Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 5/6/18

[Rob]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:12pm

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 5/6/2018 in BroadwayWorld's grosses section.

Also, you will find information on each show's historical grosses, cumulative grosses and other statistics on how each show stacked up this week and in the past.

Click Here to Visit the Broadway Grosses...

Up for the week by attendance was: SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS (7.2%), ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE (1.2%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1.1%), THE BAND'S VISIT (0.8%), HAMILTON (0.2%), CHICAGO (0.1%), MEAN GIRLS (0.1%),

Down for the week by attendance was: A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL (-17.3%), THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (-15.0%), SCHOOL OF ROCK (-12.0%), KINKY BOOTS (-11.2%), SAINT JOAN (-11.1%), WICKED (-8.2%), SUMMER (-8.0%), CAROUSEL (-6.4%), ANASTASIA (-5.8%), WAITRESS (-5.3%), TRAVESTIES (-5.2%), HELLO, DOLLY! (-4.9%), CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD (-3.8%), BEAUTIFUL (-3.1%), ANGELS IN AMERICA (-2.5%), THE ICEMAN COMETH (-2.3%), ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (-1.4%), ALADDIN (-0.8%), LOBBY HERO (-0.5%), FROZEN (-0.3%), COME FROM AWAY (-0.3%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (-0.2%), DEAR EVAN HANSEN (-0.2%), THE LION KING (-0.1%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:16pm

I'm surprised Boys in the Band sold 97.2% of tickets (which is still great for the first week of previews.) Given how they sold SRO later in the week, I would have thought that number to be over 100%.

[a-mad]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:22pm

Looks like Tony noms didn't do much for Spongebob (yeah it did a bit better... but not really).

Meanwhile... Summer continues to stay above $1 million.  Who'da thunk it?

[Clyde15]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:26pm

This was just a bad week all around. We need it to be summer ASAP

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:43pm

Spongebob needs to win some Tonys to help it stay afloat. 

Once on This Island I heard has an extremely low running cost.. so hopefully it's not in the red yet.

 

Also, I see why Bronx Tale is stunt casting now. Those numbers are abysmal.

Updated On: 5/7/18 at 03:43 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:51pm

Wick3 said: "I'm surprised Boys in the Band sold 97.2% of tickets (which is still great for the first week of previews.) Given how they sold SRO later in the week, I would have thought that number to be over 100%."

 

They must have had enough unsold seats earlier in the week to drive the number down despite the SRO. 

[little_sally]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:55pm

Will A Bronx Tale be gone by Labor Day?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:56pm

little_sally said: "Will A Bronx Tale be gone by Labor Day?"

Was just about to post this same question. Those numbers are brutal. I wouldn't be surprised if they closed after Chazz whats-his-name's run in the show.

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 3:59pm

BroadwayConcierge said: "little_sally said: "Will A Bronx Tale be gone by Labor Day?"

Was just about to post this same question. Those numbers are brutal. I wouldn't be surprised if they closed after Chazz whats-his-name's run in the show."

 

I feel like they are going to have him come in to attempt to boost grosses (not sure if it will) and then close by Labor Day. Unless they put De Niro in the show too, I see that being the only way they can survive.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:00pm

I'm thinking A BRONX TALE, BEAUTIFUL, MARGARITAVILLE, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG and possibly SPONGEBOB (based on Tony Awards) might all be closing by Labor Day.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:15pm

Jessetenny said: "Spongebob needs to win some Tonys to help it stay afloat.

Once on This Island I heard has an extremely low running cost.. so hopefully it's not in the red yet.



Also, I see why Bronx Tale is stunt casting now. Those numbers are abysmal."

OOTI may(!) be barely running in the black each week, but even if it is, it seems impossible that it will ever recoup its initial investment. Also, I think the fact that the Outer Critics Circle Awards rewarded My Fair Lady over OOTI doesn’t bode well for OOTI at the Tony Awards. It needs that best revival win if it has any hopes of running longer. 

Nickelodeon will probably keep Spongebob running longer than OOTI even though Spongebob will never recoup. I also think based on its wins at the OCC awards and its multiple Tony noms, it will possibly win some technical awards. I don’t think that will help box office though...even if Slater wins. 

I have both shows on my list towards the end of my June trip. I think they’ll still be playing then, but I am not sure OOTI will be playing much past that. I got an email with a promo code for OOTI through sometime in July. I have already bought tix for my most in demand (and expensive) June shows, but I’ll be relying on TKTS for these two shows plus Carousel (and maybe Angels; can’t decide if I’d rather get awesome $500 Front Center Orchestra seats now or take my chances at TKTS). In cases of OOTI and the Sponge, I suspect most people are buying via TKTS or discount codes which hurts advance sales.  

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:27pm

Couple of things:

-- I am amazed that 3 Tall Women is doing better than Angels.  I know it got great reviews, but so did Angels. I am assuming three reasons why it is doing better: (1) (far and away key reason) Glenda Jackson return to Broadway with reviews of a lifetime; (2) Too recent revival of Angels Off-Broadway; and (3) time / cost commitment to see Angels.

-- I am still amazed that A Bronx Tale will have run for almost two years if it closes around Labor Day, assuming Palminteri (not a known ticket seller) does help the box office.  Not once in those two years have I had even the slightest interest in seeing it...as a retired out-of-towner, it would take up a valuable slot that could be used for another show during my 2 - 3 visits a year.  Maybe when it tours, if I have nothing else to do.

-- It is pretty amazing how, in a week that hit a bunch of shows really hard, how many shows are selling out and how many more at at 95%+ of capacity.  Signs of my aging: I remember many seasons where there might have been one or two shows selling out week after week.  My real concern:  as these theatres continue to have long runs, there are going to be fewer theatres available for new works.  (I am guessing that Harry Potter will still be a hard ticket in 5 years, that Mean Girls is in for a long run, and that Frozen is likely to be around for a few years, unless WOM is disastrous  I realize that the irony is that tourists don't seem to want to see new works, unless they come either pre-sold, e.g., Harry Potter, maybe Frozen, Mean Girls, or get incredible reviews.  I guess this glut could cause some long runs that may be breaking even over time if not every week -- but are below their contractual stop clauses -- to start closing, e.g., SOR, Kinky, Beautiful, Anastasia (after summer).  I am convinced that I am going to close down before Chicago and Phantom do (as well as BOM, Hamilton, Lion King, and Wicked). We need some new theatres to offset their ongoing unavailability.

[zainmax]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:32pm

Forbes suggests that we'll be seeing higher grosses for SpongeBob and the others in the future. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marchershberg/2018/05/06/tony-awards-nominations-boost-broadway-box-office/

Probably not much of an immediate impact, because not many people hear the noms on Tuesday, and are like, "Oh my Gosh, I must see it tonight or tomorrow!" They get advance tickets.

[Eliza2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:32pm

Jarethan said: "Couple of things:

-- I am amazed that 3 Tall Women is doing better than Angels. I know it got great reviews, but so did Angels. I am assuming three reasons why it is doing better: (1) (far and away key reason)Glenda Jackson return to Broadway with reviews of a lifetime; (2) Too recent revival of Angels Off-Broadway; and (3) time / cost commitment to see Angels."

Three Tall Women does 8 shows per week, Angels in America does 7. So if you divide this week's grosses by number of shows:

Angels in America $116,741 per show

Three Tall Women $113,611 per show

Still very close, but I believe the time commitment is a big factor. I have friends who want to see Angels but also want to see other shows too and seeing Angels takes away two "spots" in their limited schedule on a trip as opposed to just one.

Updated On: 5/7/18 at 04:32 PM

[raddersons]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:36pm

Yeah, my thing about Once on this Island is... Fun Home recouped after 8 months of sold out houses at Circle. Once on this Island probably has a larger capitalization cost and running cost than Fun Home did, and it's grosses are lower. At this rate, if it recoups, it'll need to be running for three years. 

[zainmax]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:39pm

I feel like needing 3 years to recoup is not uncommon for a Davenport show.

[Impossible2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:42pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Jessetenny said: "Spongebob needs to win some Tonys to help it stay afloat.

Once on This Island I heard has an extremely low running cost.. so hopefully it's not in the red yet.



Also, I see why Bronx Tale is stunt casting now. Those numbers are abysmal."

OOTI may(!) be barely running in the blackeach week, but even if it is, it seems impossible that it will ever recoup its initial investment. Also, I think the fact that the Outer Critics Circle Awards rewarded My Fair Lady over OOTI doesn’t bode well for OOTI at the Tony Awards. It needs that best revival win if it has any hopes of running longer.

Nickelodeon will probably keep Spongebob running longer than OOTI even though Spongebob will never recoup. I also think based on its wins at the OCC awards and its multiple Tony noms, it will possibly win some technical awards. I don’t think that will help box office though...even if Slater wins.

I have both shows on my list towards the end of my June trip. I think they’ll still be playing then, but I am not sure OOTI will be playing much past that. I got an email with a promo code for OOTI through sometimein July. I have already bought tix for my most in demand (and expensive) June shows, but I’ll be relying on TKTS for these two shows plus Carousel (and maybe Angels; can’t decide if I’d rather get awesome $500 Front Center Orchestraseats now or take my chances at TKTS). In cases of OOTI and the Sponge, I suspect most people are buying via TKTS or discount codes which hurts advance sales."

I got 3rd and 4th row centre aisle seats for Angels for $92 each from Tkts so I would hold off.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 4:47pm

raddersons said: "Yeah, my thing about Once on this Island is... Fun Home recouped after 8 months of sold out houses atCircle. Once on this Island probably has a larger capitalization cost and running cost than Fun Home did, and it's grosses are lower. At this rate, if it recoups, it'll need to be running for three years."

Since it is apparently barely breaking even, I would conjecture that it will NEVER return much or any of its investments unless the grosses go up considerable.  I have not seen the show yet (still in Florida), but the passion members of this board have for it has made me want to see it when I get to NYC late in the month.  It doesn't make me want to pay full price, though, which remains an issue if a show is going to return its investment.  It needs to sell a lot a tickets at full price.  I have to admit that I struggle to do so when the show is 90 minutes and playing in a small theater.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 5:08pm

Jarethan- I think you’re pretty on the mark here.

With tourists keeping some shows consistently well-selling and long-running, it does leave less theaters available for new productions. Of course, when new productions (namely new musicals) do get a theater, so many lately have not been high quality. Maybe that’s why this 2017-2018 season (and possibly 2018-2019) have been so disappointing. Unless the Tony Awards significantly boost The Band’s Visit box office, it will likely continue to do respectable (but not blockbuster) box office. I loved it, but it’s intimate nature will likely prevent it from becoming a Hamilton/DEH juggernaut. Maybe it can find a Kinky Boots level of success.

It is kind of a catch-22, isn’t it? Successful shows mean less available theaters. Yet, we want our favorite shows to be successful. Also, the types of shows (jukebox, built in brands) that succeed may result in less quality Broadway shows that attempt to recreate that lightning in a bottle. They crowd out more original shows from being developed for Broadway. Of course, the most recent successful shows (Hamilton, DEH) didn’t rely on these jukebox/brand avenues while people forget that most that attempted to follow the jukebox/brand path did not fare well. But as much as I love it, I fear Frozen and Mean Girls will outlive The Band’s Visit.

I’m seeing mostly (5) plays (mostly revivals) in June. And of the four musicals I’ll see, I’m seeing three revivals and only one new show (Spongeob). I tend to see new stuff when I make it to NYC.

If the new season fails to excite, I’ll likely see more plays again (a recent anomaly) in November plus my favorite musicals (DEH, TBV, Hamilton, Wicked) over new musicals. And thus, I’ll become part of the tourist problem, although unwillingly. Vicious circle.

Last thought: maybe part of the problem is viewing anything that is less than a box office mammoth as a failure even if it has a respectable run. With that pressure, investors will likely support less inventive , lower quality over shows that will possibly appeal to the repeat tourist customer.

However, although I’m at risk of sounding like a Debbie Downer, I may not be a broadway historian, but I’d say there is still a lot of excellence to be found on Broadway.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 5:11pm

Impossible2 said: "I got 3rd and 4th row centre aisle seats for Angels for $92 each from Tkts so I would hold off."

That’s awesome! Thanks for the info! Were you able to buy seats for both performances at the same time or did you have to return to the booth to buy your ticket for the part 2?

[Jessetenny]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 5:13pm

Miles, you should definitely consider seeing Pretty Woman, I saw it in Chicago and thought that is was splendid with a star-making performance from Samantha Barks. She is worth the price of admission alone.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 5:16pm

Jessetenny - So far, buzz hasn’t excited me but if reviews are good, I might change my mind. I don’t believe it opens until after my June trip which is already filled up with shows. I will try to keep an open mind about November. I never thought I’d want to see SpongeBob but yet it’s on my list in June.

[Impossible2]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 5:35pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Impossible2 said: "I got 3rd and 4th row centre aisle seats for Angels for $92 each from Tkts so I would hold off."

That’s awesome! Thanks for the info! Were you able to buy seats for both performances at the same time or did you have to return to the booth to buy your ticket for the part 2?"

I went Thursday and Friday nights so no I had to buy them separately, but it wasn't a big deal.

Thursday I was Row C left hand centre aisle seat and Friday I was Row D right hand centre aisle seat.

Most of Lane's scenes are stage right and Garfield's are stage left so it was a nice mix of seeing both up close.

 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 5:48pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Jessetenny - So far, buzz hasn’t excited me but if reviews are good, I might change my mind. I don’t believe it opens until after my June trip which is already filled up with shows. I will try to keep an open mind about November. I never thought I’d want to see SpongeBob but yet it’s on my list in June."

Go see Pretty Woman just for the opera scene. Allison Blackwell is worth the price admission alone. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/7/18 at 6:51pm

OOTI has not, contrary to what seems like popular belief in some quadrants, been barely breaking even. Except for a handful of frames, it has consistently been in the red. 

Re the comparison on Angels and 3TW, note that the former has 50% more seats to sell.