The financial picture on Broadway continues to look anemic although not in the proportions of the rest of the economy. At $17,209,275 this past week, it actually exceeds the same week last season of only $17,019,420, though it is down slightly from last week’s gross of $17,964,429. Overall ticket sales for the season still exceeds that of last season, $390,446,503 to $382,468,139.

Wicked at the Gershwin, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson and The Lion King at the Minskoff continued to lead the pack in highest grosses. Boosting excitement was the much-anticipated opening to previews of Billy Elliot: The Musical, playing at the Imperial. It grossed $865,000, close to its potential of $875,000 and filled about 95 percent of seats. Opening night is scheduled for November 13.

There are no less than ten plays on Broadway, a bumper crop to make the hardiest theatergoer salivate, fully one third of all productions. This week, patrons enjoyed an opening night on October 23 at the Barrymore of Speed the Plow by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet, directed by Neil Pepe. Not to be outdone, a new production of the play Dividing the Estate, by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote, opened to previews on Oct. 23 at the Booth Theatre with opening night celebrations scheduled for November 20. Comparing potential earnings with actual for the week, All My Sons at the Schoenfeld finished with about $740,000 out of a possible $817,000 or 95 percent capacity. That’s an increase of $84,000 over the previous reporting period. It surpassed all other plays but was followed closely by The Seagull at the Walter Kerr earning $554,000, at 94 percent. Equus at the Broadhurst dropped revenue for the second week in a row, down almost $82,000.

Suffering from a lack-luster reception from critics, the comedy To Be or Not To Be is languishing at the Friedman with less than half its seats filled and falling short of its potential earnings of $470,000, taking in only $134,000 this week.

Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending October 26, 2008
All data provided by The Broadway League

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Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
Week Ending October 26, 2008

Production
(Theatre)
Weekly Gross Total Atten. Prev. Perf. Total Capacity Avg. Ticket Price Atten. %
13
(Jacobs)
$224,799 4,074 0 8 1,042 $55.18 48.9%
A Man For All Seasons
(American Airlines)
$291,182 5,164 0 8 740 $56.39 87.2%
A Tale…Cities
(Hirschfeld)
$396,391 6,132 0 8 1,420 $64.64 54.0%
All My Sons
(Schoenfeld)
$739,653 8,079 0 8 1,052 $91.55 96.0%
August: Osage County
(Music Box)
$452,359 5,343 0 8 979 $84.66 68.2%
Avenue Q
(Golden)
$303,309 4,637 0 8 796 $65.41 72.8%
Billy Elliot
(Imperial)
$864,793 8,068 6 0 1,421 $107.19 94.6%
Boeing-Boeing
(Longacre)
$381,707 6,121 0 8 1,085 $62.36 70.5%
Chicago
(Ambassador)
$541,548 7,892 0 8 1,080 $68.62 91.3%
Dividing the Estate
(Booth)
$109,674 2,454 4 0 780 $44.69 78.7%
Equus
(Broadhurst)
$623,280 6,801 0 8 1,206 $91.65 70.5%
Grease
(Atkinson)
$473,889 6,462 0 8 1,072 $73.33 75.3%
Gypsy
(St. James)
$707,279 10,107 0 8 1,707 $69.98 74.0%
Hairspray
(Neil Simon)
$507,564 8,731 0 8 1,428 $58.13 76.4%
In the Heights
(Rodgers)
$794,948 8,919 0 8 1,344 $89.13 83.0%
Jersey Boys
(August Wilson)
$1,111,741 9,773 0 8 1,222 $113.76 100.0%
Mamma Mia!
(Winter Garden)
$982,407 11,513 0 8 1,498 $85.33 96.1%
Mary Poppins
(New Amsterdam)
$670,876 10,402 0 8 1,797 $64.49 72.4%
South Pacific
(Beaumont)
$920,904 8,313 0 8 1,041 $110.78 99.8%
Spamalot
(Shubert)
$498,368 7,418 0 8 1,441 $67.18 64.3%
Speed the Plow
(Barrymore)
$412,873 5,960 4 4 1,058 $69.27 70.4%
Spring Awakening
(O’Neill)
$313,872 4,931 0 8 1,090 $63.65 56.5%
The 39 Steps
(Cort)
$246,699 4,595 0 8 787 $53.69 73.0%
The Lion King
(Minskoff)
$1,078,472 11,894 0 8 1,654 $90.67 89.9%
The Little Mermaid
(Lunt-Fontanne)
$715,977 9,276 0 8 1,518 $77.19 76.4%
The Phantom of the Opera
(Majestic)
$737,901 11,218 0 8 1,615 $65.78 86.8%
The Seagull
(Walter Kerr)
$554,417 7,142 0 8 947 $77.63 94.3%
To Be…Be
(Friedman)
$133,903 2,417 0 8 650 $55.40 46.5%
Wicked
(Gershwin)
$1,418,491 14,377 0 8 1,809 $98.66 99.3%