Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/3/26- Page 3

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 5/5/26 at 9:39pm

In his latest report for Broadway Journal, Boroff supposes that recent numbers are down due to “last season’s offerings connecting better with ticket buyers than this season’s; or whether the current record-low consumer sentiment, high gas prices and depressed Canadian tourism undermined demand amid ever-rising production costs. Likely all of the above.”

Updated On: 5/5/26 at 09:39 PM

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 5/5/26 at 10:11pm

EDSOSLO858 said: "In his latest report for Broadway Journal, Boroff supposes that recentnumbers are down due to “last season’s offerings connecting better with ticket buyers than this season’s; or whether the current record-low consumer sentiment, high gas prices and depressed Canadian tourism undermined demand amid ever-rising production costs. Likely all of the above.”"

Cool.

No one is saying this is the best season for Broadway. But that's not the same as saying every show should be worried or hordes of theatergoers died during COVID or people aren't seeing anything anymore or the industry is broken.

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/5/26 at 10:16pm

AKarp2013 said: "Taking a wild guess that they're already talking to Whitney and Mark for a return engagement toChicago this fall. Those numbers are incredible."  What other shows might be interested in Whitney and Mark?  Other shows must be looking adoringly at the drawing power of both Leavitt and Balas.  

 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 5/5/26 at 10:17pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "In his latest report for Broadway Journal, Boroff supposes that recentnumbers are down due to “last season’s offerings connecting better with ticket buyers than this season’s; or whether the current record-low consumer sentiment, high gas prices and depressed Canadian tourism undermined demand amid ever-rising production costs. Likely all of the above.”"

Cool.

No one is saying this is the best season for Broadway. But that's not the same as saying every show should be worried or hordes of theatergoers died during COVID or people aren't seeing anything anymore or the industry is broken."

I’m not really sure how saying the industry is broken is a controversial statement at all. We are living in a world where it is near impossible to secure funding to put a musical on Broadway because the odds of recoupment are even lower than they ever have been before. Having 6 new musicals in a season is pretty unheard of - and none of them are going to recoup their investments (and the revivals, spare for Ragtime, likely will not be recouping their investments either). If you look at the Broadway grosses every week, I think being worried for the current state of Broadway is pretty fair.

 

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 5/5/26 at 10:25pm

n2nbaby said: "...Having 6 new musicals in a season is pretty unheard of - and none of them are going to recoup their investments (and the revivals, spare for Ragtime, likely will not be recouping their investments either). If you look at the Broadway grosses every week, I think being worried for the current state of Broadway is pretty fair.

"

Yes, there are quite a bit fewer new musicals than in the recent past, but I wouldn't say "unheard of" -- in the early 1990's, most seasons only had an average of 7 new musicals a season. The influence of economics is real -- but just like in previous times, Broadway has -- and will -- rebound. 

[Theatrefanboy1]

Posted: 5/5/26 at 11:17pm

I'm only speaking as a New York theatregoer, that travels out of country for NY for shows. I will say since the reopening of Broadway there have been a number of factors that have deterred regular "Theatre tourists" to the city. 

1) Costs have become prohibitive: on the same dollar budget from 15 years ago where visits would have been able to see 10-12 shows, now they can only afford to see about 3-4. As well, costs for accommodations and to visit have increased so much that it has left many international travellers choosing cheaper destinations (within country, or places like Poland, Eastern Europe, tropics).

2) Safety within the city: as a visitor I have seen the exponential increase of crime and safety concerns especially in the last 3 years: drugs, thefts, holdups, violence, mugging, drug use, the "dirtiness" of the city and its streets has left many choosing other destination

3) While some will say that for Canadians its a "political" protest, I will say that much of it for Canadians lies on their own cost of living - many can no longer afford any luxuries and have used the politics as a scapegoat, but for many cost of living compounded over three years has had many giving up their holidays or entertainment in order to make their house payments or pay for food along with their weakened dollar. Many are finding that a single subscription service becomes their form on in home entertainment that eliminates the other expenses for date night (parking, dinner)

4) Lack of interest in productions: when considering that many who are regular theatregoers used to spend on 10-12 shows and now only see 25% of that many have expressed they want what they see to be "the best". while sometimes that is spectacle or a celebrity, many have expressed that they have grown tired of seeing politically motivated shows, heavily focused on race, political messaging, lecturing. They also no longer truly are moved by "celebrity" (this is not to say that George Clooney isn't going to sell tickets) but there really isn't the strong draw as there used to be (and yes, people will list stars who have come in and brought the money, but it also costs money to bring them). 

While I feel that we are in the midst of a early 90's slump, I hope that producers would take this time to reevaluate. I've compiled my own points over the last season in my discussions with others and believe that in order to revive the template: They will need Hollywood or recording stars to recognize that they can't take the same paycheques they need to look at this as a place to hone their craft and skill (similar to West End and British actors, who take on a 2-3 month play between films, every 4-5 years, To attract younger audiences and rebuild they need to remove lecture styles and political messaging (no 25-30 year old is going on a 500$ date to be lectured ), We have to use imaginative stagecraft and replace the "hydraulics" and lifts and automation and go back to old techniques to transform the stage, lean out the administration and assistants (in many companies there so much bureaucracy. And probably my least favourite, and most painful of them all  is musicians will have to go down yet again to 7-9 unless supplemented with actors. 

Tours would hopefully tour with the "straight from Broadway" casts that occurred in the 60-70s to amp up the excitement. and lastly I believe the new works need more time in development before they are shared publicly, and not deliver half baked works.

 

Anyway these are my conclusion after a pretty intense 10 months of my own discussions, investigations, and experiences. 

[kdogg36]

Posted: 5/6/26 at 12:29am

Theatrefanboy1 said: "2) Safety within the city: as a visitor I have seen the exponential increase of crime and safety concerns especially in the last 3 years: drugs, thefts, holdups, violence, mugging, drug use, the "dirtiness" of the city and its streets has left many choosing other destination"

See, this one makes me feel comfortable ignoring all of your other points. I have been a resident or visitor in New York City for 35 years or so, and I know it's much safer now than it was during most of that period. There is no "exponential increase in crime," full stop. Let's not be stupid.

[Ensemble1698878795]

Posted: 5/6/26 at 12:39am

n2nbaby said: "Mr. Wormwood said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "In his latest report for Broadway Journal, Boroff supposes that recentnumbers are down due to “last season’s offerings connecting better with ticket buyers than this season’s; or whether the current record-low consumer sentiment, high gas prices and depressed Canadian tourism undermined demand amid ever-rising production costs. Likely all of the above.”"

Cool.

No one is saying this is the best season for Broadway. But that's not the same as saying every show should be worried or hordes of theatergoers died during COVID or people aren't seeing anything anymore or the industry is broken."

I’m not really sure how saying the industry is broken is a controversial statement at all. We are living in a world where it is near impossible to secure funding to put a musical on Broadway because the odds of recoupment are even lower than they ever have been before. Having 6 new musicals in a season is pretty unheard of - and none of them are going to recoup their investments (and the revivals, spare for Ragtime, likely will not be recouping their investments either). If you look at the Broadway grosses every week, I think being worried for the current state of Broadway is pretty fair.

"

🎯. People want to avoid the facts. Broadway needs to reckon with its sustainability. Pulling celebrities from Hollywood and reality TV will only last so long. It’s a business and the business isn’t thriving bc most of the offerings are meh.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 5/6/26 at 12:43am

n2nbaby said: "Mr. Wormwood said: "EDSOSLO858 said: "In his latest report for Broadway Journal, Boroff supposes that recentnumbers are down due to “last season’s offerings connecting better with ticket buyers than this season’s; or whether the current record-low consumer sentiment, high gas prices and depressed Canadian tourism undermined demand amid ever-rising production costs. Likely all of the above.”"

Cool.

No one is saying this is the best season for Broadway. But that's not the same as saying every show should be worried or hordes of theatergoers died during COVID or people aren't seeing anything anymore or the industry is broken."

I’m not really sure how saying the industry is broken is a controversial statement at all. We are living in a world where it is near impossible to secure funding to put a musical on Broadway because the odds of recoupment are even lower than they ever have been before. Having 6 new musicals in a season is pretty unheard of - and none of them are going to recoup their investments (and the revivals, spare for Ragtime, likely will not be recouping their investments either). If you look at the Broadway grosses every week, I think being worried for the current state of Broadway is pretty fair.

"

Unheard of?

There were 2 new musicals in 1994-95
There were 4 new musicals in 2019-20 (granted, COVID...)
There were 6 new musicals in 1993-94
There were 7 new musicals in 1990-91, 1991-92, 1995-96, 1996-97, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2017-18

Plenty of other years since 1990 with 8 or 9 new musicals. If I went back further, I'm sure I'd find many more years with a small number of new musicals. The last two years having 14-15 new musicals is actually what was "unheard of."

People have very short memories and no sense of history.

Is Broadway in a boom time at the moment? Of course not. Are there economic issues with putting on new musicals? Absolutely. But it's not broken on the whole. There are plenty of times in history where things have been much more dire for Broadway than they are now. 

Again, this is not me saying that there shouldn't be efforts to bring costs down across the board or that the current model of putting on a musical is a good one. Just that Broadway as a whole is not dying by any stretch of the imagination.

Updated On: 5/6/26 at 12:43 AM

[MezzoDiva47]

Posted: 5/6/26 at 2:21am

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."


agreed on all points

while there have been major ups and downs over the past century of broadway

none has been as traumatic as covid 19

it was not only an economic upheaval

but a social one as well

and ppl are still in denial about the lasting impact

if u dont believe me compare to 9/11

which shut down Broadway for a whopping two days

so domestic habits have perhaps permanently changed post pandemic

and internationally we are hated by the entire world right now

add this all up and u get one big clusterf**k

of course that is merely the consumer side of the equation

the producing side of the equation is just as problematic 

costs are out of control

and while no one wants to admit it

there is wasteful and inane spending going on

a remarkable chunk of weekly paychecks go to ppl who arent even in the building every night

and that number has crept up over the decades

everyone is trying to slice more pieces of a pie that has actually been shrinking

while it will be painful its time to cut the fat

dont believe the propaganda that actors and musicians are the ones bankrupting a show

 

[bear882]

Posted: 5/6/26 at 2:52am

Ah, yes. The early 1990s, which is when I first traveled cross-country and saw Broadway shows. Back then, I didn’t know much of anything about theater and I generally deferred to my spouse, who knew much more about New York City (except, ironically, for our first show - Six Degrees of Separation.)

We never stayed long enough or saw more than two shows on each trip, so I had no idea these were barren years in terms of quantity. We still never saw Cats, which we only caught this year.

Mr. Wormwood is absolutely correct about the ups and downs of Broadway. There are concerns about the finances of staging a musical now that seem rather daunting, and last week’s grosses only emphasize the problem.

Last year, Death Becomes Her seemed like an impressive  comedy hit that chugged along even when its stars were out. I never saw the show so I can’t explain why the box office has deteriorated so sharply. It doesn’t seem like the sort of musical that would be easy to recast, because of the physical demands on its stars, and I am not sure a realistic recast would help anyway.

I remain curious about the fate of Maybe Happy Ending, the reigning Tony winner. While the producers have downplayed Darren Criss, it remains to be seen how the show will do without him - especially since it is showing signs of weakness with him. Part of my interest is that the musical was such a feel-good story - the show that won an audience by word of mouth. It’s a well-crafted, sentimental and often beautiful show that seems like it could last. If it doesn’t recoup, that is a bad sign.