Two new previews boost Broadway ticket sales
Broadway ticket sales totaled $22.9 million last week with a loss among half of the Great White Way‘s 30 productions that are currently running. Despite the decreases, several shows had very significant gains, which likely led to the overall increase in gross ticket sales.
Among the productions that had an increase in ticket sales last week, three of them are newly opened shows. “Ghost” had the greatest increase with sales up by 47.5 percent (563,006) over seven preview performances. “Once” earned gross sales of $638,004 in its first week of regular performances, which is a 27.8 increase. “Evita” took in $1.4 million over eight preview performances with its return to Broadway, which is up by 20.8 percent over the previous week.
Broadway also had two new additions during the week ending March 25. “End of the Rainbow,” which highlights the career of Judy Garland, began preview performances on March 19, earning $315,525 in gross ticket sales. The show will begin regular performances on April 2.
Also new to Broadway is “Magic/Bird,” which follows the competition and eventual friendship between NBA stars Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird. Preview performances for the production began March 21 with gross sales of $127,931 over seven shows. The production is scheduled to officially open on April 11.
While several productions had a decrease in ticket sales last week, the loss for many was minor compared to previous weeks. Among the productions with a decrease in ticket sales, “Other Desert Cities” had the greatest loss with sales down by 15 percent ($318,902) from the previous week. “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” experienced the second greatest decrease with sales down 13.8 percent ($700,538).
Several productions earned sales topping $1 million including “Wicked” ($1.8 million), “The Lion King” ($1.7 million), “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” and “The Book of Mormon” both with $1.5 million and “Evita” ($1.4 million).
In the week ahead, two productions will make their official Broadway opening. “Newsies,” a Broadway adaptation of the popular Disney movie, opens March 29 at the Nederlander Theatre following two weeks of preview performances. “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” will officially open April 1 at the Schoenfeld Theatre after three weeks of preview performances.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales | |||||||
| Production (Theatre) | Weekly Gross | Total Atten. | Prev. | Perf. | Total Capacity | Avg. Ticket Price | Atten. % |
| Anything Goes (Sondheim) | $584,981 | 6,828 | 0 | 8 | 1,026 | $85.67 | 83.2% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) | $566,644 | 7,179 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $78.93 | 83.1% |
| Death of a Salesman (Barrymore) | $777,953 | 7,236 | 0 | 7 | 1,036 | $107.51 | 99.8% |
| End…Rainbow (Belasco) | $315,525 | 5,723 | 8 | 0 | 989 | $55.13 | 72.3% |
| Evita (Marquis) | $1,410,635 | 11,483 | 8 | 0 | 1,564 | $122.85 | 91.8% |
| Ghost (Lunt-Fontanne) | $563,006 | 8,878 | 7 | 0 | 1,448 | $63.42 | 87.6% |
| Godspell (Circle in Square) | $291,430 | 4,424 | 0 | 8 | 735 | $65.87 | 75.2% |
| Gore Vidal’s The Best Man (Schoenfeld) | $723,315 | 7,542 | 8 | 0 | 1,064 | $95.90 | 88.6% |
| How to Succeed… (Hirschfeld) | $700,538 | 8,517 | 0 | 8 | 1,424 | $82.25 | 74.8% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) | $979,435 | 9,408 | 0 | 8 | 1,228 | $104.11 | 95.8% |
| Jesus Christ Superstar (Simon) | $632,019 | 10,601 | 4 | 4 | 1,371 | $59.62 | 96.7% |
| Magic/Bird (Longacre) | $127,931 | 3,645 | 7 | 0 | 1,077 | $35.10 | 48.3% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) | $659,751 | 8,400 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $78.54 | 70.1% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) | $857,334 | 11,013 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $77.85 | 76.6% |
| Memphis (Shubert) | $660,329 | 9,612 | 0 | 8 | 1,470 | $68.70 | 81.7% |
| Newsies (Nederlander) | $828,882 | 8,393 | 7 | 0 | 1,199 | $98.76 | 100.0% |
| Once (Jacobs) | $638,004 | 8,044 | 0 | 8 | 1,058 | $79.31 | 95.0% |
| Other Desert Cities (Booth) | $318,902 | 3,743 | 0 | 8 | 761 | $85.20 | 61.5% |
| Porgy and Bess (Rodgers) | $687,792 | 7,356 | 0 | 8 | 1,335 | $93.50 | 68.9% |
| Priscilla…Desert (Palace) | $606,658 | 7,836 | 0 | 8 | 1,689 | $77.42 | 58.0% |
| Rock of Ages (Hayes) | $421,183 | 4,395 | 0 | 8 | 583 | $95.83 | 94.2% |
| Seminar (Golden) | $380,204 | 4,614 | 0 | 7 | 804 | $82.40 | 82.0% |
| Sister Act (Broadway) | $607,370 | 8,879 | 0 | 8 | 1,755 | $68.41 | 63.2% |
| Spider-Man…Dark (Foxwoods) | $1,500,067 | 14,200 | 0 | 8 | 1,930 | $105.64 | 92.0% |
| The Book of Mormon (O’Neill) | $1,487,000 | 8,752 | 0 | 8 | 1,066 | $169.90 | 102.6% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) | $1,742,053 | 13,417 | 0 | 8 | 1,677 | $129.84 | 100.0% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) | $941,101 | 11,859 | 0 | 8 | 1,605 | $79.36 | 92.4% |
| Venus in Fur (Lyceum) | $325,402 | 3,980 | 0 | 8 | 708 | $81.76 | 70.3% |
| War Horse (Beaumont) | $838,227 | 7,786 | 0 | 8 | 1,069 | $107.66 | 91.0% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) | $1,808,773 | 14,068 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $128.57 | 97.2% |
All data provided by The Broadway League.
