Box office returns this past week totaled $17,964,429, which exceeded the same week last season of $17,382,117, but did not compare well to last week’s take of $18,558,743. However, overall numbers for the season, $373,237,228, still outstrip the same period last season of $365,448,719. These figures do not include Young Frankenstein playing at the Hilton, which is not reporting its totals. The top four moneymakers with over a million in ticket sales continued to be Wicked at the Gershwin, The Lion King at the Minskoff, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson and Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden.
Gypsy at the St. James saw the largest dollar increase in ticket sales compared to last week, a modest $67,497 while Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam saw the largest drop of $70,362. Meanwhile, Chicago at the Ambassador saw the largest increase in attendance, more than 10 percent over last week, while All My Sons at the Schoenfeld saw the biggest drop, more than 12 percent in spite of its opening this past week.
Two new productions in previews, Speed the Plow at the Ethel Barrymore and Billy Elliot at the Imperial, swelled the number of productions to 30 this past week, balancing the closing of “Legally Blonde.” In addition, To Be or Not to Be at the Friedman (formerly the Biltmore) and “All My Sons” enjoyed Opening Night festivities on the 14th and 16th respectively. “Speed the Plow” will officially open this week on October 23. Nine of the 30 current productions are plays.
When looking at the Best Buy according to Average Paid Admission, both 13 at the Jacobs and The 39 Steps at the Cort tie at $52. “Jersey Boys” continues to have the highest Average Paid Admission at almost $114 a ticket, followed closely by South Pacific at the Beaumont.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending October 19, 2008
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. % |
| 13 (Jacobs) |
$228,202 | 4,317 | 0 | 8 | 1,042 | $52.86 | 51.8% |
| A Man For All Seasons (American Airlines) |
$217,909 | 3,708 | 0 | 6 | 740 | $58.77 | 83.5% |
| A Tale…Cities (Hirschfeld) |
$413,877 | 6,235 | 0 | 8 | 1,420 | $66.38 | 54.9% |
| All My Sons (Schoenfeld) |
$655,663 | 7,137 | 3 | 5 | 1,052 | $91.87 | 84.8% |
| August: Osage County (Music Box) |
$472,334 | 5,483 | 0 | 8 | 979 | $86.15 | 70.0% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$302,304 | 4,661 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $64.86 | 73.2% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$731,471 | 6,860 | 5 | 0 | 1,421 | $106.63 | 96.6% |
| Boeing-Boeing (Longacre) |
$406,478 | 6,241 | 0 | 8 | 1,085 | $65.13 | 71.9% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$566,662 | 7,865 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $72.05 | 91.0% |
| Equus (Broadhurst) |
$704,999 | 7,292 | 0 | 8 | 1,206 | $96.68 | 75.6% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$485,689 | 6,754 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $71.91 | 78.8% |
| Gypsy (St. James) |
$742,890 | 10,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,707 | $69.09 | 78.7% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$473,148 | 7,888 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $59.98 | 69.0% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$836,060 | 9,054 | 0 | 8 | 1,344 | $92.34 | 84.2% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,125,080 | 9,884 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $113.83 | 101.1% |
| Legally Blonde (Palace) |
$655,896 | 11,062 | 0 | 8 | 1,691 | $59.29 | 81.8% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$1,053,099 | 12,025 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $87.58 | 100.3% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$693,835 | 10,437 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $66.48 | 72.6% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$923,928 | 8,309 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $111.20 | 99.8% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$498,146 | 7,239 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $68.81 | 62.8% |
| Speed the Plow (Barrymore) |
$367,137 | 5,965 | 8 | 0 | 1,058 | $61.55 | 70.5% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$347,393 | 5,436 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $63.91 | 62.3% |
| The 39 Steps (Cort) |
$245,688 | 4,646 | 0 | 8 | 787 | $52.88 | 73.8% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,188,374 | 12,586 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $94.42 | 95.1% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$780,759 | 9,864 | 0 | 8 | 1,518 | $79.15 | 81.2% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$768,854 | 11,495 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $66.89 | 89.0% |
| The Seagull (Walter Kerr) |
$521,033 | 6,860 | 0 | 8 | 947 | $75.95 | 90.5% |
| To Be…Be (Friedman) |
$126,040 | 2,317 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $54.40 | 44.6% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,431,479 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $98.91 | 100.0% |