Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week Ending December 16, 2007
By Carol-Ann Rudy
It’s been a busy week on Broadway, and for further proof that the New York theater scene is back to normal following the stagehands strike five productions reached the million-dollar club again this week: Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Wicked, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid in that order. Most remarkable is The Little Mermaid, racking up an impressive $1,024,744 with 99% attendance, and it hasn’t even opened yet. That date, originally set for Dec. 6, is delayed to Jan. 10.
Looking at the current crop of plays on Broadway, Pygmalion closed its limited run on the 16th successfully, with 87% attendance and $304,814 returns. Cyrano de Bergerac is a hit with 95% attendance and the highest box office for a play of $945,061. The Homecoming’s Opening Night took place on the 16th; its box office scored poorest with just under 39% attendance and ticket sales of $165,679, in spite of glowing reviews from critics.
This past week’s total box office was $19,041,972, still shy of the same time last season’s total of $20,381,605 and down a little from last week’s figure of $19,709,594.
In other news, Broadway veteran Patty LuPone will star as the world’s most notorious stage mother in an upcoming revival of Gypsy next March at the St. James. And, another revival is also slated for 2008, West Side Story, which will mount sometime next year and will be directed by Arthur Laurents, who was one of the creators of the stage production of Gypsy. Congratulations to the latest version of A Chorus Line, which is celebrating its first year on Broadway. Another well-known name, Cindy Williams (Shirley in “Laverne & Shirley”), will make her debut on Broadway soon, assuming the role of Mrs. Tottendale in The Drowsy Chaperone.
All data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers
| Production (Theatre) |
Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| A Bronx Tale (Walter Kerr) |
$281,601 | 4,426 | 0 | 8 | 949 | $63.62 | 58.3% |
| A Chorus Line (Schoenfeld) |
$311,014 | 4,305 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $72.24 | 50.3% |
| August: Osage County (Imperial) |
$406,534 | 7,751 | 0 | 8 | 1,439 | $52.45 | 67.3% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$275,989 | 4,255 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $64.86 | 66.8% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$404,033 | 5,766 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $70.07 | 66.7% |
| Curtains (Hirschfeld) |
$571,132 | 7,119 | 0 | 8 | 1,422 | $80.23 | 62.6% |
| Cymbeline (Beaumont) |
$214,223 | 3,632 | 0 | 8 | 1,047 | $58.98 | 43.4% |
| Cyrano de Bergerac (Rodgers) |
$945,061 | 10,242 | 0 | 8 | 1,347 | $92.27 | 95.0% |
| Dr. Seuss’…Christmas (St. James) |
$1,572,719 | 20,425 | 0 | 15 | 1,706 | $77.00 | 79.8% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$692,636 | 7,270 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $95.27 | 84.8% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$643,865 | 8,732 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $73.74 | 76.4% |
| Is He Dead? (Lyceum) |
$202,357 | 4,083 | 0 | 8 | 922 | $49.56 | 55.4% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,263,204 | 9,834 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $128.45 | 100.6% |
| Legally Blonde (Palace) |
$613,438 | 7,988 | 0 | 8 | 1,691 | $76.79 | 59.0% |
| Les Miserables (Broadhurst) |
$538,977 | 7,864 | 0 | 8 | 1,122 | $68.54 | 87.6% |
| Mamma Mia! (Cadillac Winter Garden) |
$783,366 | 10,122 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $77.39 | 84.5% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$973,522 | 12,016 | 0 | 8 | 1,791 | $81.02 | 83.9% |
| Pygmalion (American Airlines) |
$304,814 | 5,168 | 0 | 8 | 740 | $58.98 | 87.3% |
| Rent (Nederlander) |
$199,907 | 4,018 | 0 | 8 | 1,181 | $49.75 | 42.5% |
| Rock ‘n’ Roll (Jacobs) |
$403,875 | 6,056 | 0 | 8 | 1,074 | $66.69 | 70.5% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$604,118 | 8,620 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $70.08 | 74.8% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$555,515 | 6,884 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $80.70 | 78.9% |
| The 25th…Bee (Circle in Square) |
$180,189 | 3,479 | 0 | 8 | 684 | $51.79 | 63.6% |
| The Color Purple (Broadway) |
$663,030 | 9,839 | 0 | 8 | 1,718 | $67.39 | 71.6% |
| The Drowsy Chaperone (Marquis) |
$336,058 | 5,069 | 0 | 8 | 1,611 | $66.30 | 39.3% |
| The Farnsworth Invention (Music Box) |
$289,972 | 4,542 | 0 | 8 | 1,005 | $63.84 | 56.5% |
| The Homecoming (Cort) |
$165,679 | 3,369 | 7 | 1 | 1,082 | $49.18 | 38.9% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,126,140 | 11,616 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $96.95 | 87.8% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$1,024,744 | 11,897 | 8 | 0 | 1,503 | $86.13 | 98.9% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$614,595 | 8,715 | 0 | 8 | 1,607 | $70.52 | 67.8% |
| The Seafarer (Booth) |
$238,605 | 4,590 | 0 | 8 | 780 | $51.98 | 73.6% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,449,240 | 14,420 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $100.50 | 99.6% |
| Xanadu (Hayes) |
$191,820 | 2,412 | 0 | 8 | 596 | $79.53 | 50.6% |
