Broadway took its expected pre-Thanksgiving nose dive the past week, from $20,963,283 the week before to $19,622,530. However, there remains a healthier comparison to the same season last year -$500,376,907 this past week to $498,454,185 in 2008.
Compared to the previous week, only five productions grossed a million or better: Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot at the Imperial, The Lion King at the Minskoff, A Steady Rain at the Schoenfeld and Jersey Boys at the August Wilson in that order.
Only four productions reported 95 percent or better attendance: “A Steady Rain”, “Jersey Boys”, Hamlet at the Broadhurst and Fela! at the O’Neill, still in previews at the time of this report. Slipping this week were God of Carnage at the Jacobs by about 40 percent to a low of 62.5 percent, undoubtedly due to a change to a lesser-known cast. Oleanna at the Golden lost 21.6 percent of its audience to post only 43 percent and The Royal Family at the Biltmore slipped by 24 percent to 64.5 percent. Irving Berlin’s White Christmas seems to be settling into a role of a seasonal and family favorite; it reported about 57 percent attendance this week, but will likely increase as the season progresses.
A total of 16 productions posted below 50 percent of their Gross Gross Potential this past week. “Oleanna” posted the poorest record at 21 percent. In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) at the Lyceum posted the second-lowest, 25 percent, but attendance was close to 62 percent.
“In the Next Room” opened on November 19. A new play by David Mamet, Race, is in previews at the Barrymore and will open December 6.
The Top Ticket this week remains $375 for “A Steady Rain.” The Best Buy award goes to “In the Next Room” for the lowest Average Paid Admission at $32.47.
Please note: Beginning with the week ending May 31, 2009, “Gross” represents Gross Gross and “Attendance” represents Total Attendance. For every week prior to May 31, these numbers represent Net Gross and Paid Attendance respectively. The Broadway League took this into account when comparing this season’s figures to the previous season’s and made adjustments accordingly.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending November 22, 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. % |
| A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld) |
$1,170,859 | 8,645 | 0 | 8 | 1,071 | $135.44 | 100.9% |
| After Miss Julie (American Airlines) |
$229,019 | 4,364 | 0 | 8 | 740 | $52.48 | 73.7% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,297,066 | 10,768 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $120.46 | 94.7% |
| Burn the Floor (Longacre) |
$320,485 | 5,660 | 0 | 8 | 1,044 | $56.62 | 67.8% |
| Bye Bye Birdie (Henry Miller) |
$592,404 | 7,768 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $76.26 | 94.6% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$405,115 | 5,322 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $76.12 | 61.6% |
| Fela! (O’Neill) |
$249,610 | 6,888 | 7 | 0 | 1,030 | $36.24 | 95.5% |
| Finian’s Rainbow (St. James) |
$532,291 | 8,546 | 0 | 8 | 1,701 | $62.29 | 62.8% |
| God of Carnage (Jacobs) |
$497,779 | 5,392 | 0 | 8 | 1,078 | $92.32 | 62.5% |
| Hair (Hirschfeld) |
$596,302 | 7,095 | 0 | 8 | 1,412 | $84.05 | 62.8% |
| Hamlet (Broadhurst) |
$934,627 | 9,074 | 0 | 8 | 1,174 | $103.00 | 96.6% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$525,294 | 6,620 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $79.35 | 60.6% |
| In the Next Room (Lyceum) |
$143,731 | 4,427 | 3 | 5 | 899 | $32.47 | 61.6% |
| Irving…White Christmas (Marquis) |
$534,443 | 7,407 | 8 | 0 | 1,615 | $72.15 | 57.3% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,149,626 | 9,823 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $117.03 | 100.5% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$743,680 | 8,955 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $83.05 | 74.7% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$658,797 | 9,718 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $67.79 | 67.6% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$640,437 | 9,287 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $68.96 | 79.0% |
| Next to Normal (Booth) |
$341,883 | 4,619 | 0 | 8 | 772 | $74.02 | 74.8% |
| Oleanna (Golden) |
$149,424 | 2,769 | 0 | 8 | 804 | $53.96 | 43.1% |
| Race (Barrymore) |
$519,352 | 7,204 | 8 | 0 | 1,058 | $72.09 | 85.1% |
| Ragtime (Simon) |
$419,359 | 6,734 | 0 | 8 | 1,419 | $62.27 | 59.3% |
| Rock of Ages (Atkinson) |
$560,631 | 6,391 | 0 | 8 | 997 | $87.72 | 80.1% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$580,238 | 8,033 | 0 | 8 | 1,733 | $72.23 | 57.9% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$651,648 | 6,512 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $100.07 | 78.2% |
| Superior Donuts (Music Box) |
$222,868 | 3,477 | 0 | 8 | 991 | $64.10 | 43.9% |
| The 39 Steps (Hayes) |
$142,276 | 2,599 | 0 | 8 | 589 | $54.74 | 55.2% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,191,066 | 11,635 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $102.37 | 87.9% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$655,516 | 8,412 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $77.93 | 65.1% |
| The Royal Family (Biltmore) |
$201,887 | 3,353 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $60.21 | 64.5% |
| West Side Story (Palace) |
$949,737 | 10,162 | 0 | 8 | 1,697 | $93.46 | 74.9% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,430,006 | 13,343 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $107.17 | 92.2% |
| Wishful Drinking (Studio 54) |
$385,078 | 6,389 | 0 | 8 | 1,004 | $60.27 | 79.5% |
