THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Breaks House Records At The Majestic Theatre
The longest-running show in Broadway history, Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, last week broke the house record at The Majestic Theatre (247 West 44th Street) to have its best weekly gross in the production's nearly 22 year history. For the week ending January 3, 2010, the production grossed $1,374,874.96 for 8 performances. This surpasses the show's previous record of $1,371,452.50 for the week ending January 1, 2006 (which, notably, was a 9-performance week). Set to celebrate an unprecedented 22 Years on Tuesday, January 26, the Cameron Mackintosh/Really Useful Group, Inc. production, directed by Harold Prince, continues to play at The Majestic with no end in sight.
On Broadway, since its debut on January 26, 1988, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over $750 million, making it the highest-grossing show in Broadway history. Total attendance is 13.5 million. Its international success - equally staggering - is represented by total worldwide grosses estimated at over $5 billion. This colossal figure makes PHANTOM the most successful entertainment venture of all time, surpassing not only any other stage production, but also far surpassing the world's highest-grossing film Titanic (at $1.2 billion) and such other blockbusters as The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park and Star Wars. Worldwide, over 65,000 performances have been seen by 100 million people in 27 countries and 144 cities. Since becoming the longest-running show in Broadway history in 2006 (when it surpassed the then-record run of Cats), every performance has set a new longevity record. The show has always been a record-breaker, with the New York production setting benchmarks that have dominated the industry: for capitalization (a then-spectacular $8 million), total advance (a then-colossal $18 million), total gross and attendance (now a whopping $740 million and 13 million, and counting) and even the number of years before a single ticket was ever sold at the TKTS ticket booth in Times Square (over 14 years, which is still the record, by a long shot).
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber last year announced that his new production Love Never Dies would continue the story of "The Phantom." The new musical will have its World Premiere in London at The Adelphi Theatre on March 9, 2010 followed by New York on November 11, 2010.
Based on the classic novel by Gaston Leroux, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath The catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.
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