Broadway booms as ‘Book of Mormon’ recoups costs

As expected, the Thanksgiving frame was a profitable one for Broadway box offices. Through the week ending November 27, ticket sales surged by more than $5 million to reach a cumulative $28,086,477.

Ten out of 34 productions waltzed over the $1 million gross threshold, including three musicals that reached even rarer $2 million territory. “Wicked” led the trio at $2.2 million, while “The Lion King” and “Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark” each fell shy of the $2.1 million mark.

It was also a stellar frame for 2011 favorite “The Book of Mormon,” which had its biggest week yet with more than $1.6 million in ticket sales. With that, the irreverent tuner officially recouped its $11.4 million capitalization costs in just nine months, producers announced late yesterday, November 29.

One of the latest Broadway hits, “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway,” remained consistent through November 27. The Hollywood star’s revue made only slight gains over the earlier November 20 frame, but remained well above its potential at nearly $1.5 million.

Two recently opened plays in smaller Main Stem houses also had a hand in the holiday rush. “Seminar,” a dark comedy starring Alan Rickman, rocketed 68 percent to $420,181 last week. Meanwhile, Nina Arianda’s highly praised turn in “Venus in Fur” continued to draw audiences to the tune of $409,782 — a 10 percent week-over-week improvement.

But while some of the season’s newer productions managed to stand out from the pack, others failed to make an impact during the Thanksgiving frame.

Despite being toplined by Harry Connick Jr., ticket sales for previews of “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” slid 25 percent to $557,463 last week. Sales also dropped 12 percent for the fall-openers “Relatively Speaking” ($520,264) and “Private Lives” ($324,314).

All data provided by The Broadway League.