In a week defined by slipping sales, Hugh Jackman yet again bolstered Broadway box offices in the week ending November 20.
Although the cumulative gross slid nearly 4 percent to $22.9 million, the loss would have been greater without the Hollywood star’s song-and-dance revue. “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway” raked in $1.47 million for the third biggest haul of the week — a more than 17 percent upswing from the previous frame.
In a week with few winners, “Venus in Fur” was also a standout. The two-hander with Nina Arianda and Hugh Dancy continued to reap the benefits from critics’ rave reviews, ticking up 24 percent to gross $370,604 for the week ending November 20. Despite its substantial gain, “Venus” remains well below its $606,813 potential.
In the six previews leading up to the November 21 opening of their “An Evening with…” concert, musical greats Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin pulled in $358,956 in ticket sales. Also in its first week, the Alicia Keys-produced “Stick Fly” landed five previews for a moderate $204,970 gross.
Playing full preview schedules for the first time last week, “Lysistrata Jones” improved only slightly to $139,406 (well below its $742,665 potential), while Harry Connick Jr. drew a more robust $742,449 for “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.”
Holiday travelers are expected to boost box offices over the usually profitable Thanksgiving weekend frame. But it remains to be seen whether new arrivals will be able to stake a claim against perennial favorites, like “Wicked” ($1.54 million) and “The Lion King” ($1.53 million), and newer blockbusters, such as Jackman’s “Back on Broadway.”
Broadway’s next opening night doesn’t come until December 1, when new tuner “Bonnie and Clyde” begins its regular performances at the Schoenfeld Theatre. For previews through November 20, the show’s sales slid more than 16 percent to $346,744.
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. % |
| An Evening…Patinkin (Barrymore) |
$358,956 | 4,701 | 6 | 0 | 1,058 | $76.36 | 74.1% |
| Anything Goes (Sondheim) |
$667,804 | 6,971 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $95.80 | 84.9% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$715,453 | 8,981 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $79.66 | 79.0% |
| Bonnie and Clyde (Schoenfeld) |
$346,744 | 6,552 | 8 | 0 | 1,043 | $52.92 | 78.5% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$411,738 | 5,159 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $79.81 | 59.7% |
| Chinglish (Longacre) |
$210,815 | 3,184 | 0 | 8 | 1,077 | $66.21 | 37.0% |
| Follies (Marquis) |
$698,776 | 6,764 | 0 | 8 | 1,612 | $103.31 | 52.5% |
| Godspell (Circle in Square) |
$383,975 | 5,426 | 0 | 8 | 735 | $70.77 | 92.3% |
| How to Succeed… (Hirschfeld) |
$901,957 | 9,129 | 0 | 8 | 1,424 | $98.80 | 80.1% |
| Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway (Broadhurst) |
$1,468,189 | 9,601 | 0 | 8 | 1,176 | $152.92 | 102.1% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$937,930 | 8,744 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $107.27 | 89.0% |
| Lysistrata Jones (Kerr) |
$139,406 | 4,240 | 7 | 0 | 945 | $32.88 | 64.1% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$604,742 | 7,339 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $82.40 | 61.2% |
| Man and Boy (American Airlines) |
$336,522 | 5,321 | 0 | 8 | 728 | $63.24 | 91.4% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$678,926 | 9,113 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $74.50 | 63.4% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$597,791 | 7,875 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $75.91 | 67.0% |
| On a Clear Day… (St. James) |
$742,449 | 8,094 | 7 | 0 | 1,367 | $91.73 | 84.6% |
| Other Desert Cities (Booth) |
$535,058 | 5,706 | 0 | 8 | 761 | $93.77 | 93.7% |
| Priscilla…Desert (Palace) |
$709,720 | 9,288 | 0 | 8 | 1,689 | $76.41 | 68.7% |
| Private Lives (Music Box) |
$371,370 | 6,225 | 3 | 5 | 989 | $59.66 | 78.7% |
| Relatively Speaking (Atkinson) |
$592,551 | 5,951 | 0 | 8 | 1,076 | $99.57 | 69.1% |
| Rock of Ages (Hayes) |
$376,376 | 3,988 | 0 | 8 | 583 | $94.38 | 85.5% |
| Seminar (Golden) |
$249,503 | 4,746 | 6 | 1 | 804 | $52.57 | 84.3% |
| Sister Act (Broadway) |
$770,286 | 10,048 | 0 | 8 | 1,755 | $76.66 | 71.6% |
| Spider-Man…Dark (Foxwoods) |
$1,304,416 | 12,579 | 0 | 8 | 1,930 | $103.70 | 81.5% |
| Stick Fly (Cort) |
$204,970 | 3,957 | 5 | 0 | 1,079 | $51.80 | 73.3% |
| The Addams Family (Lunt-Fontanne) |
$597,854 | 7,855 | 0 | 8 | 1,519 | $76.11 | 64.6% |
| The Book of Mormon (O’Neill) |
$1,367,805 | 8,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,066 | $156.28 | 102.6% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,532,701 | 13,196 | 0 | 8 | 1,677 | $116.15 | 98.4% |
| The Mountaintop (Jacobs) |
$581,393 | 6,217 | 0 | 8 | 1,065 | $93.52 | 73.0% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$647,460 | 8,412 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $76.97 | 65.1% |
| Venus in Fur (Friedman) |
$370,602 | 5,059 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $73.26 | 97.3% |
| War Horse (Beaumont) |
$974,635 | 8,494 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $114.74 | 99.3% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,535,489 | 13,316 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $115.31 | 92.0% |