From last season to this season, Broadway’s box office ran almost neck-and-neck the past week: $660,604,992 at this point in 2009 to $660,372,916 currently. That helps when looking at the past week’s numbers which expectedly took a post-holiday nose dive from $28,089,912 to $18,754,209. That figure still beats the same week last season, which posted $17,331,019. Keep in mind too, the closing of four productions, “The 39 Steps,” “Burn The Floor,” “In the Next Room” and “Ragtime,” contributed to the much lower box office.
Brightening the horizon are three plays now in previews including Present Laughter at the American Airlines, opening January 21, A View From the Bridge at the Cort, opening January 24 and Time Stands Still at the Friedman, opening January 28.
The list of productions ranking at a million dollars or more at the box office is almost a cookie cutter of the previous week in the following order, though none on the list posted gains:
• Wicked at the Gershwin
• The Lion King at the Minskoff
• Billy Elliot at the Imperial
• West Side Story at the Palace
• Jersey Boys at the August Wilson
• Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic
• Mary Poppins at the New Amsterdam
• Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden
• Hair at the Hirschfeld
• A Little Night Music at the Kerr
The only two productions posting monetary gains this week were “Present Laughter” with an increase of $108,257 for a total of $196,871 in spite of having the lowest Average Admission ticket price of $46.60. “In the Next Room” at the Lyceum had an increase of $42,181 for a total of $295,615.
Looking at attendance, audiences attending “In the Next Room” must have been looking for laughter. It was the only production to post a decent increase at 12.5 percent over the previous reporting period followed by more modest increases seen by Wishful Drinking at Studio 54 and Next to Normal at the Booth.
A note of good news, a new three-year deal was struck between The Broadway League and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. According to Variety, this latest agreement involves members who travel with a particular show vs. staying put at one theater, under the jurisdiction of a particular local and includes upped wages and an increase in employer contributions to worker health plans.
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 January 10, 2010
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 Little Night Music (Kerr) |
$960,594 | 7,420 | 0 | 8 | 931 | $129.46 | 99.6% |
| A View…Bridge (Cort) |
$520,676 | 7,372 | 8 | 0 | 1,079 | $70.63 | 85.4% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,195,293 | 10,368 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $115.29 | 91.2% |
| Burn the Floor (Longacre) |
$564,267 | 7,820 | 0 | 8 | 1,044 | $72.16 | 93.6% |
| Bye Bye Birdie (Henry Miller) |
$504,910 | 7,727 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $65.34 | 94.1% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$523,974 | 6,564 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $79.83 | 76.0% |
| Fela! (O’Neill) |
$603,358 | 7,940 | 0 | 8 | 1,030 | $75.99 | 96.4% |
| Finian’s Rainbow (St. James) |
$601,132 | 9,187 | 0 | 8 | 1,701 | $65.43 | 67.5% |
| God of Carnage (Jacobs) |
$420,108 | 5,475 | 0 | 8 | 1,078 | $76.73 | 63.5% |
| Hair (Hirschfeld) |
$639,243 | 8,243 | 0 | 8 | 1,412 | $77.55 | 73.0% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$631,728 | 7,848 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $80.50 | 71.9% |
| In the Next Room (Lyceum) |
$295,615 | 5,706 | 0 | 8 | 899 | $51.81 | 79.3% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,135,065 | 9,791 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $115.93 | 99.7% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$814,674 | 10,050 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $81.06 | 83.9% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$736,235 | 10,309 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $71.42 | 71.7% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$497,960 | 7,190 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $69.26 | 61.1% |
| Next to Normal (Booth) |
$373,468 | 5,710 | 0 | 8 | 772 | $65.41 | 92.5% |
| Present Laughter (American Airlines) |
$196,871 | 4,225 | 8 | 0 | 740 | $46.60 | 71.4% |
| Race (Barrymore) |
$464,026 | 5,274 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $87.98 | 62.3% |
| Ragtime (Simon) |
$591,131 | 9,151 | 0 | 8 | 1,419 | $64.60 | 80.6% |
| Rock of Ages (Atkinson) |
$557,737 | 6,643 | 0 | 8 | 997 | $83.96 | 83.3% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$603,983 | 6,350 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $95.12 | 76.2% |
| The 39 Steps (Hayes) |
$201,125 | 3,215 | 0 | 8 | 589 | $62.56 | 68.2% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,377,959 | 12,993 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $106.05 | 98.2% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$794,065 | 10,271 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $77.31 | 79.5% |
| Time Stands Still (Friedman) |
$204,010 | 3,919 | 8 | 0 | 650 | $52.06 | 75.4% |
| West Side Story (Palace) |
$884,336 | 10,390 | 0 | 8 | 1,697 | $85.11 | 76.5% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,539,959 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $106.41 | 100.0% |
| Wishful Drinking (Studio 54) |
$320,709 | 5,422 | 0 | 7 | 1,004 | $59.15 | 77.1% |
