Broadway’s numbers climbed with the heat this past week, with every production showing an increase in ticket sales for a total of $19,688,132, a significant improvement over the previous week’s receipts of $18,766,070. Eleven weeks into this season, box office has grossed a total of $220,951,513. Like last week, there were 11 million-dollar producers, more than half of the 21 current shows. However, it’s the one-week-old special, Burn The Floor at the Longacre, that’s torching Broadway at double its last week’s ticket sales: $540,180 compared to $259,786. It opened August 2 after previews.
The million-dollar winners this reporting period were: Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot at the Imperial, The Lion King at the Minskoff, West Side Story at the Palace, The Little Mermaid at the Lunt-Fontanne, Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson, Hair at the Al Hirschfeld, The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic, Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam and Shrek the Musical at the Broadway in that order for a total of 11 productions.
“Shrek” at the Broadway has been seeing good numbers and “The Little Mermaid” at the Lunt-Fontanne has been seeing especially good numbers—theatergoers are trying to see it before its closing on August 30.
The two remaining plays, Mary Stuart at the Broadhurst and The 39 Steps at the Helen Hayes Theatre, saw an upturn in attendance and ticket sales. “Mary Stuart”, slated to close August 16, saw an 11.5 percent increase in audience and enjoyed a larger return compared to the previous week.
Playwright David Mamet is in the news again. In addition to the upcoming opening of “Race” this December 6 after previews that begin on November 16 at the Barrymore, his latest play that everyone in the know is keeping mum about, he is also writing a new film version of “The Diary of Anne Frank”.
For lovers of “La Cage aux Folles”, producers of the currently playing revival in London are aiming at an April 18, 2010 opening on Broadway at one of the Shubert theaters.
Please note that any comparison between this season’s numbers and the previous season is not a true comparison because of a change in the way the Broadway League now reports the numbers. The change was initiated on the week ending May 31, 2009 and the beginning of the 2009-10 season, June 1, 2009. Instead of reporting Net Gross and Net Gross Potential, numbers are now based on Gross Gross and Gross Gross Potential, before adjustments are made such as credit card commissions and group sales commissions. A change was also made in reporting attendance: instead of reporting Paid Attendance, the League now reports Total Attendance. Going forward, figures for the current season 2009-10 can be accurately compared to next season, 2010-11.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending August 9, 2009
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. % |
| 9 to 5 (Marquis) |
$712,415 | 9,399 | 0 | 8 | 1,611 | $75.80 | 72.9% |
| Avenue Q (Golden) |
$422,513 | 5,500 | 0 | 8 | 796 | $76.82 | 86.4% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,449,415 | 11,366 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $127.52 | 100.0% |
| Burn the Floor (Longacre) |
$540,180 | 8,144 | 0 | 8 | 1,045 | $66.33 | 97.4% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$722,127 | 8,339 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $86.60 | 96.5% |
| Hair (Hirschfeld) |
$1,112,244 | 11,323 | 0 | 8 | 1,412 | $98.23 | 100.2% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$903,262 | 9,947 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $90.81 | 91.1% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,162,436 | 9,899 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $117.43 | 101.3% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$1,100,641 | 11,916 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $92.37 | 99.4% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$1,069,053 | 13,796 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $77.49 | 96.0% |
| Mary Stuart (Broadhurst) |
$408,749 | 6,870 | 0 | 8 | 1,150 | $59.50 | 74.7% |
| Next to Normal (Booth) |
$480,366 | 5,873 | 0 | 8 | 772 | $81.79 | 95.1% |
| Rock of Ages (Atkinson) |
$705,799 | 7,900 | 0 | 8 | 997 | $89.34 | 99.0% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$1,062,704 | 12,946 | 0 | 8 | 1,733 | $82.09 | 93.4% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$840,955 | 8,190 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $102.68 | 98.3% |
| The 39 Steps (Hayes) |
$278,687 | 4,271 | 0 | 8 | 589 | $65.25 | 90.6% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,493,502 | 13,234 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $112.85 | 100.0% |
| The Little Mermaid (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$1,186,154 | 12,154 | 0 | 8 | 1,519 | $97.59 | 100.0% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$1,072,163 | 12,781 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $83.89 | 98.9% |
| West Side Story (Palace) |
$1,315,310 | 13,375 | 0 | 8 | 1,697 | $98.34 | 98.5% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,649,459 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $113.98 | 100.0% |