Gross ticket sales on the Great White Way improved by 3.3 percent through the week ending June 10 with an increase among several shows in the week leading up to the Tony Awards.
According to figures posted by The Broadway League, overall Broadway ticket sales were nearly $25 million with sales up among 29 productions leading up to the Tony Awards on June 10 — a drastic improvement over the previous week when 32 shows experienced a decrease in sales. However, despite the overall gains, gross tickets for Broadway increased by just $807,648.
“Wicked” took the top spot with sales of just under $2 million, up 10.4 percent or $188,051 over the previous week, according to figures posted by Playbill.com. “ Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” had the greatest bump in sales, up $246,696 over the previous week with earnings of $1.5 million. “Gore Vidal’s The Best Man” ($758,637) also had a successful week with sales up 25.7 percent.
The buzz surrounding the Tony Awards seemed to boost sales for several productions with theatergoers eager to catch the nominated shows prior to the awards show on Sunday, June 10. Best Musical winner “Once” had a bump in sales of nearly $18,000 and played to a packed house with the show’s capacity up by 1.6 percent. “The Book of Mormon,” “Newsies,” and “The Lion King” drew the largest crowds, playing to audiences over 100 percent of capacity. Tony Best Play nominees “Peter and the Starcatcher” and “Venus in Fur” increased sales by over $100,000 from the previous week despite their less than impressive numbers in terms of capacity.
While most shows made gains this week, a few were not so lucky. “Harvey,” which officially opens June 14 is the only Broadway show currently in previews and has had very respectable ticket sales, bringing in over $400,000; however, the show had the greatest loss through the week ending June 10 with sales down $48,207 over seven preview performances despite a capacity of 98.4 percent. “Priscilla Queen of the Desert” ($487,923) had the second greatest loss with sales down $32,628, likely due to a capacity of just 48 percent — the third lowest of any Broadway show, according to Broadway.com.
Other Tony Award winners also gained some ground. Best Play winner “Clybourne Park” earned $425,889 in ticket sales, up 5.8 percent over the previous week. Best Revival of a Musical winner “Porgy and Bess” increased sales by over 13 percent and is raking in over a half of a million dollars in ticket sales. Best Musical contender “Newsies” had sales of close to $1 million and played to a full house with capacity at 100.9 percent.
According to J. William Bruce, a sales rep at Applause-Tickets.com, it is not unusual for shows to experience an increase in ticket sales in the week leading up to the Tony Awards; however, he also explained that the overall bump in sales may be attributed to the fact that last week marked the first full week of Summer — a typically active time for Broadway sales, Bruce told TicketNews in a recent email.
“My guess is there will be a few shows that will post their notice in the next few weeks,” said Bruce. “If not I think a few will close by Labor Day.”
To view the full listing of Broadway sales fro the week ending June 10, 2012, visit The Broadway League.
