Coming off a successful Easter holiday weekend, Broadway ticket sales slowed a bit in week-to-week comparisons, for the week ending May 1. But, box office tallies were ahead of those for the same period in 2010.
For the week, ticket sales grossed $23,500,493, down more than $5 million from $28,847,798 reported for the previous week. However, when compared to ticket sales for the same period in 2010, the gross was up 3.5 percent from $20,712,883 reported last year. The difference between gross ticket sales at this point in the season of $986,757,484, and the same point in 2010 when sales were $953,109,866, shows that 2011 appears to be a bounce back year for the Great White Way.
On a related note, the nominations for the 2011 Tony Awards were announced this week, so there could be a bump in ticket sales reflected in next week’s tally.
Currently, there are 36 productions on Broadway with five reporting box office receipts in excess of $1 million. In order, they are the musicals “The Lion King” at the Minskoff, $1,754,459; “Wicked” at the Gershwin at $1,736,420; “The Book of Mormon” at the Eugene O’Neill, $1,119,699; “Jersey Boys” at the August Wilson at $1,060,504; and “Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam at $1,035,336. The lowest return at the box office was reported by “The Normal Heart” at the Golden, $184,396. There were three productions in previews.
Comparing the numbers for the 13 plays on Broadway, “War Horse” at the Beaumont led ticket sales for the third week in a row at $881,950 followed by “The Motherf**ker With the Hat” at the Broadway at $612,097.
Attendance reported for the week overall dropped a little more than 10 percent at 80.37 percent from the previous week’s 90.70 percent. Eleven shows reported 95 percent or better capacity with three reporting 100 percent or better: the musical “The Book of Mormon” again at 102.44 percent, with “Wicked” and “War Horse” at 100 percent. “Arcadia” at the Barrymore reported the lowest percentage of capacity once more, dropping to 42.36 percent.
Three shows achieved 95 percent or better Gross Gross Potential: “The Lion King” and “The Book of Mormon” reported figures of 114.92 and 113.59 percent followed by “Wicked” at 110.85 percent. Reporting the lowest figure was “Lombardi” at the Circle in the Square, 21.45 percent.
Five shows posted tickets with face values at or exceeding $300, including “Jersey Boys” at $350. Two shows, “The Normal Heart” and “The People in the Picture” tied for the best bargain-priced average ticket at $32.93.
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. % |
| Anything Goes (Sondheim) |
$696,279 | 8,109 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $85.86 | 98.8% |
| Arcadia (Barrymore) |
$251,510 | 3,507 | 0 | 8 | 1,035 | $71.72 | 42.4% |
| Baby It’s You! (Broadhurst) |
$414,323 | 7,311 | 1 | 7 | 1,152 | $56.67 | 79.3% |
| Bengal Tiger… (Rodgers) |
$461,825 | 5,021 | 0 | 8 | 1,356 | $91.98 | 46.3% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$986,361 | 10,855 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $90.87 | 95.5% |
| Born Yesterday (Cort) |
$205,534 | 3,863 | 0 | 8 | 1,079 | $53.21 | 44.8% |
| Catch Me… (Simon) |
$757,653 | 9,693 | 0 | 8 | 1,422 | $78.16 | 85.2% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$654,136 | 7,516 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $87.03 | 87.0% |
| Ghetto Klown (Lyceum) |
$317,798 | 4,177 | 0 | 6 | 922 | $76.08 | 75.5% |
| Good People (Friedman) |
$423,787 | 5,103 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $83.05 | 98.1% |
| How to Succeed… (Hirschfeld) |
$996,880 | 11,227 | 0 | 8 | 1,424 | $88.79 | 98.6% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,060,504 | 9,602 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $110.45 | 97.7% |
| Jerusalem (Music Box) |
$361,296 | 4,765 | 0 | 8 | 998 | $75.82 | 59.7% |
| La Cage aux Folles (Longacre) |
$361,908 | 5,143 | 0 | 8 | 1,057 | $70.37 | 60.8% |
| Lombardi (Circle in Square) |
$155,898 | 3,631 | 0 | 8 | 790 | $42.94 | 57.5% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$943,467 | 10,919 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $86.41 | 91.1% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$1,035,336 | 12,244 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $84.56 | 85.2% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$823,220 | 10,193 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $80.76 | 86.7% |
| Million Dollar Quartet (Nederlander) |
$321,843 | 4,462 | 0 | 8 | 1,214 | $72.13 | 45.9% |
| Priscilla…Desert (Palace) |
$843,588 | 9,179 | 0 | 8 | 1,689 | $91.90 | 67.9% |
| Rain (Atkinson) |
$353,638 | 6,302 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $56.12 | 74.5% |
| Rock of Ages (Hayes) |
$350,123 | 4,317 | 0 | 8 | 583 | $81.10 | 92.6% |
| Sister Act (Broadway) |
$799,322 | 11,802 | 0 | 8 | 1,487 | $67.73 | 99.2% |
| That Championship Season (Jacobs) |
$431,847 | 5,004 | 0 | 8 | 1,071 | $86.30 | 58.4% |
| The Addams Family (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$690,893 | 8,848 | 0 | 8 | 1,519 | $78.08 | 72.8% |
| The Book of Mormon (O’Neill) |
$1,119,699 | 8,736 | 0 | 8 | 1,066 | $128.17 | 102.4% |
| The House of Blue Leaves (Kerr) |
$543,114 | 7,152 | 0 | 8 | 941 | $75.94 | 95.0% |
| The Importance…Earnest (American Airlines) |
$237,510 | 3,563 | 0 | 8 | 740 | $66.66 | 60.2% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,754,459 | 13,037 | 0 | 8 | 1,677 | $134.58 | 97.2% |
| The Mother****…Hat (Schoenfeld) |
$612,097 | 7,195 | 0 | 8 | 1,071 | $85.07 | 84.0% |
| The Normal Heart (Golden) |
$184,396 | 5,600 | 2 | 6 | 804 | $32.93 | 87.1% |
| The People…Picture (Studio 54) |
$209,872 | 6,373 | 3 | 5 | 997 | $32.93 | 79.9% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$952,171 | 10,788 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $88.26 | 83.5% |
| War Horse (Beaumont) |
$881,950 | 8,552 | 0 | 8 | 1,068 | $103.13 | 100.1% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,736,420 | 14,472 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $119.98 | 100.0% |
| Wonderland (Marquis) |
$569,842 | 9,492 | 0 | 8 | 1,612 | $60.03 | 73.6% |
