This past President’s Day weekend saw a welcome rise in the numbers on Broadway with box office totals at $14,354,031 compared to the previous reporting period of $12,353,027. The overall gross receipts are still favorable too, $670,705,883 at this point compared to $633,888,894 at the same time last year. Currently, there are 16 musicals, six plays and one special, You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush currently playing.
Leading productions over a million dollars were Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot at the Imperial, both at a million plus and The Lion King at the Minskoff. Jersey Boys at the August Wilson ranked fourth at over $991,000. Chicago at the Ambassador saw an impressive increase in its audiences of 23 percent and its ticket sales garnered more than $226,000 over the previous week.
Guys and Dolls playing at the Nederlander continued to enjoy a bonus week with more than 92 percent capacity crowds. It will open on March 1. In its second week of previews, The Story of My Life at the Booth had the smallest crowd when looking at attendance figures, 42 percent of capacity. Opening Night is scheduled for February 19. Overall, only five productions had more than 90 percent attendance.
A new production of the play 33 Variations playing at the Eugene O’Neill theater, stars Jane Fonda. It opened to previews on February 9. Opening Night is scheduled for March 9 for its limited run of 15 weeks through May 24.
The 2009 Tony Awards have been scheduled for June 7 at Radio City Music Hall and will be broadcast by CBS. For the first time, a trio of stars, David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish, playing the same role in “Billy Elliot”, are eligible to be considered together for the Leading Actor in a Musical category for their performances.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending February 15, 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. % |
| 33 Variations (O’Neill) |
$246,337 | 4,154 | 7 | 0 | 1,059 | $59.30 | 56.0% |
| August: Osage County (Music Box) |
$359,225 | 5,338 | 0 | 8 | 979 | $67.30 | 68.2% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$347,043 | 5,101 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $68.03 | 80.1% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,054,838 | 9,562 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $110.32 | 84.1% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$575,919 | 7,404 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $77.78 | 85.7% |
| Guys and Dolls (Nederlander) |
$559,721 | 8,775 | 8 | 0 | 1,188 | $63.79 | 92.3% |
| Hedda Gabler (American Airlines) |
$226,233 | 4,482 | 0 | 8 | 740 | $50.48 | 75.7% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$907,262 | 10,226 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $88.72 | 93.6% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$991,452 | 9,058 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $109.46 | 92.7% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$883,212 | 10,665 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $82.81 | 89.0% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$784,126 | 11,720 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $66.90 | 81.5% |
| Pal Joey (Studio 54) |
$383,431 | 7,208 | 0 | 8 | 1,004 | $53.20 | 89.7% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$765,516 | 10,298 | 0 | 8 | 1,735 | $74.34 | 74.2% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$810,535 | 7,184 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $112.83 | 86.3% |
| Speed the Plow (Barrymore) |
$419,987 | 6,100 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $68.85 | 72.1% |
| The 39 Steps (Hayes) |
$210,331 | 3,325 | 0 | 8 | 589 | $63.26 | 70.6% |
| The American Plan (Friedman) |
$222,672 | 3,863 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $57.64 | 74.3% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,050,722 | 11,644 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $90.24 | 88.0% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$728,152 | 9,813 | 0 | 8 | 1,520 | $74.20 | 80.7% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$645,295 | 9,306 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $69.34 | 72.0% |
| The Story…Life (Booth) |
$106,739 | 2,635 | 8 | 0 | 780 | $40.51 | 42.2% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,228,776 | 13,545 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $90.72 | 93.6% |
| You’re Welcome… (Cort) |
$846,507 | 8,446 | 0 | 8 | 1,067 | $100.23 | 98.9% |
