The post-summer slump arrived on Broadway in full force last week as students returned to school and tourists returned home. Main Stem box office receipts plunged $4 million from the previous week, down to $14,305,209 for the week ending September 11.
Nearly every show on the boards took a hit in both gross and attendance after Labor Day, a traditionally difficult frame for New York City theatre. Overall attendance was down to 164,570 for the week, with about 40,000 fewer theatre patrons seated compared to the week ending September 4.
Despite the downturn, the week did reveal one big winner as “The Book of Mormon” ($1,293,582) clearly defined itself as Broadway’s sure bet. The cheeky musical by “South Park” masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone was the only Main Stem show playing to full houses through September 11, and its gross was up 1.6 percent.
Though slight, those gains were enough to put “Book” in second place for the week — just $6,000 behind the week’s leader “The Lion King” ($1,299,169), and $40,000 ahead of usual heavyweight “Wicked” ($1,253,990).
Despite their million-dollar draws, overall grosses for “The Lion King” and “Wicked” were down 18 and 21 percent, respectively. Several other productions were even harder hit: “Mary Poppins” and “The Addams Family” both reported 35 percent decreases for the week ending September 11.
While “Hair” closed its limited engagement September 10 up nine percent to $368,039, Broadway’s newer entries also felt the effects of the seasonal slump. The revival of “Follies” opened September 12 down about 8 percent, though attendance had increased nearly 5 percent over the previous week.
Meanwhile, the Frank Langella vehicle “Man and Boy” began previews September 9. Its five weekend curtains drew a collective $98,634 with the American Airlines Theatre reported around 62 percent capacity. The extremely limited engagement opens October 10 and closes November 27.
All data provided by The Broadway League.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
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| Production (Theatre) |
Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| Anything Goes (Sondheim) |
$732,228 | 7,287 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $100.48 | 88.8% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$492,525 | 6,533 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $75.39 | 57.5% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$428,329 | 5,573 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $76.86 | 64.5% |
| Follies (Marquis) |
$743,353 | 10,574 | 8 | 0 | 1,557 | $70.30 | 84.9% |
| Hair (St. James) |
$368,039 | 6,773 | 0 | 8 | 1,737 | $54.34 | 48.7% |
| How to Succeed… (Hirschfeld) |
$757,240 | 8,351 | 0 | 8 | 1,424 | $90.68 | 73.3% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$806,153 | 8,007 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $100.68 | 81.5% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$585,783 | 7,764 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $75.45 | 64.8% |
| Man and Boy (American Airlines) |
$98,634 | 2,246 | 5 | 0 | 728 | $43.92 | 61.7% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$492,889 | 7,705 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $63.97 | 53.6% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$523,501 | 7,138 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $73.34 | 60.7% |
| Priscilla…Desert (Palace) |
$547,180 | 7,199 | 0 | 8 | 1,690 | $76.01 | 53.2% |
| Rock of Ages (Hayes) |
$228,571 | 3,159 | 0 | 8 | 583 | $72.36 | 67.7% |
| Sister Act (Broadway) |
$463,035 | 6,733 | 0 | 8 | 1,493 | $68.77 | 56.4% |
| Spider-Man…Dark (Foxwoods) |
$1,197,278 | 12,702 | 0 | 8 | 1,930 | $94.26 | 82.3% |
| The Addams Family (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$405,770 | 6,789 | 0 | 8 | 1,519 | $59.77 | 55.9% |
| The Book of Mormon (O’Neill) |
$1,293,582 | 8,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,068 | $147.80 | 102.4% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,299,169 | 12,345 | 0 | 8 | 1,677 | $105.24 | 92.0% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$644,832 | 8,545 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $75.46 | 66.1% |
| War Horse (Beaumont) |
$943,131 | 8,202 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $114.99 | 95.9% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,253,990 | 12,193 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $102.85 | 84.3% |
