Winter blues set in this past week, ending January 11, as theatergoers returned to work, school or home, which caused gross ticket sales on Broadway to dip to $15,896,575, a considerable drop from last week’s high of $25,690,834. Overall, the season at this point still beats the same time last season: $605,506,896 to $556,536,896.
Only six plays and 17 musicals currently remain on Broadway; of these, four are still million-dollar producers. They are: Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot: The Musical at the Imperial, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson and The Lion King at the Minskoff. Of the plays, “All My Sons at the Schoenfeld was the biggest moneymaker followed by Equus at the Broadhurst. Seeing the largest drop in ticket sales this week were Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam, a difference of $540,668 from last week, followed by “The Lion King” posting a drop of $525,290 from the previous week.
Eight productions are still enjoying more than 95 percent attendance. Leading the pack in increased audiences over the previous reporting period are two plays, “All My Sons” at the Schoenfeld with more than a six percent jump, but the show closed over the weekend, and August: Osage County at the Music Box with more than a five percent increase.
Opening at the Friedman on the 22nd will be “The American Plan,” the play by Richard Greenberg and directed by David Grindley. It is set in the Catskills in the ‘60s.
Closing their doors on the 11th after successful runs on Broadway were “Gypsy” at the St. James and “Spamalot” at the Shubert. “Wicked” at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles also closed its doors on the 11th. According to Variety, the L.A. production grossed more than $145 million and registered more than 1.8 million admissions after 791 performances and 12 previews. It will move to the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco and begin performances on January 27.
Coming to Broadway: the comedy by Eugene Ionesco’s “Exit The King” at the Barrymore Theatre in a 20-week limited engagement this spring. It is directed by Neil Armfield and stars Geoffrey Rush as King Berenger. Susan Sarandon will play the role of Queen Marguerite, making her Broadway debut. Look for previews to begin March 7 with a March 26 opening.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending January 11, 2009
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. % |
| All My Sons (Schoenfeld) |
$705,418 | 8,278 | 0 | 8 | 1,052 | $85.22 | 98.4% |
| August: Osage County (Music Box) |
$343,057 | 5,188 | 0 | 8 | 979 | $66.13 | 66.2% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$321,533 | 5,694 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $56.47 | 89.4% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,221,123 | 10,931 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $111.71 | 96.2% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$476,555 | 7,092 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $67.20 | 82.1% |
| Equus (Broadhurst) |
$486,186 | 6,687 | 0 | 8 | 1,206 | $72.71 | 69.3% |
| Gypsy (St. James) |
$796,378 | 12,408 | 0 | 8 | 1,707 | $64.18 | 90.9% |
| Hedda Gabler (American Airlines) |
$185,209 | 4,241 | 6 | 0 | 740 | $43.67 | 95.5% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$808,884 | 10,237 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $79.02 | 93.7% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,064,072 | 9,660 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $110.15 | 98.8% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$853,192 | 11,299 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $75.51 | 94.3% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$684,799 | 11,436 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $59.88 | 79.5% |
| Pal Joey (Studio 54) |
$375,881 | 7,085 | 0 | 8 | 1,002 | $53.05 | 88.4% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$849,652 | 11,187 | 0 | 8 | 1,735 | $75.95 | 80.6% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$950,130 | 8,315 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $114.27 | 99.8% |
| Spamalot (Shubert) |
$811,514 | 11,502 | 0 | 8 | 1,441 | $70.55 | 99.8% |
| Speed the Plow (Barrymore) |
$334,429 | 4,608 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $72.58 | 54.4% |
| Spring Awakening (O’Neill) |
$617,701 | 8,731 | 0 | 8 | 1,090 | $70.75 | 100.1% |
| The American Plan (Friedman) |
$144,887 | 3,082 | 8 | 0 | 650 | $47.01 | 59.3% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,030,694 | 12,400 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $83.12 | 93.7% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$736,172 | 10,665 | 0 | 8 | 1,520 | $69.03 | 87.7% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$733,231 | 12,057 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $60.81 | 93.3% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,365,879 | 14,193 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $96.24 | 98.1% |
