So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
camncal
Stand-by Joined: 12/20/07
#1So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:39pmI know it's closing, but it's been making decent money during its run. Not sure how much it cost to put the show on every week. With the tour happening next year, on its way to flop or recoup?
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#2re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:41pmFLOP
#2re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:45pmIt's gonna make a boatload/tidal wave/flood/other sea-themed pun of money on tour, but on Broadway it was a flop.
#3re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:45pmWhat do fish do out of water?
camncal
Stand-by Joined: 12/20/07
#4re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:47pmwhy do people think it's going to make more money on tour than it did on Broadway?
#5re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:47pmThank you for your water themed comments... they were very much appreciated!
fgreene1938
Leading Actor Joined: 10/25/06
#6re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:47pmOn paper it will be considered a flop because it's doubtful it will have recouped its initial investment. But....ever since the 1970s, most shows don't recoup. Costs and unions have driven the costs of running a musical through the roof. In the 1960s, a show could run for 4-6 months and return a profit. That's rare now. Titanic and Ragtime each ran for two years and lost money. Jeckyll and Hyde ran for 3 1/2 years and lost money. In the past decade: Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty, Urinetown, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Light in the Piazza, Tarzan...all rans for over a year and still lost money. It's the nature of the beast these days, sad to say.
#7re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 7:58pmLight in the Piazza was non-profit.
#8re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 8:01pmStupid question time: Considering that many, if not most shows on Broadway are financial flops, what incentive is there to produce or put money into shows?
#9re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 8:01pmI don't remember, Did [title of show] recoup?
#10re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 8:45pmHow much did it cost/was invested? it seemed to made quite a bit of dough in the 2 years it was on Broadway... Updated On: 7/29/09 at 08:45 PM
TheatreDork2
Leading Actor Joined: 7/21/09
#11re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 8:49pm
What do fish do out of water?
Ride on heelies!
#12re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 8:51pmThose freaking heelies! Those were my least favorite part of the show... not sure why I resent them so much haha.
blaxx
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/05
#13re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/29/09 at 9:33pm
In the past decade: Thoroughly Modern Millie, The Full Monty, Urinetown, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Light in the Piazza, Tarzan...all rans for over a year and still lost money. It's the nature of the beast these days, sad to say.
Sorry love, Full Monty and Urinetown turned a profit.
#14re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 12:18am
Stupid question time: Considering that many, if not most shows on Broadway are financial flops, what incentive is there to produce or put money into shows?
Because it's fun. Producers love producing and investors love going to opening night. Nobody invests in a Broadway show if they can't afford to lose the entire investment. (Really. It's in the legal paperwork. They have to sign that they can afford to lose it.)
And on the rare occasion the show does become a hit, everybody stands to make a LOT of money. If you invest in twenty STORY OF MY LIFEs and just one WICKED, you're set for life.
Everything in life is only for now. ~ Avenue Q
There is no future, there is no past. I live this moment as my last. ~ Rent
#15re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 12:56amUnless you're Cameron Mackintosh and you invest in Phantom, Cats, Les Miz and Miss Saigon and then your children's children are set for life.
BrianS
Broadway Star Joined: 10/8/07
#16re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 8:49am
"why do people think it's going to make more money on tour than it did on Broadway?"
Because there are a lot more people who will pay $480 to take their family of four to see it in their hometown who can't afford the $2000+ total cost of seeing it in NYC with all the other expenses of traveling to a big city.
#17re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 9:01am
^
In addition to eliminating the costs of NYC, tour tickets can often be a little cheaper (around $60-$80).
#18re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:33amAnd, out in the hinterlands, they don't know or care that the production received atrocious reviews in New York. It's a recognizable title produced by a family-friendly company, and that's all that will matter.
#19re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:45amI'm finally seeing this on Saturday..you guys are bumming me out.
AndAllThatJazz22
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/8/08
#20re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:47amNot that I'm saying this will happen with TLM, but didn't Aida recoup a month before closing?
-Danmeg's 10 year old son.
#21re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:50amNo, Aida recouped before that. When it finally closed, Aida had made Disney a healthy little $12 million profit.
AndAllThatJazz22
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/8/08
#22re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:51amWell...never mind then.
-Danmeg's 10 year old son.
#23re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 11:59am
Variety reports AIDA recouped in the 2002-03 season. Show did not close until September 5,22004 - a year and a half later.
As for LITTLE MERMAID, given it's pre-opening costs and the many weeks it was just breaking even, there is not a lot of extra to pay down the debt.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
#24re: So is The Little Mermaid considered a flop?
Posted: 7/30/09 at 12:12pmDoes the lawsuit payout get factored into the show's costs?
Wanting life but never knowing how
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