Financial successes, closing as financial losses?

Call_me_jorge said: "Im curious about examples of musicals making back their initial investment, but ended up losing it by the time they closed.
I could see mamma Mia being a prime example of this. Im sure that theatre change didnt come with a low cost."

In no way did Mamma Mia offset years of huge grosses after moving to the Broadhurst. Even if it lost some money post move, it had made and distributed so much to its investors that they became richer.

There have been situations where shows stayed open longer than they should have and burned through profit that hadn't yet been returned to investors (either pre-recoupment or post-recoupment). That's why some shows close before things get really dire. Band's Visit seems like one of those. Other shows try to ride it out and hope that biz improves, dipping into profit to cover losses as needed.

But, like Hogan said, once the money has been distributed to the investors, the production can't take it back. Money gets distributed at the discretion of the lead producer/general manager. Pre-recoupment, often in ~ 20% increments. Post-recoupment for a running hit, 4-6 x/year.

Updated On: 2/16/19 at 01:07 AM