It was a great start to the autumn slate of shows this week, with all indicators looking up. Seven plays, two specials and 17 musicals are there to entice and box office returns are considerably improved over the previous week: $17,856,707 compared to $16,516,116. This point in the season is also looking healthier, a total so far of $340,665,942 compared to $348,680,969 a year ago. That translates to a negative 2.3 percent, but the gap is getting smaller.
The list of million-dollar productions is as follows: Wicked at the Gershwin, Billy Elliot at the Imperial, The Lion King at the Minskoff, the play A Steady Rain at the Schoenfeld for the second week, Jersey Boys at the August Wilson and West Side Story at the Palace.
In total, seven productions were in previews this past week. Attendance was boosted to 211,073 comparing favorably to the previous reporting period of 189,160. Overall, that still falls short of the same week last year of 218,622.
Comparing ticket sales increases over the previous week, In the Heights at the Rodgers outdid itself with an increase of $110,804 and the largest increase in attendance, more than 11 percent. Following close on its heels was Shrek at the Broadway, a dollar increase of $101,534 and an increase of over nine percent in attendance. An apparent 14 percent drop in attendance was experienced by the play, After Miss Julie at the American Airlines Theatre, but in actuality its gross was up compared to the previous reporting period and it still achieved over 80 percent of its capacity.
Please note: Beginning with the week ending May 31, 2009, “Gross” represents Gross Gross and “Attendance” represents Total Attendance. For every week prior to May 31, these numbers represent Net Gross and Paid Attendance respectively. The Broadway League took this into account when comparing this season’s figures to the previous season’s and made adjustments accordingly.
Broadway Gross Ticket Sales Week ending September 27, 2009
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. % |
| A Steady Rain (Schoenfeld) |
$1,153,779 | 8,575 | 8 | 0 | 1,071 | $134.55 | 100.1% |
| After Miss Julie (American Airlines) |
$203,207 | 4,771 | 8 | 0 | 740 | $42.59 | 80.6% |
| Billy Elliot (Imperial) |
$1,393,384 | 11,371 | 0 | 8 | 1,421 | $122.54 | 100.0% |
| Burn the Floor (Longacre) |
$365,706 | 6,118 | 0 | 8 | 1,044 | $59.78 | 73.3% |
| Bye Bye Birdie (Henry Miller) |
$533,736 | 7,744 | 8 | 0 | 1,026 | $68.92 | 94.3% |
| Chicago (Ambassador) |
$571,719 | 7,490 | 0 | 8 | 1,080 | $76.33 | 86.7% |
| God of Carnage (Jacobs) |
$867,540 | 7,651 | 0 | 7 | 1,078 | $113.39 | 101.4% |
| Hair (Hirschfeld) |
$821,117 | 9,344 | 0 | 8 | 1,412 | $87.88 | 82.7% |
| Hamlet (Broadhurst) |
$632,206 | 6,693 | 8 | 0 | 1,174 | $94.46 | 71.3% |
| In the Heights (Rodgers) |
$688,750 | 8,534 | 0 | 8 | 1,365 | $80.71 | 78.2% |
| Jersey Boys (August Wilson) |
$1,146,890 | 9,892 | 0 | 8 | 1,222 | $115.94 | 101.2% |
| Mamma Mia! (Winter Garden) |
$950,422 | 11,401 | 0 | 8 | 1,498 | $83.36 | 95.1% |
| Mary Poppins (New Amsterdam) |
$601,729 | 8,475 | 0 | 8 | 1,797 | $71.00 | 59.0% |
| Memphis (Shubert) |
$294,664 | 7,605 | 6 | 0 | 1,470 | $38.75 | 86.2% |
| Next to Normal (Booth) |
$399,553 | 5,497 | 0 | 8 | 772 | $72.69 | 89.0% |
| Rock of Ages (Atkinson) |
$601,376 | 7,252 | 0 | 8 | 997 | $82.93 | 90.9% |
| Shrek (Broadway) |
$552,808 | 8,697 | 0 | 8 | 1,733 | $63.56 | 62.7% |
| South Pacific (Beaumont) |
$703,758 | 6,950 | 0 | 8 | 1,041 | $101.26 | 83.5% |
| Superior Donuts (Music Box) |
$261,141 | 6,456 | 8 | 0 | 998 | $40.45 | 80.9% |
| The 39 Steps (Hayes) |
$201,071 | 3,090 | 0 | 8 | 589 | $65.07 | 65.6% |
| The Lion King (Minskoff) |
$1,204,242 | 12,044 | 0 | 8 | 1,654 | $99.99 | 91.0% |
| The Phantom of the Opera (Majestic) |
$805,209 | 10,542 | 0 | 8 | 1,615 | $76.38 | 81.6% |
| The Royal Family (Biltmore) |
$176,953 | 4,096 | 8 | 0 | 650 | $43.20 | 78.8% |
| West Side Story (Palace) |
$1,012,254 | 10,981 | 0 | 8 | 1,697 | $92.18 | 80.9% |
| Wicked (Gershwin) |
$1,481,120 | 14,387 | 0 | 8 | 1,809 | $102.95 | 99.4% |
| Wishful Drinking (Studio 54) |
$232,375 | 5,417 | 8 | 0 | 1,004 | $42.90 | 67.4% |
