Broadway Journal: Water for Elephants running cost $960,000 per week — Page 2

Would a show like this require a larger insurance premium to account for all the circus risks?

Does anyone know if this was an issue for the last Pippin revival?

bwaydreamer said: "Bobster159 said: "Whilst Elephants is eye-watering, it's also kind of amazing that Gutenberg is costing nearly $650K. I'm sure the stars are getting a decent chunk, but it shows just how expensive it is to turn the lights on in a Broadway theater these days (and advertise the fact you've turned the lights on!)."



Gutenberg is $650K!!?!? That is wild! I'm sure the two of them are making around 100k a week but where is the other $450K coming from? In the end I think it was a good gamble because they are making almost a million a week but wow that is high for a two man show."

Two of the biggest costs are theatre rental (which includes ushers/box office etc.) and advertising. Gutenberg is in a mid-sized theater so has mid-sized theater costs, the size of the actual show doesn't matter. They also have to fill that many seats (and quickly as they haven't had much time to build word of mouth) which requires a hefty ad budget. I'd wager as much as half their weekly costs are the theater and advertising.

Bobster159 said: "Two of the biggest costs are theatre rental (which includes ushers/box office etc.)"

Not entirely correct.The Shuberts charge a percentage of the Gross Box Office Receipts, with a minimum amount required, per week (whichever is higher, and it appears to be a standard amount in all their Agreements, no matter the theater or show). At best, I guess you could call that the rental payment. However, that is pure profit for the Shuberts, as it doesn't include any costs. Payroll, taxes, insurance, utilities, union benefits, etc. are all separate payments from the Gross Box Office receipts.

They also have a "service package charge," though is not clear what that is (my best guess is it relates to Box office/Telecharge, since it gets lowered if the box office opens prior to load in).

Believe it or not, none of the above fees include Infrared usage, air conditioning, or captioning. They are also separate.

Gutenberg is in a mid-sized theater so has mid-sized theater costs, the size of the actual show doesn't matter. They also have to fill that many seats (and quickly as they haven't had much time to build word of mouth) which requires a hefty ad budget. I'd wager as much as half their weekly costs are the theater and advertising."

I'm not sure who wasn't aware that neither Josh Gad nor Andrew Rannels have any public recognition, so at best they really would only attract theatergoers. The advertising budget must be pretty high to compensate for this lack of oversight.

Updated On: 11/7/23 at 08:48 PM

Fosse76 said:

I'm not sure who wasn't aware that neither Josh Gad nor Andrew Rannels have any public recognition, so at best they really would only attract theatergoers. The advertising budget must be pretty high to compensate for this lack of oversight."

Josh Gad has 1.3 Million followers on Instagram, was a voice in a MAJOR Disney franchise and was in ANOTHER Live Action Disney movie that made over a Billion dollars, has a show on Peacock and Apple TV+ and was just on a HBO show for two seasons.

Andrew Rannells has half a million followers on Instagram, was on GIRLS for five years, was a main character on a Showtime series for 3 years, is on Big Mouth which is a huge hit for Netflix, is currently on Girls5Eva

You thinking Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells have zero public recognition past theater audiences is highly laughable and clueless