Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 9/18/22- Page 2

[quizking101]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 4:14pm

I do think people are forgetting these grosses are reflective of Broadway Week sales and they fact that some of these shows are pulling in these numbers when the prices are literally half off is quite a feat.

I was super worried that ASL’s would’ve gone down with the Broadway Week sales (especially with balcony seats being $25 apiece), but it seems to be back on an upswing after a middling August and I love to see it!

[JSquared2]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 4:16pm

kwoc91 said: "No noticeable bump in grosses at Hadestown even though last week was Lillias White's first week as Hermes. Not a great sign.

 

Anyone who thought that Lillias would have an effect at the box office is delusional.

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 5:19pm

kwoc91 said: "No noticeable bump in grosses at Hadestown even though last week was Lillias White's first week as Hermes. Not a great sign."

Did you actually think that would happen?? Lillias is great but she wasn't going to have any impact on the box office.

Phantom already showing a small bump with the Friday closing announcement. Its numbers will SOAR in the coming months.

Happy for Julie Benko/Funny Girl but I imagine that number has more to do with people already buying tickets for Lea and choosing not to exchange/refund.

Great final week for Dear Evan Hansen. Moulin Rouge seems to be trending back in the right direction.

[kwoc91]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 5:34pm

Mr. Wormwood said: "kwoc91 said: "No noticeable bump in grosses at Hadestown even though last week was Lillias White's first week as Hermes. Not a great sign."

Did you actually think that would happen?? Lillias is great but she wasn't going to have any impact on the box office.

No, I didn't. As a couple others have posted, we'll see if things improve after Broadway Week sales are over. I adore the show but I don't see a long future for it on Broadway unless things turn around soon. They haven't had a $1M grosses week since May.

 

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 6:32pm

kwoc91 said: "Mr. Wormwood said: "kwoc91 said: "No noticeable bump in grosses at Hadestown even though last week was Lillias White's first week as Hermes. Not a great sign."

Did you actually think that would happen?? Lillias is great but she wasn't going to have any impact on the box office.

No, I didn't. As a couple others have posted, we'll see if things improve after Broadway Week sales are over. I adore the show but I don't see a long future for it on Broadway unless things turn around soon. They haven't had a $1M grosses week since May.

"

Oh I agree with that. I just don't think the trajectory and future of the show has anything to do with Lillias White.

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 6:47pm

Should we be worried about the state of Broadway, or do you all think enough interesting shows are coming in that it's fine?

[Mr. Wormwood]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 7:24pm

hearthemsing22 said: "Should we be worried about the state of Broadway, or do you all think enough interesting shows are coming in that it's fine?"

I think overall we're still in a for a little bit of a lean stretch but there are still plenty of hits playing and exciting titles coming in. Broadway will be fine. It just won't be at 2019 levels for awhile.

[BETTY22]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 8:04pm

This Funny Girl number without Lea is HUGE.....WOW!

[Auggie27]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 8:57pm

Thank you. Broadway Week is a factor here. Woods - to its credit - has been able to welcome more families and expand its audience via affordability. The term “affordability” relative here. If every September offered the two for one the whole month, it might be a wonderful element of the seasonal start. I say that knowing economics are unpredictable. But one reality: straight plays that do no star the Brodericks are a tougher sell. Every drama is ending up on TDF.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 9/20/22 at 9:02pm

With inflation still high and most families needing to pinch pennies more and more, Broadway is becoming a luxury now. Ticket prices are up and the average American can't afford those tickets unless there's a decent discount.

[Lot666]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 8:59am

Phantom almost made it into the Million Dollar Club. 

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 9:06am

Lot666 said: "Phantom almost made it into the Million Dollar Club."

Closing got announced on Friday, over halfway into this past week. I predict we're going to be seeing Phantom well above the Million Dollar Club for the next several months.

[Wick3]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 9:22am

ACL2006 said: "With inflation still high and most families needing to pinch pennies more and more, Broadway is becoming a luxury now. Ticket prices are up and the average American can't afford those tickets unless there's a decent discount."

To me, Broadway has always been a form of luxury, not a necessity. I agree ticket prices have gone up but not at the same rate as household income.

As long as producers and investors are willing to put shows on Broadway, I think it’ll be fine. 

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 9:26am

I don’t think there’s any reason to worry. Shows come and go. Some do amazing numbers and some flop majorly. This is all part of a healthy Broadway cycle. I think what we might start to see is shows with much smaller capitalizations and running costs. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 9:32am

I feel like long runners are starting to become a thing of the past. Shows can only sustain local audiences for so long, and tourism will be down for the foreseeable future. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 11:37am

InTheBathroom1 said: "I don’t think there’s any reason to worry. Shows come and go. Some do amazing numbers and some flop majorly. This is all part of a healthy Broadway cycle. I think what we might start to see is shows with much smaller capitalizations and running costs."

When one of my favorite shows closed on Broadway, a family member said the same thing to me. It's the circle of Broadway. Shows close so new ones can open. While some of the closures mark the end of an era, maybe a new one can be ushered in. 

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 11:44am

Small cap & running cost is easier said than done. Especially when it comes to musicals. It adds up quick. “Union members don’t work for free,” Covid testing is thousands of dollars a week, and labor & materials are only going up with inflation.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 11:59am

Right. The fact that some of the smaller shows are almost $20 million is wild. 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 12:31pm

Tickets are very expensive and people don't want to pay those prices for the majority of shows. There are few discounts. So, I would say there is a problem. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/21/22 at 8:17pm

Sutton Ross said: "Tickets are very expensive and people don't want to pay those prices for the majority of shows. There are few discounts. So, I would say there is a problem."

Obviously "people don't want to pay those prices," but it is silly and painfully naive to suggest that there is a problem for "the majority of shows" based on ticket prices. For the shows with high demand (i.e., that people ARE willing to buy expensive tickets), there is no problem and the law of supply and demand regulates the prices of "the majority." And if a show tries to ignore this phenomenon (e.g., Mr. Saturday Night, early on), it gets schooled quite quickly about its self-inflicted "problem." 

[cwilliams]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 4:27pm

I wonder how long Phantom will extend. Miss Saigon played about a month longer, I think Les Miz extended for a couple months, would not be shocked if Phantom played into late spring

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 4:40pm

Someone I follow on Twitter suggested the league should include gross potential in the weekly gross reports again. I thought I would ask the board. Is there any counter argument to not include it? The tweet


I like seeing gross potential because it gives a gauge into how much the production needs to make in order to be above their operating costs. Not saying all gross potentials do this, but if a show is below 75% constantly it’s a pretty good indicator they aren’t in a good place. 

I know, technically, one could find out the gross potential themselves for each show, but it would be a very tedious task.

Updated On: 9/22/22 at 04:40 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 9/22/22 at 5:23pm

^Yeah, I occasionally find myself missing them too. Like you, I sometimes used them to estimate a show's running cost, and also see when they were raising and lowering prices (as opposed to just offering discounts). 

In particular, I remember being fascinated by Cursed Child as a case study; they would drastically alter their prices week-to-week, selling last-minute tickets at rock-bottom prices, without appearing to offer "discounts" (because technically, there were "full priced" tickets, just very cheap). So they maintained a 100% Potential Gross, by moving their own goalposts. And then, when assessing the show's financial situation, you could pretty much guess that their running cost had to be lower than, say, $950K, because how no producer in their right mind would allow their maximum potential gross to be lower than their running cost. 

That's the sort of interesting insight/analysis a potential gross can provide. 

Updated On: 9/22/22 at 05:23 PM