Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 7/8/18

[Rob]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:06pm

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 7/8/2018 in BroadwayWorld's grosses section.

Also, you will find information on each show's historical grosses, cumulative grosses and other statistics on how each show stacked up this week and in the past.

Click Here to Visit the Broadway Grosses...

Up for the week by attendance was: KINKY BOOTS (5.0%), ANGELS IN AMERICA (4.9%), THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (4.5%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2.5%), CAROUSEL (1.8%), CHICAGO (1.8%), BEAUTIFUL (1.5%), SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS (1.4%), ANASTASIA (1.0%), ALADDIN (0.9%), HEAD OVER HEELS (0.9%), WICKED (0.9%), A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL (0.2%), DEAR EVAN HANSEN (0.1%),

Down for the week by attendance was: SUMMER (-13.7%), ONCE ON THIS ISLAND (-6.4%), STRAIGHT WHITE MEN (-1.9%), WAITRESS (-1.5%), HELLO, DOLLY! (-1.2%), FROZEN (-1.1%), THE BOYS IN THE BAND (-1.0%), MY FAIR LADY (-0.4%), MEAN GIRLS (-0.1%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:13pm

Even with that tony win Once on this island can’t keep those grosses up.

[crazy_for_broadway]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:16pm

Yikes for Summer, Carousel, and Dolly

[ACL2006]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:19pm

So does HEAD OVER HEELS even make it to Labor Day? Those numbers are terrible. Surprised so many shows did well this week considering July 4 week is typically a down week for Broadway and NYC.

[TNick926]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:21pm

Wow!  Bette is coming back to Dolly just in time.....

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:22pm

A bad week all around, but the CAROUSEL dip isn't a great sign.

[bdn223]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:28pm

I guess it looks like Summer has eaten through it pre-Opening advance?

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:35pm

Call_me_jorge said: "Even with that tony win Once on this island can’t keep those grosses up."

Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan, I think it’s biggest problems are it is not a revival of a well-known show and somewhat relatedly it doesn’t immediaitely attract Broadway’s key demographics:  tourists (especially females, families and/or millenials and gay men who like Broadway shows when on vacation but gravitate toward the shows that are more well-known or more stereotypically Broadway) FYI: I’m a gay man who ventures beyond those descriptors. 

Thinking back to successful revivals that won that coveted Tony for revival: 

Chicago - ticks almost all the necessary boxes (except it’s not a “family” show)

Pippin - I know it didn’t run as long as many of us would have liked, I remember walking up to Kinky Boots’ box office and getting SRO tickets with no line. Meanwhile, the rush/lottery line for Pippin was loooong. I’d say it ticked almost every, if not every, box. Of course, it had hype (well-earned in my estimation) before the Tony Awards. 

Hello, Dolly! - ticks every box. 

In reality, on paper OOTI should appeal to almost all these demographics with the exception of being a revival of a well-known (to middle America) musical. 

From what I’ve garnered on here, historically the best revival Tony really doesn’t assist the winning show that much. 

In other news, I know many shows played less performances due to 7/4, but those numbers are not good for Carousel, Kinky Boots, and Summer. I wonder if any of them make it past January 2019. And ooof...Head Over Heals...I wonder if it makes it further than 30 days after opening. 

Updated On: 7/9/18 at 03:35 PM

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:36pm

Wow, based on most people's opinions of Head Over Heels I knew it wouldn't be doing great but THAT number? Ouch. I think it will close by Labor Day.  

[UncleCharlie]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 4:47pm

TNick926 said: "Wow! Bette is coming back to Dolly just in time....."

Do you think the constantly hyped triumphant return of the Tony winning star for a final incredible 6 weeks might have caused people who otherwise would have been perfectly happy to see it with Bernadette last week or this to instead hold off for a week or two to see it with Bette instead? 

[TNick926]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 4:56pm

Yes, I was concerned about that possibility.  But really Bernadette's run has been terrific, box-office wise, just until past couple of weeks...

As for me I saw Bernadette do it twice (second time, last week, I was delighted to see how much she and Victor had settled into the roles and were absolutely fabulous!), and I saw Bette do it twice (let's face it, Bette in this role is in a class by herself - bigger than life superstar who causes the whole show to crackle with electric energy, and that DH Pierce certainly ain't no slouch opposite her, either!).

I'm seeing it again with Bette on July 27, so I guess she's my tie-breaker! :)   This production of Dolly is sublime musical comedy perfection, and I am truly sorry to see it leave town.....

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:02pm

IdinaBellFoster said: "A bad week all around, but the CAROUSEL dip isn't a great sign."

So realistically, how long do I have to see Carousel? I'm still focused on Carmen Jones right now.

Putting aside how much they're paying for the tickets, it seems like people are just not that interested in seeing Summer. But is it cheap enough to run to hang on as long as say... On Your Feet?

[quizking101]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:06pm

I recall someone saying last week that the holiday period usually hits a downturn because many shows are closed on the 4th and either cancel or substitute those performances for weirder times (Sun/Mon night, Tuesday/Thursday/Friday Matinee), making shows slightly less accessible to those who aren't tourists.

I'm not reading the tea leaves on many shows because of the odd holiday positioning between this week and last week, specifically SUMMER (which has been running decently), CAROUSEL (which may have some lag, but only started falling recently), and HEAD OVER HEELS (which just only had its first full week of performances).

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:13pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Even with that tony win Once on this island can’t keep those grosses up."

Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan, I think it’s biggest problems are it is not a revival of a well-known show and somewhat relatedly it doesn’t immediaitely attract Broadway’s key demographics:tourists (especially females, families and/ormillenialsand gay men who like Broadwayshows when on vacation but gravitate toward the shows that are more well-known or more stereotypically Broadway)

In reality, on paper OOTI should appeal to almost all these demographics with the exception of being a revival of a well-known (to middle America) musical.

"

I think it's a problem of perception. As you said, you can make the argument that it should appeal to a lot of those key demographics. It's basically a fairytale and has some soap opera-ish elements which usually appeal to women. It's a combination of woke and problematic and the stars are in the right age range for millennials. The gender-bent casting and playing with camp elements could appeal to gay men. And even if it's not the most family friendly, it is a fairytale and does deal with themes of family and community. I think part of the problem is that diverse casts still don't have the easiest time (depending on the show) and for whatever reason those demographics believe it isn't the right show for them. I could pick things out but you could make arguments about why hit shows like Phantom, Chicago, Book of Mormon, and to a lesser extent Lion King and Wicked might alienate potential audience members. But they have the benefit of name recognition that OOTI does not.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:23pm

Is this the first season in years and years in which the 'summer bonanza for all' is not working?  If you leave out the monster hits (and there are probably more shows doing incredible week-after-week sellout business than any period in the last 50 years) and the hot family shows, are the others not benefiting from summer this year?  

If true, this could be an anomaly or a further step in tourists narrowing the focus of their purchases in such a way that shows that have depended on increased summer grosses to get them through the lean periods may not get those benefits.  

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:37pm

Glad to see that word of mouth is catching up to Carousel.

[Kitsune]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:39pm

Not a New Yorker, but what's the reason why the week of 4th of July is usually bad for show business? You would think that school is out and there would be lots of families on vacation.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:42pm

"Yikes for Summer, Carousel, and Dolly"

There is no imminent yikes for any of these; they are all sustainable. We know Dolly's exit path; I suspect Carousel will close in due course because there is no reason to run it, and I think Summer's future depends on fresh marketing because the same audience represented in the advance remains largely untapped. 

The news of the moment is that Head over Heels is getting a solid headstart in the competition for most clueless producing of the new season, and OOTI is basically in the same rut it was in before the Tonys, just on a slightly different plane: it is a chronic under-performer for its position. 

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:48pm

Miles2Go2 said: "In other news, I know many shows played less performances due to 7/4, but those numbers are not good for Carousel, Kinky Boots, and Summer. I wonder if any of them make it past January 2019. And ooof...Head Over Heals...I wonder if it makes it further than 30 days after opening."

If you look you'll see that every show except for Angels in America did a full 8 performance week. Most just added performances on Monday night and Sunday night.

 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 5:58pm

I haven't seen much in the way of Head Over Heels on TV. They haven't done the morning talk show circuit, etc. There are posters all over town, but they're busy, and there's a lot of wording. 

I think OOTI needs to focus its marketing on how UNIQUE this production is. I had a friend in town and she asked me what to see, and I said OOTI because you won't see that anywhere else. In the round. So close to the action. There's environmental staging, etc. It's VERY Broadway in the sense that you won't see anything else like it. 

[crazy_for_broadway]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 6:05pm

HogansHero said: ""Yikes for Summer, Carousel, and Dolly"

There is no imminent yikes for any of these; they are all sustainable. We know Dolly's exit path; I suspect Carousel will close in due course because there is no reason to run it, and I think Summer's future depends on fresh marketing because the same audience represented in the advance remains largely untapped.”

I am aware of this. I just meant “yikes” as it was not a good week for those shows financially 

 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 7:08pm

UncleCharlie said: "Do you think the constantly hypedtriumphant return of the Tony winning star for a final incredible6 weeks might have caused people who otherwise would have been perfectly happy to see it with Bernadette last week or this to instead hold off for a week or two tosee it with Bette instead?"


Yes. I think Rudin & co. were kind of stuck, but they still could have waited til a month and a half or 2 months out to announce Bette's return, instead of 3 months.
 

It was a horrible week because New Yorkers were out of town or BBQing instead of going to the theatre, and New York City is not a July 4 travel destination. These numbers don't mean much, but they reinforce which shows need a miracle.

If some of these stragglers try to hold on til the end of the year, this might be one of the bigger post-Christmas "closing days" in recent years. LCT should be praying that Carousel packs up its clambake in December (or sooner).

[markypoo]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 8:39pm

HogansHero:

Summer lost approximately $207,000 last week.
And, for eight performances.
That is a horrific drop; by any stretch.
Hopefully the fresh marketing you allude to will kick in as soon as... yesterday - and will have an immediate impact.
Otherwise, I'm contending that this show is in real trouble.

[Jish]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 9:56pm

HogansHero said: "
The news of the moment is that Head over Heels is getting a solid headstart in the competition for most clueless producing of the new season, and OOTI is basically in the same rut it was in before the Tonys, just ona slightly different plane: it is a chronic under-performer for its position."

Don’t worry, GETTIN’ THE BAND BACK TOGETHER is opening soon...

[yesraccoons]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 10:10pm

Kitsune said: "Not a New Yorker, but what's the reason why the week of 4th of July is usually bad for show business? You would think that school is out and there would be lots of families on vacation."

Native New Yorkers leave. Most people don’t go on vacation for the 4th they visit family. Therefore less theater goers. Even if there are more tourists less touristy shows suffer for sure because NYC theater goers are gone.