Ticket sales on the Great White Way increased slightly through the week ending September 16 with the welcomed addition of a couple of new shows to the fall lineup and a significant sales increase among several productions.

According to figures posted by The Broadway League, gross ticket sales increased by $477,280 with Broadway receipts totaling $17.4 million. A few new shows, including two that began preview performances this week, likely contributed to the overall increase. Just three shows experienced a decrease in ticket sales through Sunday.

An Enemy of the People,” which completed its second week of previews, earned $179,173 across eight performances, up $20,509 over last week, according to Playbill.com. “Cyrano de Bergerac” began preview performances this week at the American Airlines Theatre with sales at $103,184 across five preview performances. Broadway newcomer “Grace” started preview performances at the Cort Theatre and earned $219,944 across just three performances, the highest earnings of any of the shows currently in preview.

Amanda Pekoe, president of theatrical advertising and marketing company The Pekoe Group, recently told TicketNews via email that both shows will likely pull in substantial audiences for different reasons. “‘Cyrano de Bergerac’ is a part of Roundabout Theatre Company’s season and therefore will be attended by Roundabout’s subscription audience, as well as single ticket buyers who are interested in seeing this presentation of the production.” She added, “‘Grace’ has good buzz within the community as a hot new play this season. And names like Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon should pull in a good crowd.”

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The Book of Mormon” continues to top the box office with receipts totaling $1.62 million and capacity at 103 percent, just slightly outdoing “The Lion King,” which earned $1.6 million and played to an audience at 99 percent capacity. “The Book of Mormon” also had the second greatest week-over-week decrease with sales down $21,789 from the previous week.

“Porgy and Bess” had the greatest increase in sales this week, up $183,345 through Sunday with receipts totaling $794,242. The show also had the greatest increase in attendance, playing to an audience at 83 percent capacity, up 17.6 percent from the previous week. According to Pekoe, the increase in both attendance and ticket sales is most certainly due to an influx of theatergoers who want to see the show before it ends its Broadway run on September 23.

Other shows that had a significant increase in sales this week are “Wicked” (up $121,887), “Mamma Mia” (up $78,995), “Jersey Boys” (up $71,437), and “War Horse” (up $66,709).

Broadway newbie “Chaplin” had the greatest decrease in ticket sales, down $27,815 from the previous week. After four weeks on Broadway, the show has grossed a total of $1.7 million, just 43.9 percent of the show’s gross potential, according to data by BroadwayWorld.com. The show had the greatest drop in attendance this week, down 6.9 percent, which likely contributed to the drop in sales — this was the first week “Chaplin” experienced a decrease in ticket sales since opening on Broadway. Pekoe told TicketNews that the show received mixed reviews from critics and audiences and it is certainly showing in the show’s ticket sales and attendance.

Broadway Gross Ticket Sales
Week Ending September 16, 2012

Production
(Theatre)
Weekly Gross Total Atten. Prev. Perf. Total Capacity Avg. Ticket Price Atten. %
An Enemy…People
(Friedman)
$179,173 4,005 8 0 644 $44.74 77.7%
Bring It On
(St. James)
$442,787 7,412 0 8 1,334 $59.74 69.5%
Chaplin
(Barrymore)
$460,925 7,286 0 8 1,045 $63.26 87.2%
Chicago
(Ambassador)
$633,465 7,781 0 8 1,080 $81.41 90.1%
Cyrano de Bergerac
(American Airlines)
$103,184 2,704 5 0 727 $38.16 74.4%
Evita
(Marquis)
$1,174,627 11,467 0 8 1,612 $102.44 88.9%
Grace
(Cort)
$219,944 2,892 3 0 1,079 $76.05 89.3%
Jersey Boys
(August Wilson)
$962,514 9,451 0 8 1,228 $101.84 96.2%
Mamma Mia!
(Winter Garden)
$820,085 10,461 0 8 1,498 $78.39 87.3%
Mary Poppins
(New Amsterdam)
$667,919 9,917 0 8 1,797 $67.35 69.0%
Newsies
(Nederlander)
$866,351 9,542 0 8 1,195 $90.79 99.8%
Nice Work If You Can Get It
(Imperial)
$930,380 10,087 0 8 1,439 $92.24 87.6%
Once
(Jacobs)
$982,878 8,327 0 8 1,058 $118.04 98.4%
Peter and the Starcatcher
(Atkinson)
$373,814 6,443 0 8 1,038 $58.02 77.6%
Porgy and Bess
(Rodgers)
$794,242 8,867 0 8 1,335 $89.57 83.0%
Rock of Ages
(Hayes)
$459,775 4,510 0 8 583 $101.95 96.7%
Spider-Man…Dark
(Foxwoods)
$1,222,322 13,459 0 8 1,930 $90.82 87.2%
The Book of Mormon
(O’Neill)
$1,618,059 8,752 0 8 1,066 $184.88 102.6%
The Lion King
(Minskoff)
$1,599,094 13,230 0 8 1,677 $120.87 98.6%
The Phantom of the Opera
(Majestic)
$864,177 11,912 0 8 1,605 $72.55 92.8%
War Horse
(Beaumont)
$591,941 7,976 0 8 1,069 $74.22 93.3%
Wicked
(Gershwin)
$1,435,082 13,449 0 8 1,809 $106.71 92.9%
Wicked
(Gershwin)
$1,508,501 14,109 0 8 1,809 $106.92 97.5%
Wit
(Friedman)
$232,701 4,016 0 8 650 $57.94 77.2%

All data provided by The Broadway League.