Broadway witnessed its worst week yet of 2012, with ticket sales continuing to fall throughout the week ending February 5. Twenty-one of the 23 total productions on the Great White Way fell short of the previous week’s sales, a situation not helped by the closing of two more productions on January 29.
Gross ticket sales fell by about $2 million, from $17.4 million in the week ending January 29, down to $15 million. Broadway’s falling sales were not helped by the closing of “Chinglish” and “Relatively Speaking,” which both ended their runs on January 29.
The week ending on February 5 saw only two productions with an increase in sales. “Sister Act” improved its standings by bringing in $482,863, which is a 2.3 percent increase from the previous week. “Wit,” now in its second week on Broadway, continues to make gains, up 18.8 percent ($244,728) from last week’s $205,987.
Although “The Road to Mecca” saw a 19.6 percent ($210,292) increase in sales through the week ending January 29, it was unable to continue the momentum and sales fell nearly 2 percent ($206,142) last week.
The biggest loser was, “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” which fell nearly 16 percent ($573,887) from last week’s $682,879. The loss was significant considering that sales were upwards of $1 million when the role of J. Pierrepont Finch was played by big names including Daniel Radcliffe of “Harry Potter” fame and “Glee” star Darren Criss. Sales have continuously fallen since Nick Jonas took over the role on January 24.
While most productions had less than a 10 percent loss, there were quite a few Broadway mainstays that experienced significant losses. “Jersey Boys” fell 12 percent ($816, 388), “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” slipped 11 percent ($1.27 million), “War Horse” was down 10 percent ($860,311) and fan favorite “Wicked” fell 10 percent to $1.35 million.
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) |
$575,400 | 6,996 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $82.25 | 81.9% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$388,774 | 5,474 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $71.02 | 63.4% |
| Godspell (Circle in Square) |
$293,658 | 4,521 | 0 | 8 | 735 | $64.95 | 76.9% |
| How to Succeed… (Hirschfeld) |
$573,887 | 8,831 | 0 | 8 | 735 | $64.99 | 77.5% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$816,388 | 8,801 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $92.76 | 89.6% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$551,069 | 8,020 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $68.71 | 66.9% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$600,499 | 9,357 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $64.18 | 65.1% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$540,866 | 8,474 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $63.83 | 72.1% |
| Other Desert Cities (Booth) |
$473,904 | 5,139 | 0 | 8 | 761 | $92.22 | 84.4% |
| Porgy and Bess (Rodgers) |
$905,134 | 10,120 | 0 | 8 | 1,335 | $89.44 | 94.8% |
| Priscilla…Desert (Palace) |
$582,932 | 8,647 | 0 | 8 | 1,689 | $67.41 | 64.0% |
| Rock of Ages (Hayes) |
$371,327 | 4,218 | 0 | 8 | 583 | $88.03 | 90.4% |
| Seminar (Golden) |
$380,701 | 5,161 | 0 | 8 | 804 | $73.76 | 80.2% |
| Sister Act (Broadway) |
$482,863 | 7,889 | 0 | 8 | 1,755 | $61.21 | 56.2% |
| Spider-Man…Dark (Foxwoods) |
$1,268,002 | 13,614 | 0 | 8 | 1,930 | $93.14 | 88.2 |
| Stick Fly (Cort) |
$238,338 | 4,933 | 0 | 8 | 1,079 | $48.32 | 57.1% |
| The Book of Mormon (O’Neill) |
$1,455,329 | 8,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,066 | $166.29 | 102.6% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,226,681 | 11,721 | 0 | 8 | 1,677 | $104.66 | 87.4% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$638,467 | 10,180 | 0 | 8 | 1,605 | $62.72 | 79.3% |
| The Road to Mecca (American Airlines) |
$206,142 | 3,658 | 0 | 8 | 727 | $56.35 | 62.9% |
| War Horse (Beaumont) |
$860,311 | 7,872 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $109.29 | 92.0% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,349,433 | 13,118 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $102.87 | 90.6% |
| Wit (Friedman) |
$244,728 | 4,210 | 0 | 8 | 650 | $58.13 | 81.0% |
