Finance: The Musical! - fortune.com

[Rob]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 9:54am

http://www.fortune.com/fortune/articles/0,15114,549275,00.html

I think we've all said enough about Rosie and Taboo, but some interesting stats about the financial successes (and loss) of a few other shows.

Happy Turkey Day,
R

[Horsey!!!]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 10:05am

Love is the answer to the world's anger.

Love,

Horsey

[KB]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 11:32am

It surprised me how much Movin' Out has made so quickly. I'd be interested in seeing the same date on other current shows. Is it publicly available anywhere?

[krisjoseph]

Posted: 11/27/03 at 12:05pm

What's misleading about that chart is that it only lists "launch cost", eschewing information on operating cost (and thereby giving an accurate picture of the total cost of the production). Oddly enough, they point out themselves that the cost of operating a show averages $430,000 a week... but they didn't factor that into their figures.

Using that "average":
- Aida has PROFITED about $75 million
- Movin' Out has PROFITED about $10 million
- The Producers has PROFITED about $50 million
... and so on.

(Hmm. No wonder Disney likes keeping Aida open...)

Since the operating cost is an average, these figures could be totally wrong. Many of the bigger shows have a weekly nut closer to $600 000.

Updated On: 11/27/03 at 12:05 PM