Has There Been A Bigger Hit Than Wicked?- Page 3

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 8:25am

Princeton Returns - I am a fan of "Wicked" and I am not a teenager. Maybe I am a little biased since Stephen Schwartz went to the same HS as me - lol. My daughters saw it when they were teenagers and loved it, still do now that they are in their early twenties. They have been to probably about 30 Broadway shows and "Wicked" is definitely in their top five with musicals like "Phantom" and "Les Miserables".

[DEClarke]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 9:29am

According to Box Office Revnues, as of April 2012, THE LION KING became Broadway's top-grossing production ever. Its box-office total of $853 million surpassed that of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, now in its 25th year and still Broadway's long-run champ. So, I would say that those two shows are bigger hits than WICKED.

I don't know though. All three are shows with lots of spectacle that draw large audiences.

I guess it really depends on what you mean by hit...

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 9:51pm

Doesn't it mean biggest box office success? *confused* I don't think anyone's discussing, here, succs d'estimes.

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 7/14/12 at 10:00pm

I am a bit surprised that an apparent Phantom fan would even ask this question in the first place. Surely he or she already knew the answer.

[Mark_E]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 5:08am

Only Phantom and LK have Grossed more than Wicked.

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 8:33am

But box-office is based on the price of tickets at the time. If you look at movies the all time money maker is Avatar but the one that sold the most tickets is Gone With the Wind so while Wicked and Lion King may close in dollar wise on Phantom the latter has still sold more tickets then both of them.

And as the original question I think both Cats and Phantom were bigger cultural impacts then Wicked. When Cats first was on tour people camped outside ticket centers for days to get tickets. It was a show so perfectly in tune with the culture of the time i.i outrageous make-up, dance, leg warmers, the textures on the costumes. People were wearing the t-shirts because it was IN not because they saw the show. Like it to not it it WAS the show to see for quite some time, and still does astonishing business in countries where it first opens and still tours 30 years later. Both Cats and Phantom had songs that crossed over onto the music charts and had music videos being played. So is Wicked a huge hit? Yes. Is it the biggest? not by a long shot.

[finebydesign]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 12:35pm

I'm going to suggest it's better to look at "profit" rather than specifically box office. Look at the return on investment.

Wicked has a LONG way to go to catch up with the likes of Phantom. As Wicked rolls out with a feature film and eventual regional/amateur productions look for real money to start rolling in. The show itself may clear a weekly profit, but that is fixed. There is def money in the touring, sit down productions but the whole thing is risky business.

The film could easily bring in a huge global box office, but the budget has to be low-ish to make a profit. Or it could tank like say Rent.

[metropolis10111]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 3:13pm

I personally think RENT tanked because the show itself was such a piece of it't time that passed. Much like the film of HAIR (which when I become ruler of the world will be banned along with Brad and Angelina) was more a nostalgia piece by the time the film got to the big screen. But RENT was a better film of the show then HAIR was... gross

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 7/15/12 at 5:53pm

"Wicked recieves more hype, and there is a much more energetic feel in the theatre at Wicked than in Phatom or Les Mis."

I disagree. When I first saw Les Mis and Phantom in New York, what shocked me the most is how the audience hooted and hollered and cheered like they were at a rock concert.

I've seen Phantom in New York over 40 times since then, and just this summer there were still people cheering when Christine and Raoul kissed at the end of Act I, and when the chandelier goes up (ok ok maybe the ushers instigate that applause but still).

I think it's pretty cool that people can get so jazzed about theater--whether or not you think Phantom and Wicked are examples of high or low culture, it's wonderful that people are into them.

Now applause at dolphin shows? That depressed the hell out of me.