Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 2/17/19

[Rob]

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 2/17/2019 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: THE PROM (5.7%), THE BAND'S VISIT (4.4%), KINKY BOOTS (3.4%), TRUE WEST (1.3%), MEAN GIRLS (1.2%), ANASTASIA (1%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (1%), NETWORK (0.9%), THE LION KING (0.5%), CHOIR BOY (0.4%), COME FROM AWAY (0.3%), DEAR EVAN HANSEN (0.1%),

Down for the week by attendance was: WAITRESS (-14%), THE CHER SHOW (-11.9%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-10.7%), CHICAGO (-9.1%), FROZEN (-8.6%), KING KONG (-6.9%), MY FAIR LADY (-5.4%), THE FERRYMAN (-4.6%), BEAUTIFUL (-4.3%), PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL (-3.3%), WICKED (-2%), ALADDIN (-0.5%), HAMILTON (-0.2%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[Andres_123]

Wow was expecting a 98 for Be more chill but not a potential gross of 92.5 and the average ticket was 120. 71

[YvanEhtNioj]

Be More Chill..okay werk. That's pretty amazing. 

[woeisme3]

Is Waitress on its way out? It’s had a nice long run, and the post-Sara and Gavin numbers aren’t looking great...

[DiscoCrows]

Can Hogan or someone comment on Kiss Me Kate’s numbers? $300,000 does not seem too great at all, but they had nearly every single seat filled. Was it simply because they only did four shows, compared to eight?

If that’s the case then those numbers are just about alright, correct? Roughly $700,000 for eight shows?

[haterobics]

DiscoCrows said: "Was it simply because they only did four shows, compared to eight?"

Yup.

[quizking101]

I can’t link on my phone, but I believe I saw something about Be More Chill breaking the house record at the Lyceum by about $200K in its first week.

I wonder what caused the capacity drop for THE CHER SHOW

[Wick3]

Andres_123 said: "Wow was expecting a 98 for Be more chill but not a potential gross of 92.5 and the average ticket was 120. 71"

That's pretty good for the first week! I bet the potential gross and avg ticket price could have been higher if they just released those seats back in the fall.

[qolbinau]

And as discussed in that other thread - the criticism of Be More Chill’s sales this week were not at all grounded in reality.

[raddersons]

The real question for Be More Chill is staying power. Is this just mega fans going the first week? How deep are their [parents'] pockets to go multiple times? 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Frozen surprises me. I wouldn't have guessed that it would be at 76.7% less than a year into the run (and that a production of To Kill A Mockingbird would out-gross it). Especially on a holiday weekend where a lot of other family titles went up. Not that $1.2mm is anything to scoff at, but that show ain't cheap.

This is a big year for Disney on Broadway: the live-action Aladdin and Lion King and the Frozen sequel could boost numbers and give these shows their best numbers yet. The question is, will they have long-term or short-term rewards?

[musikman]

DiscoCrows said: "Can Hogan or someone comment on Kiss Me Kate’s numbers? $300,000 does not seem too great at all, but they had nearly every single seat filled. Was it simply because they only did four shows, compared to eight?

If that’s the case then those numbers are just about alright, correct? Roughly $700,000 for eight shows?"

 

Well, it’s being presented by Roundabout so it doesn’t matter whether it doesn’t sell very well since it’s a nonprofit.  That being said, it sold 80% of its GP which is pretty decent.  

[Andres_123]

15 seats left for today's show for Be more chill, I think it will have staying power for a while but I could see it losing steam the more it goes on. Nice that it's selling very well during the week as more of the fans go during the weekend.

[ACL2006]

THE CHER SHOW is interesting. The show sells out on the weekends and Wednesday matinees. But the Tue/Wed/Thu evenings looked like there were only 60% sold. Not sure how the producers can fix that, maybe switch to a Sunday evening instead of a Tue or Wed night come the Fall?

[YvanEhtNioj]

raddersons said: "The real question for Be More Chill is staying power. Is this just mega fans going the first week? How deep are their [parents'] pockets to go multiple times?"

TBH I dont just think it's the young crowd, though. Well, not JUST the young crowd. On Saturday, it was a very diverse crowd. 

[BritCrit]

SomethingPeculiar said: "Frozen surprises me. I wouldn't have guessed that it would be at76.7% less than a year into the run (and that a production of To Kill A Mockingbird would out-gross it). Especially on a holiday weekend where a lot of other family titles went up. Not that $1.2mm is anything to scoff at, but that show ain't cheap.

This is a big year for Disney on Broadway: the live-action Aladdin and Lion King and the Frozen sequel could boost numbers and give these shows their best numbers yet. The question is, will they have long-term or short-term rewards?"

The Lion King will continue to flourish regardless of how well or badly the film does. It has been around for over 2 decades, but only Hamilton makes more money. I think that it is the only one of the three Disney musicals on Broadway which will still be on by 2030...

Aladdin and Frozen are harder to examine. Aladdin is nearing its 5th anniversary, and I wouldn't be surprised if it sets a closing date sooner rather than later. The bad buzz surrounding the live-action remake could hurt the stage version, but of the three Disney properties on Broadway, Aladdin deviates from the source material most, which could be helpful...

I don't think Frozen 2 will have MUCH of an effect on the Broadway version, but it could still have an impact. Apparently, some of the "Hidden Folk" mythology could make it into Frozen 2, but I don't think it will shut out anyone who hasn't seen the stage version. Assuming that Frozen 2 is "good but not great", like most of the other Disney sequels from this decade, I think that it will halt the decline for a few months, but the rewards will mostly be short term. The main test of Frozen's longevity will be how well it does in Australia and the West End. Assuming that the poor performance this week was an anomaly, I think it will still be on Broadway in 2020, but I believe its performance abroad will have a greater effect on its longevity...

 

 

[ACL2006]

I've always wondered if ALADDIN were to close in the next year or two what Disney would put in that theater? is Disney working on anything currently? MULAN? MOANA?

[BritCrit]

ACL2006 said: "I've always wonderedif ALADDIN were to close in the next year or two what Disney would put in that theater? is Disney working on anything currently? MULAN? MOANA?"

They are working on the stage version of Hercules, which premieres in Central Park this summer. If that is a success, I think it could replace Aladdin, although the similarities between the two could be a problem...

I also wouldn’t be surprised if Aladdin is replaced by a revival of Beauty and the Beast or Mary Poppins. After all, the latter is replacing it in the West End...

[Jarethan]

I am really surprised by True West's grosses.  I may be remembering incorrectly, but I thought it got pretty mixed reviews.  For a Roundabout frame, that is a very solid gross.  Is Ethan Hawke something of a box office attraction?

[poisonivy2]

I know it's closing in April but I'm shocked by the dip in TBV. It was doing decently (if not great) not too long ago, now if these numbers keep up it might not even make it to April.

[ethan231h]

poisonivy2 said: "I know it's closing in April but I'm shocked by the dip in TBV. It was doing decently (if not great) not too long ago, now if these numbers keep up it might not even make it to April."

it went up this week...It will definitely make it to April.

[haterobics]

poisonivy2 said: "I know it's closing in April but I'm shocked by the dip in TBV. It was doing decently (if not great) not too long ago, now if these numbers keep up it might not even make it to April."

One imagines these numbers are not a shock to the producers, and why they chose April, so doubt it is in flux, as that would be even more cruel to abandon a theater before the season ends. Right after is already bad enough, unless that was based on the next show already locked and loaded (I don't pay much attention to what is coming up and going where)

[WestEndGal]

woeisme3 said: "Is Waitress on its way out? It’s had a nice long run, and the post-Sara and Gavin numbers aren’t looking great..."

I think Joey McIntyre has boosted the box office a bit, as right before Sara and Gavin it’s receipts were in the 500ks

 

[Wick3]

I wish the Ferryman numbers were higher given it was the last week of the majority of the British cast.

I'm glad Be More Chill broke the house record at the Lyceum but then it made me think --- is it normal for first week of previews to be only 7 performances (rather than 8?) Also, was it an 'easy' record to break given the previous 7-day record was set back in 2008. Either way, they broke the record and good for them. I hope they keep it up!

 

[MNC77]

Wick3 said: "I'm glad Be More Chill broke the house record at the Lyceum but then it made me think --- is it normal for first week of previews to be only 7 performances (rather than 8?) Also, was it an 'easy' record to break given the previous 7-day record was set back in 2008. Either way, they broke the record and good for them. I hope they keep it up!"

I'd say it was likely a very easy house record to break. Grosses are higher than they've ever been, so many theatres have had house records broken in the last few years, and the only other musicals to play the Lyceum since 2000 are Title of Show, Scottsboro Boys, A Night With Janis Joplin and The Visit, all of which lasted less than 4 months.

That being said, 93% of potential is impressive regardless of breaking a record, and much higher than many on here (including myself) likely would have predicted. I'm interested to see whether they can sustain it.