BYE BYE BIRDIE Box Office Soars: What Bad Reviews?

By: Oct. 27, 2009
Get Show Info Info
Cast
Photos
Videos
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

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.

 



Comments

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Vote Sponsor


Videos