Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 7/30/17- Page 2

[HenryTDobson]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 4:59pm

With Ingrid's success in Great Comet, maybe she could move on down the Broadway itinerary and jump into Waitress, which I'm sure would love another star.

[Hank]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 5:18pm

When I first came upon this board, the million dollar club was a big deal.  Now a days it seems to be the norm.  Glad for the shows, but ouch to my credit card.

 

[chuckydisc]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 5:24pm

10086Sundays said: "That's quite a drop for A Doll's House, Pt 2. Looks like it'll become a prime example of what Tony wins can do for a show, but only until the winners leave. Those are brutal numbers if they continue for the rest of the extension."

I had read this message skeptically at first as I had merely seen the above written "down 15.9%" which, in my mind wasn't bad at all for week one of non-OBC but to my shock when I looked at the actually-important number, weekly revenue, and saw that it was down 56% I thought OH CRAP!

I will definitely concur with others ... attendance numbers don't mean **** to actual show viability if you're giving away your seats.  NO way revenue goes down so much compared to attendance without extreme papering!

 

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 5:52pm

Glad Indecent is going out strong. Slim pickings for the final week, I think there's an outside chance it can crack 700k.

[JayG 2]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 6:13pm

So Dolly did 102% and a huge per ticket number. So does that mean Tuesday nights are selling out with Donna Murphy??

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 6:58pm

Glad Dolly is up, Sunday was a Donna performance so it's lovely to see how audiences seem to love her. 

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 7:20pm

Also it's hard to see Bandstand, GC, and War Paint lasting past September, as sad as it is. Bandstand and GC were always overlooked jewels of shows; War Paint is obviously not drawing anyone in.

[chernjam]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 9:52pm

It's incredible to see how in March - there were what - 34 shows running. By Labor Day, I won't be shocked if Comet, Groundhog, War Paint and even Miss Saigon at this point are gone and it's down to 24

[Wick3]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 11:06pm

JayG 2 said: "So Dolly did 102% and a huge per ticket number. So does that mean Tuesday nights are selling out with Donna Murphy??"

I think this was due to scheduling. This past week, Hello Dolly didnt' have a Tuesday evening performance but had a Sunday evening one instead. I went last night to see Donna and orchestra was definitely packed! 

 

[Auggie27]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 11:07pm

Isn't "Bandstand" still running in the black?  Since the Tony's? They fell again, but they've met their break even. It must be all about September numbers. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 11:07pm

Wick3 said: "I think this was due to scheduling. This past week, Hello Dolly didnt' have a Tuesday evening performance but had a Sunday evening one instead. I went last night to see Donna and orchestra was definitely packed! "

Maybe they should switch it to Sunday nights? I know I would love to see Donna as Dolly, but rather tack it on a day where I can see something else, too. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 11:31pm

10086Sundays said: "That's quite a drop for A Doll's House, Pt 2. Looks like it'll become a prime example of what Tony wins can do for a show, but only until the winners leave. Those are brutal numbers if they continue for the rest of the extension.

 Last week, I predicted that its grosses would go down at least $300K this week, and got a lot of sh*t.  It is even worse than that.  My reasoning was exactly what you stated here.  ADHP2 came from nowhere; and, although the show got excellent reviews, it didn't win the Tony, Metcalfe did, and everyone focused on Metcalfe's reviews and Tony.  Metcalfe leaves, then we discover how much interest there is in a drama led by someone is not a name, despite her Tony win almost a decade ago.

It is such a discouraging scenario for the future of non-musicals on Broadway (not intending to suggest this is a new idea...just that it seems to get worse each year).  Sweat wins the Pulitzer Prize and it can't get any business out of it.  Indecent at least gets a reprieve, but had to win 2 Tony's just before closing to convince the producers to take a chance with a small extension.  Significant Other -- worse.  It didn't help of course that it seemed like every decent drama the entire season opened within a very short-term window because, absent stars, Tony wins were critical.

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/31/17 at 11:44pm

chernjam said: "It's incredible to see how in March - there were what - 34 shows running. By Labor Day, I won't be shocked if Comet, Groundhog, War Paint and even Miss Saigon at this point are gone and it's down to 24"

Believe it or not, in the late 60s - 70s, it was pretty standard to have less than 20 shows opened by Labor Day (and, because there was not much tourism to speak of, it was common for the marginal shows to close on Memorial Day, not Labor Day).  The worst I can remember was one summer in which only 13 shows were still open by the end of the summer, not all musicals amazingly.  But that was in the days when Neil Simon usually had at least one show open at all times.

[Lot666]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 8:09am

ChildofEarth said: "Still amazed at Come From Away. I hear so very little and see so little marketing and publicity and yet..."

And it has no "star" casting. If a show is good, sometimes word of mouth is all you need.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 1:01pm

Lot666 said: "ChildofEarth said: "Still amazed at Come From Away. I hear so very little and see so little marketing and publicity and yet..."

And it has no "star" casting. If a show is good, sometimes word of mouth is all you need.

 

I don't always think it is a case of good or bad, but I agree with you on word of mouth.  Just because something is good doesn't guarantee it will get good word of mouth.  If that were the case, wouldn't Sondheim have had some longer runs in there?  There was always a sizable segment of the occasional-but-regular theatergoing public who just don't like Sondheim, cold and high-brow being commonly used to dismiss his work. 

Back to CFA, I probably thought that TGC was a better show, but I enjoyed CFA more, and recommended it to people who I knew would like it.  I generally kept my mouth shut on TGC because I wasn't sure that many of the people I know would like it..  

CFA got all the publicity because of its story, and I thought they did a very good job; but it's success was also due to the fact that it was -- starting point subject matter aside -- a simple entertainment about doing good for people, whether you know them or not.  When all is said and done, TGC will fail because -- good as it is  -- it is just a little too unconventional for the occasional theatre goer.  It probably would have been more successful had it found a theatre off-Broadway and ensconced itself there.

I guess a message here...big, unconventional musicals are a big risk, and it is not just a question of good or bad.

 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 1:07pm

EVERY show is a risk.

[Rainah]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 1:44pm

Comet is also frightfully expensive. 900k is very good grosses for most shows

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 2:05pm

Rainah said: "Comet is also frightfully expensive. 900k is very good grosses for most shows"

The issue is the advance sales for after August 13, not now. If they were making $900K through September, there wouldn't be an issue.

[Rainah]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 2:23pm

haterobics said: "Rainah said: "Comet is also frightfully expensive. 900k is very good grosses for most shows"

The issue is the advance sales for after August 13, not now. If they were making $900K through September, there wouldn't be an issue."

True, but you can't say the high price doesn't affect the show. at 600k a week, CFA would be profitable. Comet would almost certainly not be. And if they were making more profit on the grosses, they'd be better able to weather a three-week dry spell until their big name starts in sept. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 2:27pm

Rainah said: "True, but you can't say the high price doesn't affect the show. at 600k a week, CFA would be profitable. Comet would almost certainly not be. And if they were making more profit on the grosses, they'd be better able to weather a three-week dry spell until their big name starts in sept."

I have no idea what their weekly nut is. Or if there is a big name coming in September. Only that no one knows who Pierre is after the 13th, and that sales are catastrophically low after that date.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 2:37pm

CFA's nut hovers around $400-450k. Comet's nut hovers around $800-850k. 

[Rainah]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 3:00pm

Liza's Headband said: "CFA's nut hovers around $400-450k. Comet's nut hovers around $800-850k. "

Thank you! I knew CFA's, but I couldn't get the info for Comet anywhere. Figured it had to be in that range

[Up In One]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 3:01pm

So why does Great Comet have such a high nut? Its essentially a transferred off Broadway show with a created enviornemnt vs a set that needs stage hands.  Does the remodeling require more back stage personnel for safety purposes? Or is it a larger cast and orchestra than usually found on B'Way?  Or is everyone including the musicians getting hazard pay for all those steps they have to maneuver?

[oncemorewithfeeling2]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 3:05pm

Comet has a H U G E cast. The lighting is incredible intricate and requires a highly skilled technician. The sound is another issue. The sound designer had a difficult job enduring that you're hearing everything well, whether you're in the last row of the mess or on stage. Technical elements of the show are not cheap.

[Rainah]

Posted: 8/1/17 at 3:19pm

Out of pure curiosity, how much does it cost to run Hamilton every week?