FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#1FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:13pm
This piece from Lee Seymour might be the bleakest assessment I've read of the current Broadway landscape. As expected, it's really bad for all but the biggest hits. Here are some highlights from the piece:
THE GOOD:
– At Six, the average ticket price is around $200, with premium seats topping out at $499.
– General consensus among industry veterans is that Wicked, Hamilton, The Lion King, Hadestown, and Company are all in strong financial health.
– The upcoming Thanksgiving holiday should give most shows a boost, especially now that international travel restrictions have been eased; overseas tourists once accounted for one-fifth of Broadway buyers. And the Christmas-New-Years frame should be even better.
THE BAD:
– “Joyless,” is how one seasoned producer described the industry for those not working on megahits. “We’re all exhausted. And winter’s only going to be worse, unless you’re one of, like, seven shows. I’ve seen numbers for others, and some aren’t even grossing six figures. It’s awful.”
– Several producers who have been waiting to launch new plays have decided to hold off even longer, aiming for the fall of 2022 rather than the spring. “I’ve seen enough,” said one. “We can’t keep pretending that we’re back to normal. The audience just isn’t there yet for a lot of us. There is absolutely no reason not to postpone until the market signals it’s ready.”
– “This winter will be bad,” said one producer attached to several shows aiming for Broadway in 2022. “A lot of theaters will be sitting empty. So let them sit. We all need to reflect and be super intentional about our plans. We can’t rush into the spring the way a lot of us rushed into the fall.”
– Buyers are more discerning about how they emerge from their pandemic shells. If they can’t get a ticket to Hamilton, they’re not going to pivot and see Diana instead, simply because it’s also on Broadway.
#2FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:21pm
Looks like we are on track to see many short-notice closings once SVOG money runs out in the New Year.
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#3FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:27pm
As expected, the juggernauts are doing well. The shows likely in danger are Diana, Mrs. Doubtfire, TINA, Chicago, Ain't Too Proud, Girl From the North Country, Mockingbird, plus any plays.
A Chorus Line revival played its final Broadway performance on August 17, 2008. The tour played its final performance on August 21, 2011. A new non-equity tour started in October 2012 played its final performance on March 23, 2013. Another non-equity tour launched on January 20, 2018. The tour ended its US run in Kansas City and then toured throughout Japan August & September 2018.
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#4FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:41pm
NUMBERS BY COMPARISON
Weekly Operating Costs
The smallest of plays will cost between $275K and $400K per week to run. Musicals and bigger plays could cost between $500K and $1M per week to run, depending on how large the show is and how many people are on payroll. That's excluding the initial capitalization costs, which range from $2.5-5M for plays and $10M+++ for musicals.
Weekly Grosses
Here are a few isolated weeks from box office disasters, for comparison: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS ($91K per week in its best week, 6.19% gross potential); RUBEN & CLAY ($100K per week, 11.7% gross potential); A DOLL'S HOUSE PART 2 ($90K per week, 13.7% gross potential).
Here are a few isolated weeks from big hits the week of February 23, 2020, for comparison: HAMILTON ($2,763,624, 106%); DEAR EVAN HANSEN ($1,120,039, 85% of gross potential); MOCKINGBIRD ($1,417,185, 100%)
#5FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:43pm
Good thing Jeremy will save Broadway with “Slave Play” sure to sell out the Wilson every night.
Moreski93
Understudy Joined: 7/20/18
#6FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:46pm
Jordan Catalano said: "Good thing Jeremy will save Broadway with “Slave Play” sure to sell out the Wilson every night."
I mean I’ve already got tickets but I missed it the first time around…
#7FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:51pm
nothing in that article that has not been rehearsed here repeatedly. "No news is no news."
barcelona20
Broadway Star Joined: 1/19/08
#8FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 12:57pm
I wonder if Six will have the highest ROI ever for a Broadway show
#9FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:00pm
Disturbing news yet not totally unexpected. I was thinking of heading to NYC Nov 28-30 for my birthday. Hotel prices were much higher than I expected and ticket prices for matinees on Sunday were pretty steep for shows I’m on the fence about.
adotburr
Broadway Star Joined: 10/6/21
#10FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:05pm
David10086 said: "Disturbing news yet not totally unexpected. I was thinking of heading to NYC Nov 28-30 for my birthday. Hotel prices were much higher than I expected and ticket prices for matinees on Sunday were pretty steep for shows I’m on the fence about."
If you can wait to buy tickets for shows closer to the day you want to see them, the prices should drop a good amount. Even stubhub resellers too. Not sure discounts because it might be during a blackout period.. what shows are you thinking about?
she/her . “everything’s legal in new jersey”
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#11FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:11pm
barcelona20 said: "I wonder if Six will have the highest ROI ever for a Broadway show"
That's pretty impossible to calculate. But SIX will likely recoup by the end of 2021, a major feat for the post-COVID world. The NYT reported in 2020 that it cost $5M to mount, and the FORBES piece indicates it's making ~$1.7M a week at the box office.
Sutton Ross
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/13
#12FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:17pm
“We can’t keep pretending that we’re back to normal. The audience just isn’t there yet for a lot of us. There is absolutely no reason not to postpone until the market signals it’s ready.”
100%
barcelona20
Broadway Star Joined: 1/19/08
#13FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:24pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "barcelona20 said: "I wonder if Six will have the highest ROI ever for a Broadway show"
That's pretty impossible to calculate. But SIX will likely recoup by the end of 2021, a major feat for the post-COVID world. The NYT reported in 2020 that it cost $5M to mount, and the FORBES piece indicates it's making ~$1.7M a week at the box office."
Wow, that's incredible if it cost $5m to mount. Amazing how a show with virtually no sets and a small cast and orchestra costs $5m these days.
RippedMan
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/14/05
#14FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:25pm
Yeah, I was looking to fly in to see some shows and with the plane flight and hotel costs, it's just going to cost too much. The flight is crazy expensive, the hotels are insane, so I can't imagine most tourists are able to spend that kind of money during the holidays.
#15FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:25pm
It hurts to see this assessment but it’s needed and totally unsurprising by any stretch. Going into any Broadway theatre, you will either see a full house or barely half full.
Some Examples:
Chicken & Biscuits - Full during an early preview, but barely 35% full during a recent Saturday night performance. Status: Closing November 28th
Ain’t Too Proud - Nearly full house on a Thursday night, thought the base tickets were considerably lower than they used to be (Rear Mezz was $39). It’s also a safe option for the bridge and tunnel crowd, so they may hold up on that.
American Utopia - Saturday matinee. Balcony is closed but the rest of the house, save for some extreme sides of the mezzanine, were full. It’s running through March and likely cheaper than most to run, but having the simulcast on HBO Max could hurt it.
SIX - Full house on a Monday night and the tickets are $$$$. Goes without saying this one is safe for a LOOOOOONG time.
I also saw Girl From The North Country and Thoughts of a Colored Man, but I don’t have a good enough idea to make an assessment. I do know the latter recently did a HUUUGEE media push on multiple talk shows in NYC, but I doubt it helped in a lifesaving capacity. Even one of the cast told me that “you should probably get back before January” when I said I wanted to come see it again.
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#16FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 1:32pm
Something I find even stranger now than I did before reading this article, is the lack of papering for these under-performing shows. There’s one or two that have taken advantage of it, but for the majority of the others I haven’t seen them paper at all. One of the main pros to utilizing those services is that you not only fill your seats, but you (hopefully) generate buzz for your show. If productions are bleeding money so badly and are NOT taking advantage of filling their seats and the free first-person marketing, I think that’s just stupid on their part.
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#17FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 2:31pm
Every producer has their own philosophy on papering. One school of thought is that it's very hard to bring your ticket prices back up when you start papering, and it doesn't help WOM that much. Or, as with TINA, they're trying to show that "the only price available is full-price."
It's likely that many shows are papering to friends & family of the production, instead of through a service.
SharksVsJets
Stand-by Joined: 4/22/17
#18FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 2:59pm
I haven't seen any mention of Come From Away. Does anyone know how it's doing?
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#19FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 3:27pm
SharksVsJets said: "I haven't seen any mention of Come From Away. Does anyone know how it's doing?"
It is currently on TDF. Looking at this week on Telecharge, the sides and rear of the orchestra have a lot of inventory, and the mezz is maybe 10% full. So, not great...but not as dire as some other shows. It appears there is still an appetite for some full-priced and premium tickets.
The filmed version kills repeat viewing, I think. I might have considered going back because I saw it early in the run, but then I watched it on Apple TV+. I don't need to see it live again.
#20FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 3:57pm
@RippedMan, regarding flights; if an airport near you flys Allegiant, they’ve recently added tons flights to Newark which is an excellent airline to fly for very cheap, nonstop to NYC. I have been able to get nonstop flights for under $100 which allows me way more opportunities to travel back to the city for a long weekend than I would have done prior to Allegiant now going to Newark. Granted, when you fly Allegiant, it dictates what days your trip is as from where I live it only flys too and from Newark on Thursdays and Mondays.
Updated On: 11/17/21 at 03:57 PM
#21FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 4:09pm
thou the article doesn't mention either production specifically, just based on my own personal assessments while visiting both shows lately, i would assume --
Moulin Rouge is most definitely in a nice financially sound position
Jagged Little Pill.......... not so much
Slotted spoons don't hold much soup
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#22FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 4:14pm
The8re phan said: "Moulin Rouge is most definitely in a nice financially sound position
Jagged Little Pill.......... not so much"
Yes those seem to be correct assumptions. I question JAGGED's viability into 2022.
BwayStarlette
Chorus Member Joined: 9/27/21
#23FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 5:33pm
Is Slave Play coming back because they got this SVG grant money? What other reason would it come back? I'm so confused by it all! (I do hope it will be running so I can finally see it when I'm in NY in February).
Fosse76
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/21/05
#24FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 5:46pm
ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "SharksVsJets said: "I haven't seen any mention of Come From Away. Does anyone know how it's doing?"
It is currently on TDF. Looking at this week on Telecharge, the sides and rear of the orchestra have a lot of inventory, and the mezz is maybe 10% full. So, not great...but not as dire as some other shows. It appears there is still an appetite for some full-priced and premium tickets.
The filmed version kills repeat viewing, I think. I might have considered going back because I saw it early in the run, but then I watched it on Apple TV+. I don't need to see it live again."
A lot of the unavailable seats you see on Telecharge are comp seats. Only Saturday eve. ever comes close to selling out.
ErmengardeStopSniveling
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
#25FORBES on the bleakness of Broadway box office right now: Some Broadway shows are grossing under $100K per week
Posted: 11/17/21 at 6:05pm
BwayStarlette said: "Is Slave Play coming back because they got this SVG grant money? What other reason would it come back? I'm so confused by it all! (I do hope it will be running so I can finally see it when I'm in NY in February)."
There is ZERO sane financial reason why Slave Play is reopening, considering it didn't make money its first time around and won no Tony Awards (not that the Tonys would have made a major impact on its sales). I don't believe they got SVOG money? It had already closed when Broadway shut down.
In any event, it will not be running when you come to NY in February. It is a strictly limited two-month run through January 23. FUNNY GIRL is the August Wilson Theatre's next tenant.
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