Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 8/11/24

The Notebook can't keep holding on much longer with those numbers, labor day closing?

W4E and Suffs also seem to be drying out...

Great closing week for Illinoise. Honestly a very respectable run, especially for being a last-minute addition. I hope they decide to tour it in some capacity.

Really hope SUFFS can hold on through the election as they’re counting on that.


I’m pleased to see Stereophonic continue to play to sold out houses!


As others have said, I can’t see The Notebook making it through the fall.

EDSOSLO858 said: "Illinoiseended real strong!

I do find it encouraging that grosses are up about 6.5% this season 12 weeks in, comparedto the last at this point. Granted, we’ve yet to experience the fall and winter slumps, but there’s also some BIG-TIME star power joining the boards as the weeks go by, and more still to be announced.

The disparity between the newer productions and pre-pandemic mainstays needs to be addressed, though.

I think the disparity is unfortunate, but I don’t see how you ‘address’ it. Tourists unfortunately want sure things, especially given ticket prices.


I am assuming that we are going to be hearing about The Notebook, WFE, BTTF and probably Suggs closing in the next month or two, unless one of them rebounds after Labor Day, the way MR did after its first season. Could see that being possible with Suffs, not the others.

Ironically, some of the people who invested in these shows which will lose money, were probably hoping for the next super-long-runner, so maybe we should be perversely happy that they run decade year after year / decade after decade.

Look like moving OUAM to Broadway may have been a mistake. Hope not.

Updated On: 8/13/24 at 02:08 PM

Suffs is an interesting question. On the one hand, I obviously get the election tie-in, but on the other there is an overload issue. With folks getting increasingly focused on the election IRT, the historical may take a back seat.

scripps said: "Not trying to be disparaging, but those BTTF numbers make me question how it will manage to get through the fall to the holidays. I was told by a solid source that Boop! was very interested in the Winter Garden, but when they announced the Broadhurst I thought well, BTTF is safe to continue skirting by (for now)."


If the running cost is indeed ~ $1 million a week, then they've made profit 44 weeks, lost money 9 weeks, and fell somewhere in the middle for about 8 weeks.

A first-week-of-January closing date would be a logical "get out before you lose major money" move. Even if it has some bad weeks this fall, it can probably make up for losses in the Thanksgiving to Christmas corridor. The real money for this show can be made on the road, where the houses are larger, it's on a subscription, and single-ticket buyers flock to this schlock.

I suppose they could try to stunt-cast Doc Brown, but I don't really see anyone except B-C listers finding that attractive. Some of the lower-tier SNL alums perhaps. At almost 86, Christopher Lloyd doesn't feel viable...had he wanted to do it, I'm sure they gladly would have let him open the show.

BOOP! landing at the Broadhurst is probably for the best.

OTHELLO is the rare play that could make a lot of money at the Imperial or Winter Garden.

Updated On: 8/13/24 at 03:20 PM

Suffs might get a boost if Harris wins the election. But it has to make it there and I also agree that folks seeing a Broadway show will largely want to avoid thinking about politics for a few hours.

Broadway Flash said: "I would say Suffs has that escapist qualitytoo. The comedy, the lovely melodies, the gorgeous costumes. It makes you want to live in that world. I would think outsiders would be much more off putting for people who don’t want politics."

I don't think a musical can be escapist while forcing you to reconcile with America's history, enjoyable as much of act one is. It cannot escape the post-Obama, early-Trump days of 2017-18 (even though it premiered years after that).

SUFFS offers a less accessible, more partisan, more political view of America's history than something like HAMILTON. SUFFS is and will always be a political show. HAMILTON's campaign does not wear politics on its sleeve, and neither do those other so-called "political" musicals.

Updated On: 8/13/24 at 05:17 PM

Broadway Flash said: "I would say Suffs has that escapist qualitytoo. The comedy, the lovely melodies, the gorgeous costumes. It makes you want to live in that world. I would think outsiders would be much more off putting for people who don’t want politics."

The issue is in framing. I hope to see Suffs if it’s open by my next trip, as I loved the cast album, but things like their Tony performance and the general marketing make it seem less escapist than it may be. Not that a Tony performance is make or break anyway, but Keep Marching out of context made it seem entirely didactic, and it may be an image they’re going to struggle to shed.

3/4 of the plays on Broadway currently are selling out. JOB is the odd show out here, unfortunately.