Wicked passes $1 Billion-What's it share in common with Phantom & Lion King

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:13pm

A unique achievement and joining only The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King in this exclusive club. Wicked did it faster than either of them.  

 

Phantom, Lion King and Wicked are such incredibly different shows and each started in a different decade.  

What are the common elements you see in the three shows that led to billion dollar plus broadway box office success?  

 

Will any currently running shows join this club?    

Updated On: 3/16/16 at 01:13 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:15pm

They are all big spectacle shows that don't require understanding English.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:17pm

They're tourist and family friendly.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:21pm

Americans have a hard time understanding that being bilingual is common in the rest of the world. So even though you hear foreign tourists speaking foreign languages during intermission at these shows, it does not mean that they can't understand the English on stage.  

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:22pm

Not all Americans are as ignorant as ghostlight2.

#notallamericans

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:23pm

Phantom – megahit original show of the 1980s

Lion King – megahit original show of the 1990s

Wicked – megahit original show of the 2000s

The Book of Mormon and Hamilton will likely be next up (way into the future) for this decade.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:39pm

Of the current Broadway shows. The Book of Mormon, Hamilton and Aladdin will most definitely make it to the billion mark.

[Jonwo]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:47pm

Wicked is Universal's most successful property that isn't a film, I believe it's more profitable that even film franchises like Despicable Me, Jurassic Park and Fast and Furious just based on grosses alone. 

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:50pm

^Seeing as the Broadway production of The Lion King is the highest grossing entertainment entity of all time, you're probably right.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 1:53pm

"Americans have a hard time understanding that being bilingual is common in the rest of the world. So even though you hear foreign tourists speaking foreign languages during intermission at these shows, it does not mean that they can't understand the English on stage."  

 

"Not all Americans are as ignorant as ghostlight2.

#notallamericans"

 

Whoa, easy there, my fellow posters (so much for a kinder, gentler BWW). I agree that many Americans ought be more versant in other languages, but not ALL of our tourists do speak and understand English, and this is definitely a factor in some long-running shows. CHICAGO is another example. It isn't a spectacle, but the story can be followed easily without understanding the words. CATS was another one. 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:06pm

hi ghostlight2 

agree about people being civil in our thoughts. Do you have any stats about what % of audiences watching these blockbusters dont speak english? I would be surprised if its above a few percent, except for lion king where people may have seen the animated film in their native language and know the story.

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:11pm

if book of mormon, alladin and hamilton all go to a billion gross coming out of the same decade that would be a unique acheivement.  Im pretty confident alladin and mormon will get there based on five and four years history. 

hamilton the jury is still out for me (its a fantastic show) until the original cast and the best show of the year hype has moved on and see if it sustains out in the fourth and fifth year and beyond, or will it be more like the producers, which had siimilar mass hysteria to hamilton, and didnt sustain without lane and broderick

[Jonwo]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:21pm

Aladdin will likely be very successful internationally, it's already in Tokyo and Hamburg and is launching in London and Sydney this year. 

 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:24pm

Hi, broadwaysfguy, and thanks. No, I don't have percentages, but I do know it is a factor. Here's a query from supertravelersusa, which specifically mentions Lion King and Phantom, and another from this very board a few years back, which mentions both of the above and Chicago.

Updated On: 3/15/16 at 02:24 PM

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:31pm

Jonwo said: "Aladdin will likely be very successful internationally, it's already in Tokyo and Hamburg and is launching in London and Sydney this year."  

Yes, this is for sure, but please note that Wicked's achievement today is for its Broadway box office only, not its worldwide production totals. 

Updated On: 3/15/16 at 02:31 PM

[vdirects]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:39pm

Inflation.

PLUS:

ALL: Break the mold, Spectacles, Family and tourist friendly, untraditional broadway (neither has a tap dance number )

 

Phantom-- Classic: Great music, story, singing 

Lion King- Innovation: Unique, immersive, puppetry

Wicked -- Concept: People love the fantasy of Wizard of Oz and the idea of a sequel/ true story

[HarrietTaylor]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 2:50pm

All loom large in pop culture, giving them a lot of crossover appeal. Family friendly and fantastical elements probably don't hurt either. It will be interesting to see how long it takes Hamilton or Book of Mormon to meet those numbers, since both are already beloved but certainly closer to 'niche'.  

Updated On: 3/15/16 at 02:50 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 3:25pm

The price of tickets are higher in the 200s then they were in the 1980s, hence why Wicked did it quicker. 

[broadwaysfguy]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 4:23pm

it's notable that each show delivered what are considered by many to be very strong scores with multiple memorable, singable/hummable and "signature" songs

Phantom-Music of the Night, Phantom of the Opera, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, Think of Me

Lion King- Circle of life, Can you Feel the Love Tonight, Hakuna Matata, They Live in You 

Wicked- Defying Gravity, Popular, For Good, I'm not that Girl

All three composers (or composer/lyricist teams) of the Billion dollar broadway club are big names (ALW, Schwartz, John/Rice) with multiple broadway commercial successes under their belt, and all three had major hit shows before creating the show that made the club (John/Rice had the Lion King movie and separate big successes previously), ALW had Cats, Evita, JC Superstar) and Schwartz had Pippin, Godspell, and Magic Show 

A billion dollar broadway show does not seem to happen by beginners luck or by chance or accident....

.If Hamilton makes it, Lin preceded with Into the Heights, Alladin through the movie success and Mencken track record and Book of Mormon through Lopez of Avenue Q and Frozen and the south park creators with their prior movie and tv success

Phantom and Lion King both won Tony's for best musical, Wicked lost out to Avenue Q. All three were nominees for best score Tony, but none won. 

Wicked and Lion King both won grammy awards for best musical theatre cast album, and Phantom was nudged out by Les Miserables; 

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 4:44pm

broadwaysfguy said: "A billion dollar broadway show does not seem to happen by beginners luck or by chance or accident...."  

I love it when I accidentally mount a billion-dollar Broadway show

Updated On: 3/15/16 at 04:44 PM

[evic]

Posted: 3/15/16 at 5:19pm

Sweet revenge for Stephen Schwartz who was robbed of the Tony.  The music of Wicked is exquisite.  I could listen to the score all day....I still get chills and tear up at most of them 

[Justin D]

Posted: 3/16/16 at 10:59am

I wonder how much of it is based on visuals, all 3 are suite stunning to watch and I believe that counts for a lot of the repeat viewers. I havent seen Hamilton, but from what bits I have seen on here, it does not seem like much of a 'spectacle' (but again, I havent seen it), saw BOM and while the show is quite funny, not much in the way of spectacle, the staging is pretty basic. Aladdin is 'pretty' but also nothing really groundbreaking or immersive.

I also think alot of it is just sticking around for a while until you become a 'name' for the tourists to flock to, I hate saying this because it somewhat cheapens the shows themselves, but lets face it, you don;t reach a billion without an audience, tourist or otherwise.

[SnoopyQc]

Posted: 3/16/16 at 12:19pm

Americans have a hard time understanding that being bilingual is common in the rest of the world. So even though you hear foreign tourists speaking foreign languages during intermission at these shows, it does not mean that they can't understand the English on stage.  

Yes bilingual is commun in the rest of the world. However, some shows are easier to understand than others. English is my second language. I remember seeing Broadway tour in my hometown when I was a teenager. And although I understand most of the show, I occasionally heard native english speakers laughed, meaning that I missed a joke. So, shows with clever lyrics, double meanings jokes or foreign/regional accent can be less popular with foreign tourists if the music, the visual and the actors' play cannot carry the show as well as the lyrics. And don't forget that speaking and singing pronunciation are not the same. Even now, while I have no problem reading scientific papers in english, I have to listen to songs twice or read the lyrics to fully understand them (some singers are worst than others).

One reason Lion King is as popular among foreign tourists is because they have seen the movie in their own language. It's possible to understand show like Les Misérables or The Phantom of Opera without understanding the lyrics.


One advantage of shows like Phantom, Lion King and Wicked are that they are based on popular movies or books. And when people with no knowledge about musical theatre culture want to see a Broadway show, buying ticket to a show that run for more than a decade is more safe than a ticket to a new show. That doesn't mean that these shows are bad.

Updated On: 3/16/16 at 12:19 PM

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 3/16/16 at 1:10pm

evic said: "Sweet revenge for Stephen Schwartz who was robbed of the Tony.  The music of Wicked is exquisite.  I could listen to the score all day....I still get chills and tear up at most of them"

The score of Wicked, musically, is absolutely brilliant. It is the sometimes rather clichéd lyrics where Schwartz was faulted. But I absolutely agree with you.

Also, responding to some other posts, spectacle certainly plays a role. I'd say there's plenty of people who have bought tickets to Wicked almost primarily to see "Defying Gravity."

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 3/16/16 at 1:30pm

I think there's also an element of universality to these stories, which their fantastical settings allow to shine through more than a show grounded in a specific time/place. The Lion King is about family struggles, power and envy, guilt, and trying to find one's place in the world. Wicked is about feeling different, being let down and becoming stronger for it, and the extraordinary power of friendship. Anyone can relate to something there- anyone who has lost a loved one feels Simba's desperation to see Mufasa's ghost, anyone who has ever felt different or not good enough can feel Elphaba's growing isolation. You don't have to understand the politics and culture of a specific time and place- as much as knowing Bush-era politics might enhance Wicked, for instance, it's not crucial to the story as a whole.

As for Phantom, well, not sure what's as universal there. Maybe more people than we thought have dealt with stalkers who imply they're a dead parent? :P