Broadway proved its resilience once again, bouncing back this week from a low the previous reporting period. This week’s box offices ticket sales totaled $17,125,791 compared to last week’s $15,656,656. The same week last season saw gross receipts of only $11,070,673. Overall, the season to date has shined with this current season totals of $423,228,950 while last season saw ticket sales of $410,292,971.
Once again, three mega productions lead the pack in ticket sales of over a million; Wicked at the Gershwin, newcomer Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Imperial and Jersey Boys at the August Wilson. Leading plays were All My Sons at the Schoenfeld followed by Equus at the Broadhurst.
Showing impressive gains in audience attendance this week were Spamalot at the Shubert (17 percent), Spring Awakening at the O’Neill, Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam, and 13 at the Jacobs. The Little Mermaid at the Lunt-Fontanne showed the biggest dollar increase of any production, $168,000 over last week, as well as an almost 16 percent increase in attendance.
The musical, A Tale of Two Cities at the Hirschfeld, closed its short run on Nov. 9 but other newcomers, currently in previews, are preparing for Opening Night. Look for “Billy Elliott,” opening Nov. 13, David Mamet’s play American Buffalo opening at the Belasco on Nov. 17, the play Dividing The Estate at the Booth opening Nov. 20, and Shrek The Musical opening at the Broadway on Dec. 14.
Speaking of “Shrek,” a new Broadway production marketing tool makes its appearance in the form of a social networking website. According to BroadwayWorld, fairy tale characters will populate the pages, allowing young Shrek fans to interact with the characters. It remains to be seen if it will have a significant effect on ticket sales.
Coming up soon will a musical about Betty Boop, the cartoon character created by Max Fleischer. A shocker in the 30s, the producers plan to open at a Nederlander Theatre in the 2010-2011 season. The book is by Oscar Williams and Sally Robinson, and music by Canadian David Foster with more details still to come.
Lastly, two more venerated Broadway hits head for the movies: the rights for Tracy Lett’s play August: Osage County have been acquired by the Weinstein Company and the rights for In The Heights have been acquired by Universal Studios.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending November 9, 2008
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. % |
| 13 (Jacobs) |
$290,271 | 5,016 | 0 | 8 | 1,042 | $57.87 | 60.2% |
| A Man For All Seasons (American Airlines) |
$288,148 | 5,202 | 0 | 8 | 738 | $55.39 | 88.1% |
| A Tale…Cities (Hirschfeld) |
$334,069 | 5,272 | 0 | 8 | 1,420 | $63.37 | 46.4% |
| All My Sons (Schoenfeld) |
$700,917 | 7,895 | 0 | 8 | 1,052 | $88.78 | 93.8% |
| American Buffalo (Belasco) |
$205,474 | 4,129 | 8 | 0 | 1,018 | $49.76 | 50.7% |
| August: Osage County (Music Box) |
$369,338 | 4,556 | 0 | 8 | 979 | $81.07 | 58.2% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$262,480 | 4,399 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $59.67 | 69.1% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,074,139 | 10,287 | 8 | 0 | 1,421 | $104.42 | 90.5% |
| Boeing-Boeing (Longacre) |
$315,756 | 5,225 | 0 | 8 | 1,085 | $60.43 | 60.2% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$469,518 | 6,790 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $69.15 | 78.6% |
| Dividing the Estate (Booth) |
$210,786 | 5,002 | 8 | 0 | 780 | $42.14 | 80.2% |
| Equus (Broadhurst) |
$515,313 | 5,895 | 0 | 8 | 1,206 | $87.42 | 61.1% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$480,013 | 6,522 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $73.60 | 76.0% |
| Gypsy (St. James) |
$593,242 | 8,634 | 0 | 8 | 1,707 | $68.71 | 63.2% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$479,565 | 8,231 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $58.26 | 72.1% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$778,208 | 8,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,344 | $88.92 | 81.4% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,074,054 | 9,480 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $113.30 | 97.0% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$916,788 | 11,284 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $81.25 | 94.2% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$686,993 | 10,797 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $63.63 | 75.1% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$169,720 | 1,632 | 1 | 0 | 1,739 | $104.00 | 93.8% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$920,876 | 8,295 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $111.02 | 99.6% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$521,003 | 7,949 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $65.54 | 69.0% |
| Speed the Plow (Barrymore) |
$512,398 | 6,287 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $81.50 | 74.3% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$340,295 | 5,471 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $62.20 | 62.7% |
| The 39 Steps (Cort) |
$196,517 | 3,580 | 0 | 8 | 787 | $54.89 | 56.9% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$994,362 | 11,289 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $88.08 | 85.3% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$767,754 | 9,544 | 0 | 8 | 1,518 | $80.44 | 78.6% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$661,758 | 9,932 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $66.63 | 76.9% |
| The Seagull (Walter Kerr) |
$505,477 | 6,019 | 0 | 8 | 947 | $83.98 | 79.4% |
| To Be…Be (Friedman) |
$127,452 | 2,299 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $55.44 | 44.2% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,363,108 | 13,665 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $99.75 | 94.4% |
