It was a good week on Broadway as box offices reported $18,701,222 in ticket sales. That’s an increase over both the previous reporting period of $18,593,843 and the same week last year, $18,282,467. Eleven weeks into the new season, box office numbers show an ever-decreasing gap between the previous year and now, just over 1 percent – and closing.

Six shows, Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre, The Lion King at the Minskoff, The Little Mermaid at the Lunt-Fontanne, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson, Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden and In the Heights at the Richard Rodgers posted more than $1 million in ticket sales. A Chorus Line at the Schoenfeld saw the biggest change from last week to this with an increase of nearly $51 thousand in revenue. Boeing-Boeing at the Longacre saw the largest drop in revenue, almost $33 thousand. Young Frankenstein at the Hilton is not reporting revenues.

Ten productions, all musicals, saw 95 percent or better attendance. Breaking that down, the play Thurgood at the Booth Theatre is catching fire with its audience; it saw almost a 15 percent increase in attendance over the previous reporting period, the largest increase of any production. Rent at the Nederlander Theatre and “A Chorus Line” posted the 2nd best increase, almost seven percent. Boeing-Boeing at the Longacre saw a seven percent drop in attendance, the biggest drop of any production.

Of the four plays currently running, August: Osage County at the Music Box maintains its lead at $564,656 in box office sales. The one special on Broadway, Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy at the Broadway Theatre, continues to do well with a small increase in attendance and ticket sales.

TFL and ATBS for ticketing professionals

The “Best Bargain” in ticket sales remains [title of show] at the Lyceum, with the lowest Average Paid Admission of $44.36. The highest in that category continues to be Jersey Boys at $113.18, with the Top Ticket price of $350.

“Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf” will be opening for previews on August 19 at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Opening night is set for Sept.8. “A Tale of Two Cities” at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, the musical based on the novel by Charles Dickens will also be opening for previews August 19 with its opening night happening on September 18.

AddThis Story to Your Favorite Social Bookmarking Site!

Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
Week Ending August 10, 2008

Production
(Theatre)
Weekly Gross Total Atten. Prev. Perf. Total Capacity Avg. Ticket Price Atten. %
A Chorus Line
(Schoenfeld)
$565,734 8,054 0 8 1,069 $70.24 94.2%
August: Osage County
(Music Box)
$564,656 6,559 0 8 979 $86.09 83.7%
Avenue Q
(Golden)
$326,979 5,053 0 8 796 $64.71 79.3%
Boeing-Boeing
(Longacre)
$451,831 6,633 0 8 1,077 $68.12 77.0%
Chicago
(Ambassador)
$572,586 8,059 0 8 1,080 $71.05 93.3%
Cirque…Fantasy
(Broadway)
$532,620 9,444 0 8 1,742 $56.40 67.8%
Grease
(Atkinson)
$692,042 8,149 0 8 1,072 $84.92 95.0%
Gypsy
(St. James)
$738,215 10,019 0 8 1,707 $73.68 73.4%
Hairspray
(Neil Simon)
$689,133 10,322 0 8 1,428 $66.76 90.4%
In the Heights
(Rodgers)
$1,014,387 10,718 0 8 1,344 $94.64 99.7%
Jersey Boys
(August Wilson)
$1,115,096 9,852 0 8 1,222 $113.18 100.8%
Legally Blonde
(Palace)
$872,303 12,016 0 8 1,691 $72.60 88.8%
Mamma Mia!
(Winter Garden)
$1,071,486 12,136 0 8 1,498 $88.29 101.3%
Mary Poppins
(New Amsterdam)
$995,632 13,704 0 8 1,797 $72.65 95.3%
Rent
(Nederlander)
$564,086 8,361 0 8 1,181 $67.47 88.5%
South Pacific
(Beaumont)
$904,316 8,316 0 8 1,041 $108.74 99.9%
Spamalot
(Shubert)
$633,359 9,382 0 8 1,441 $67.51 81.4%
Spring Awakening
(O’Neill)
$428,491 6,347 0 8 1,090 $67.51 72.8%
The 39 Steps
(Cort)
$278,772 4,917 0 8 787 $56.70 78.1%
The Lion King
(Minskoff)
$1,326,825 13,232 0 8 1,654 $100.27 100.0%
The Little Mermaid
(Lunt-Fontanne)
$1,132,182 12,088 0 8 1,518 $93.66 99.5%
The Phantom of the Opera
(Majestic)
$902,042 12,643 0 8 1,617 $71.35 97.7%
Thurgood
(Booth)
$288,550 5,254 0 8 780 $54.92 84.2%
[title of show]
(Lyceum)
$157,123 3,542 0 8 922 $44.36 48.0%
Wicked
(Gershwin)
$1,534,964 14,472 0 8 1,809 $106.06 100.0%
Xanadu
(Hayes)
$347,813 4,443 0 8 596 $78.28 93.2%
Vivid Seats ad with text your ticket to mindblowing over a vivid seats logo