This week’s Broadway ticket sales continued the recent downward trend, dropping slightly to $19,700,245 for the week ending December 21 compared to $19,744,753 the previous week. Both amounts were also down from the same week last season of $21,099,860. Overall, the bottom line still exceeds last year at this time: $538,611,876 compared to $492,002,269 but it must be remembered those figures are colored by the stagehands strike last November. Figures do not include Young Frankenstein, playing at the Hilton Theatre, which does not report its sales.
Million-dollar makers this past week saw a change in the line-up: for the first time in well over a year, Wicked, playing at the Gershwin, was surpassed by another production, Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, playing at the Marquis. In third place was Billy Elliott: The Musical at the Imperial, in fourth place was The Lion King at the Minskoff, and in fifth was Jersey Boys at the August Wilson theatre.
Of the eight plays currently on Broadway, All My Sons at the Schoenfeld led the pack. The Seagull at the Walter Kerr had the second largest draw of the plays but closed on the 21st. Equus at the Broadhurst ranked third in ticket sales.
Looking at attendance, “Wicked” enjoyed the biggest draw filling 100 percent of its seats, followed by “Jersey Boys,” “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” and “Billy Elliott: The Musical.” David Mamet’s play, Speed-the-Plow at the Barrymore dropped almost 20 percent with the exit of star Jeremy Piven. An understudy has replaced him but William H. Macy will take the role in mid-January to late-February. More surprising: “Liza’s at the Palace” dropped a whopping 26 percent from the previous week’s report, the biggest change of any production. Conversely, Shrek The Musical at the Broadway saw the largest increase, up 18 percent over the previous reporting period.
Opening this week on the 18th at Studio 54 was Pal Joey, a tried-and-true crowd pleaser. Those who haven’t yet seen “Young Frankenstein” have just a couple of weeks left: it will close on Jan. 4 along with “13.”
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) |
$262,235 | 4,281 | 0 | 8 | 1,042 | $61.26 | 51.4% |
| All My Sons (Schoenfeld) |
$548,461 | 6,884 | 0 | 8 | 1,052 | $79.67 | 81.8% |
| August: Osage County (Music Box) |
$265,384 | 3,795 | 0 | 8 | 979 | $69.93 | 48.5% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$311,379 | 5,068 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $61.44 | 79.6% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,207,766 | 11,105 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $108.76 | 97.7% |
| Boeing-Boeing (Longacre) |
$292,332 | 5,012 | 0 | 8 | 1,077 | $58.33 | 58.2% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$415,309 | 5,897 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $70.43 | 68.3% |
| Dividing the Estate (Booth) |
$279,275 | 4,426 | 0 | 8 | 780 | $63.10 | 70.9% |
| Equus (Broadhurst) |
$428,700 | 5,640 | 0 | 8 | 1,206 | $76.01 | 58.5% |
| Grease (Atkinson) |
$518,148 | 7,039 | 0 | 8 | 1,072 | $73.61 | 82.1% |
| Gypsy (St. James) |
$386,230 | 6,103 | 0 | 8 | 1,707 | $63.29 | 44.7% |
| Hairspray (Neil Simon) |
$579,777 | 9,614 | 0 | 8 | 1,428 | $60.31 | 84.2% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$747,753 | 8,067 | 0 | 8 | 1,344 | $92.69 | 75.0% |
| Irving…White Christmas (Marquis) |
$1,588,859 | 14,248 | 0 | 9 | 1,611 | $111.51 | 98.3% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,073,697 | 9,657 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $111.18 | 98.8% |
| Liza’s…Palace (Palace) |
$584,637 | 5,833 | 0 | 5 | 1,701 | $100.23 | 68.6% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$884,603 | 11,102 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $79.68 | 92.6% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$746,659 | 10,466 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $71.34 | 72.8% |
| Pal Joey (Studio 54) |
$345,057 | 6,147 | 3 | 5 | 1,004 | $56.13 | 76.5% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$845,606 | 9,804 | 0 | 8 | 1,739 | $86.25 | 70.5% |
| Slava’s Snowshow (Hayes) |
$265,207 | 3,049 | 0 | 8 | 578 | $86.98 | 65.9% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$922,124 | 8,251 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $111.76 | 99.1% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$646,303 | 9,811 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $65.88 | 85.1% |
| Speed the Plow (Barrymore) |
$326,559 | 4,285 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $76.21 | 50.6% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$436,407 | 7,080 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $61.64 | 81.2% |
| The 39 Steps (Cort) |
$186,126 | 3,232 | 0 | 8 | 787 | $57.59 | 51.3% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,112,488 | 11,215 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $99.20 | 84.8% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$795,283 | 9,195 | 0 | 8 | 1,518 | $86.49 | 75.7% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$715,481 | 10,041 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $71.26 | 77.7% |
| The Seagull (Walter Kerr) |
$483,214 | 6,317 | 0 | 8 | 947 | $76.49 | 83.4% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,499,186 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $103.59 | 100.0% |