.....that will be rough to come back from."
Excuse me? Where is Aaron going and when was this confirmed?
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#30
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:15pm
Huss417 said: "I think I have read elsewhere that Titanique's operating costs are close to 900K a week."
Closer to $1 million. So a cursory look at the grosses indicates the Broadway run has already lost about $1.6 mil — an I’d be surprised if their contingency is much higher than $2 mil.
So that means a priority loan sometime between now and the Tonys, unless the advance is really stellar and it gets a huge nomination bump.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#31
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:15pm
EDSOSLO858 said: "Pretty much every show right now has the right to be worried, including the long-runners. People just aren't seeing anything for the shows themselves anymore.
Major hordes of the theatergoing audience 1) is dying out / died out during COVID, 2) have adopted new, permanent routines staying at home as it is considered "safer" and less costly than travelling to NY(especially domestic folk from the East Coast), and 3) simply plan to avoid the US at all costs, no matter who is in charge.
It's a rough world right now and it will be tough economically for a LONG time.In my experience, it's becoming easier and easier to predict which shows (if any) sell each season, a telling sign of this broken theatre industry."
Mr. Doom and Gloom is back! Do you ever get tired of the wrong doomsday prophecies?
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#32
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:19pm
Serious suggestion:
Turn "Death Becomes Her" into an event. Reopen it with Kristin and Idina. Seven shows a week. It prints money.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#33
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:21pm
Simply insane for Chicago. My goodness. When they stunt cast well, they really stunt cast well. Same for Oh Mary.
I am betting Beaches closes by the end of May and Death Becomes Her by the end of June. Everything else will probably last through the summer if they are not limited runs.
It's always interesting to see reviews catch up with grosses. Like Dog Day is starting to look softer while Salesman is showing more strength.
The Lost Boys is showing hints of momentum. It certainly will help that it can trumpet the "most Tony noms" line.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#34
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:25pm
What's the purpose of closing a show if there's nothing in line to replace it?
It's not like there's a white-hot pipeline at the moment full of titles that can replace flagging productions.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#35
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:32pm
I know Michelle was out last week but It feels like DBH’s producers are just waiting to shut it down and be done with it. Since Megan left, grosses have become a nightmare—they didn’t even plan for a replacement duo or bring in a big pop star to replace Michelle and attract a new audience.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#36
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:34pm
HaveAGoodShow said: "Serious suggestion:
Turn "Death Becomes Her" into an event. Reopen it with Kristin and Idina. Seven shows a week. It prints money."
You're assuming they would *want* to do it. That's the problem. There are many that *can* do it, but those that can are generally unlikely to want to.
And don't forget Kristin passed on her offer for DBH after developing it for years to do QOV. I doubt there's good will there.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#37
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:47pm
Good point.
That said, after a few misfires, this could be a smart reset: a show that plays to their strengths and reminds people why they connected with them in the first place.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#38
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:48pm
Jarethan said: "
- I was really surprised that JIT's grosses and capacity dropped by 10% and 5% respectively. I would have expected JJ to be a bigger attraction than MM at this time. Three possible explanations: (1) JJ is not in for just 3 weeks, so less urgency for fans; (2) overexposure, between return visit to GG and Floyd Collins; (3) the show has peaked and the producers will run it until it starts losing money (something theDBH producers don't seem to get).
Matthew Morrison: “ The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated “ 😎
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#39
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:48pm
In isolation, Wicked for good was a very enjoyable Christmas season cinema trip. I went with a colleague who isn’t a big musical theatre fan but of course knew the wizard of oz story and we talked about all the Easter eggs and how hot Jonathan Bailey was. It’s a shame how the reception was generally “ not as good as the first movie” . It’s quality should have strengthened the broadway shows appeal IMO.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#40
Posted: 5/5/26 at 4:51pm
HaveAGoodShow said: "Serious suggestion:
Turn "Death Becomes Her" into an event. Reopen it with Kristin and Idina. Seven shows a week. It prints money."
It's so funny how people don't understand the concept that has been known forever: Idina does not replace. She will never replace. And Kristin turned it down ages ago and probably isn't exactly keen on being in a Broadway show for a long time. Jennifer and Megan had such difficulty with injuries which brought on a lot of attendance issues last year, so these parts are incredibly difficult to cast, and most actresses don't want to risk that.
I guess that's why they haven't announced anyone's departure date or replacement, it seems like it will just close. And considering the extremely low energy on stage when I saw the show recently, it makes a lot of sense.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#41
Posted: 5/5/26 at 5:11pm
EDSOSLO858 said: "What's the purpose of closing a show if there's nothing in line to replace it?
It's not like there's a white-hot pipeline at the moment full of titles that can replace flagging productions."
Right, I’ve heard the next show that has been “promised” the Lunt won’t be ready to open until next Spring. I think DBH will announce an August/Labor Day closing date with the possibility of an extension through January, if there is demand. James L. Nederlander is a co-producer, so aside from the rent being paid I’m sure he appreciates the producer fee he’s getting.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#42
Posted: 5/5/26 at 5:28pm
Also, realistically, would Idina be able to sing Helen 7 times a week? Not even trying to be shady, voices age.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#43
Posted: 5/5/26 at 5:35pm
Beaches be gone! DBH you had fun. Six time for New World.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#44
Posted: 5/5/26 at 5:41pm
EDSOSLO858 said: "Pretty much every show right now has the right to be worried, including the long-runners. People just aren't seeing anything for the shows themselves anymore.
Major hordes of the theatergoing audience 1) is dying out / died out during COVID, 2) have adopted new, permanent routines staying at home as it is considered "safer" and less costly than travelling to NY(especially domestic folk from the East Coast), and 3) simply plan to avoid the US at all costs, no matter who is in charge.
It's a rough world right now and it will be tough economically for a LONG time.In my experience, it's becoming easier and easier to predict which shows (if any) sell each season, a telling sign of this broken theatre industry."
Not buying all this endless doom and gloom. Every week we get some version of this same post. Broadway is dying and will never be the same. That’s simply not what I see when I attend a show. If anything needs a boost, it’s opera. Average age when I go feels like 85 (I’m only half joking).
Broadway Star Joined: 8/11/05
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#45
Posted: 5/5/26 at 5:45pm
Agree with what everyone is saying about Death Becomes Her. They've written roles that are almost impossible to sing in a healthy way. You can't just pop some celebrities into play Mad and Hel. You can stunt cast Viola and that's it.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#46
Posted: 5/5/26 at 5:57pm
Viola is not an easy stunt cast, either. She has a lot of demanding singing as well.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#47
Posted: 5/5/26 at 6:00pm
Could definitely see that possibly playing out, especially if they can stunt cast Viola - announce Labor Day, see if the summer makes any notable increase. I feel like the major issue is just how expensive the show is (It's one of the rare recent musicals where you can truly see the money onstage w/sets, illusions and such a large cast.)
Another scenario - if it continues bleeding out gross wise, close it mid-summer and see if they can bring someone in for a concert residency. The Lunt has hosted quite a few (admittedly to varying success, but it's got the seating capacity to suit a concert-style event.)
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#48
Posted: 5/5/26 at 8:23pm
Sutton Ross said: "JoJo didn't set the box office on fire at Moulin Rouge, and thinking aboutAugust when both Aaron and Nicholas will be out at the same time? I mean, granted Aaron will be right down the street but.....that will be rough to come back from."
yeah Nik is out for two weeks end of July early August and Aaron is out two weeks mid August so most of August is Jojo and the understudies. the understudies for both guys are terrific but given whenever Lea was out the box office plummeted even with the boys in i can only imagine how bad its going to be those four weeks.
I think when they announced Lea's departure late March they didn't expect sales to start dropping the way they have the last few weeks.
I even saw someone say online a couple of weeks ago that Lea had left the show already as they seemed to see the headline and not the date she was actually leaving so makes me wonder if other people made that assumption too.
Frankly I think Chess just always had a ceiling and they should have gone out on a high in June rather than extending.
Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26#49
Posted: 5/5/26 at 8:56pm
Sutton Ross said: "HaveAGoodShow said: "Serious suggestion:
Turn "Death Becomes Her" into an event. Reopen it with Kristin and Idina. Seven shows a week. It prints money."
It's so funny how people don't understand theconcept that has been known forever: Idina does not replace. She will never replace. And Kristin turned it down ages ago and probably isn't exactly keenon being in a Broadway showfor a long time. Jennifer and Megan had such difficulty with injuries which brought on a lot of attendance issues last year, so these parts are incredibly difficult to cast, and most actresses don't want to risk that.
I guess that's why they haven't announced anyone's departure date or replacement, it seems like it will just close. And considering the extremely low energy on stage when I saw the show recently, it makes a lot of sense."
Kristin had her show shutout of the Tony nominations today (should have gotten a score nomination and possibly set design) and had her TV show cancelled yesterday, the least thing she would be worried about right now being a replacement on a show that she rejected an offer for that is in a freefall.
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