Following strong numbers last week, Broadway ticket sales dip
The figures this week for the 34 productions on Broadway reflect a drop from the previous week: $22,980,756 compared to $25,312,358, but still a good week at the box office. When comparing ticket sales to last year at this point in the season, there is a 0.7 percent improvement, $548,670,020 to $545,110,905.
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas bounced up by $348,822, to post earnings of $1,101,858, placing it in sixth place in the million dollar winning productions. In order, those production were: Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot at the Imperial, The Lion King at the Minskoff, A Steady Rain at the Schoenfeld, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson, “White Christmas” at the Marquis and Hamlet at the Broadhurst.
Other shows improved their bottom line were the play God of Carnage at the Jacobs, the special Wishful Drinking at Studio 54, the play In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play) at the Lyceum and the musical Memphis at the Shubert.
David Mamet’s Race at the Barrymore opened December 6 and saw a 20 percent increase in attendance to reach 87 percent capacity and a corresponding increase in dollars. A Little Night Music at the Walter Kerr, still in previews, saw about a 6 percent increase in attendance and more than 95 percent capacity.
Not doing so well were Ragtime at the Neil Simon and Fela! at the Eugene O’Neill. Not helping matters for “Fela!” were the injuries suffered by three cast members, causing the show to close for the performance December 6. Performances were to resume December 8 for the exuberant production.
Upcoming: “A Little Night Music” will open December 13.
Closing on December 6 were “A Steady Rain”, “After Miss Julie”, “Hamlet” and “Oleanna”, all plays.
Please note: Beginning with the week ending May 31, 2009, “Gross” represents Gross Gross and “Attendance” represents Total Attendance. For every week prior to May 31, these numbers represent Net Gross and Paid Attendance respectively. The Broadway League took this into account when comparing this season’s figures to the previous season’s and made adjustments accordingly.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending December 6, 2009
All data provided by The Broadway League
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales | |||||||
| Production (Theatre) | Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| A Little Night Music (Kerr) | $789,409 | 6,230 | 7 | 0 | 931 | $126.71 | 95.6% |
| A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld) | $1,292,210 | 8,670 | 0 | 8 | 1,071 | $149.04 | 101.2% |
| After Miss Julie (American Airlines) | $280,046 | 5,255 | 0 | 8 | 740 | $53.29 | 88.8% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) | $1,426,947 | 11,107 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $128.47 | 97.7% |
| Burn the Floor (Longacre) | $305,958 | 4,802 | 0 | 8 | 1,044 | $63.71 | 57.5% |
| Bye Bye Birdie (Henry Miller) | $574,456 | 7,115 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $80.74 | 86.7% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) | $533,651 | 6,603 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $80.82 | 76.4% |
| Fela! (O’Neill) | $414,992 | 5,727 | 0 | 7 | 1,030 | $72.46 | 79.4% |
| Finian’s Rainbow (St. James) | $589,167 | 8,945 | 0 | 8 | 1,701 | $65.87 | 65.7% |
| God of Carnage (Jacobs) | $557,531 | 5,939 | 0 | 8 | 1,078 | $93.88 | 68.9% |
| Hair (Hirschfeld) | $662,516 | 7,257 | 0 | 8 | 1,412 | $91.29 | 64.2% |
| Hamlet (Broadhurst) | $1,001,280 | 9,052 | 0 | 8 | 1,174 | $110.61 | 96.4% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) | $569,442 | 6,901 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $82.52 | 63.2% |
| In the Next Room (Lyceum) | $226,704 | 4,135 | 0 | 8 | 899 | $54.83 | 57.5% |
| Irving…White Christmas (Marquis) | $1,101,858 | 9,853 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $111.83 | 76.3% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) | $1,226,872 | 9,872 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $124.28 | 101.0% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) | $950,139 | 10,044 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $94.60 | 83.8% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) | $808,624 | 9,997 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $80.89 | 69.5% |
| Memphis (Shubert) | $650,579 | 8,447 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $77.02 | 71.8% |
| Next to Normal (Booth) | $340,204 | 4,471 | 0 | 8 | 772 | $76.09 | 72.4% |
| Oleanna (Golden) | $163,737 | 3,284 | 0 | 8 | 804 | $49.86 | 51.1% |
| Race (Barrymore) | $495,519 | 7,387 | 7 | 1 | 1,058 | $67.08 | 87.3% |
| Ragtime (Simon) | $480,290 | 6,475 | 0 | 8 | 1,419 | $74.18 | 57.0% |
| Rock of Ages (Atkinson) | $593,113 | 6,175 | 0 | 8 | 997 | $96.05 | 77.4% |
| Shrek (Broadway) | $765,464 | 9,556 | 0 | 8 | 1,733 | $80.10 | 68.9% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) | $712,430 | 6,707 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $106.22 | 80.5% |
| Superior Donuts (Music Box) | $226,785 | 3,824 | 0 | 8 | 991 | $59.31 | 48.2% |
| The 39 Steps (Hayes) | $179,841 | 2,820 | 0 | 8 | 589 | $63.77 | 59.8% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) | $1,356,260 | 12,586 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $107.76 | 95.1% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) | $712,935 | 8,282 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $86.08 | 64.1% |
| The Royal Family (Biltmore) | $148,120 | 3,508 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $42.22 | 67.5% |
| West Side Story (Palace) | $949,646 | 9,916 | 0 | 8 | 1,697 | $95.77 | 73.0% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) | $1,535,600 | 13,698 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $112.10 | 94.7% |
| Wishful Drinking (Studio 54) | $358,435 | 5,762 | 0 | 8 | 1,004 | $62.21 | 71.7% |
