Longest period of time a house box office record has been held

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/9/19 at 1:44pm

I just read the article on Aint too Proud breaking the Imperial box office record, which was previously held by Billy Elliot nearly a full decade earlier. That just seemed very long to and I was curious if there are any records that have held up longer.

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/9/19 at 6:11pm

I’m going to assume the Majestic Theatre and Phantom has that locked down considering they have occupied that theatre for over three decades and prices have gone up quite a bit since they opened in 1988.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 1:14pm

quizking101 said: "I’m going to assume the Majestic Theatre and Phantom has that locked down considering they have occupied that theatre for over three decades and prices have gone up quite a bit since they opened in 1988."

This doesn’t quite answer my question. Phantom has continually broken its own record over and over. I’m asking for the longest length of time between two records. 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 1:35pm

I'm frankly tired of these "records" being used as cheap press releases. Adjust prices for inflation and you'll see most of those records aren't really records. I'm not saying Beetlejuice isn't selling much better than say Rocky or Wolf Hall, but there is no way it's selling more actual tickets than Cats in its early prime. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 5:06pm

nasty_khakis said: "I'm frankly tired of these "records" being used as cheap press releases. Adjust prices for inflation and you'll see most of those records aren't really records. I'm not saying Beetlejuice isn't selling much better than say Rocky or Wolf Hall, but there is no way it's selling more actual tickets than Cats in its early prime."

Amen.  I was going to type the same thing,  but can getting-winded, so I didn't bother.  It is a totally meaningless measure.  I can still remember a full-page ad in the Times  over 50 years ago advertising that Baker Street (a pretty poorly reviewed musical about Sherlock Holmes) had broken the all-time Broadway record by breaking $100,000 for the first time ever.  Business fell pretty quickly, and the show ended up being a 6 or so month flop.  But, based on its initial advance, it managed to sell-out for a few weeks at higher pricers than the prior show.  At the time, the Broadway was the largest theatre on Broadway; if it sold out, at then current prices, it was going to break the all-time record.  The fact that it broken $100,000 for the first time, gave it a little additional drama).  Still a meaningless statistic.

Occasionally, I will look at Boxofficemojo.com to look any movie grosses.  One of its views is all-time domestic grosses, adjusted for inflation.  It looks dramatically different from the non-adjusted,and is a much more meaningful gauge.

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 8:03pm

It actually lasted about 9 months. Musically it was lacking but it was enjoyable. Fritz Weaver made a great Holmes. His opening number "It's So Simple" was the best in the score and set up the plot for the show .A Married Man was the only other song of note .Visually the show was striking. It may have played longer had it not been in the barn the Broadway is .

[Jarethan]

Posted: 12/10/19 at 9:31pm

Mr Roxy said: "It actually lasted about 9 months. Musically it was lacking but it was enjoyable. Fritz Weaver made a great Holmes. His opening number "It's So Simple" was the best in the score and set up the plot for the show .A Married Man was the only other song of note .Visually the show was striking. It may have played longer had it not been in the barn the Broadway is .
"

I agree that it had incredible scenery, especially IMO the Queen's parade.  I just thought that it was overall 'meh'.  One problem itwouldhave had in a smaller house was actually the scenery.  Alexander Cohen, who I thought of as a wanna-be David Merrick, wanted a big lavish musical and got it.  I think he thought that would make up for deficiencies in the score and book.