BYE BYE BIRDIE Box Office Soars: What Bad Reviews?

Credit what you will: its cache, star appeal, the production itself, or the fact that audiences have waited almost 50 years to see a revival, but Bye Bye Birdie - not unlike Wicked once upon a time - is proving that unfavorable notices do not always translate into box office doom, according to a report in Variety.

According to the report, the production posted "a week-over-week gain of 16%, or more than $85,000"  (for a total intake of $638,124), despite the notices and a general box office lag on the Great White Way.

In fact, along with Jersey Boys ($1,175,433) and West Side Story ($1,107,211), Bye Bye Birdie was the only show that reported increased sales last week . 

While most shows reported sales decreases last week, the most notable were apparent with "Burn the Floor" ($301,345) down by 21%; and "The Phantom of the Opera" ($808,695), "Mary Poppins" ($701,021) and "Shrek the Musical" ($497,813) each off around 15%.  Shrek may fall into this category, however, as one performance last week was for an entirely invite-only audience for a special event. 

The report reveals that, oddly, while the overall cumulative gross was down by $460,000 (to $20.7 million for 32 shows) the cumulative attendance increased to 83%, meaning that either less premium tickets were sold, or it was a discount-heavy week.

Also of note last week, were the additions of preview performances last week of "Ragtime" ($270,161 for five previews) and "Fela!" ($219,116 for six previews) and "In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play" ($56,201 for four previews). After Miss Julie showed slightly increased sales at $216,363 for the week.  The same cannot be said for the wildly buzzed about Memphis, which was down from the previous week ($528,902 in total revenue).

The verdict remains out on the box office performance future of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" ($124,720 last week), which opened Sunday, as reviews were mixed.

For more information, visit variety.com.