Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 2/24/19

[Rob]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:05pm

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 2/24/2019 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: FROZEN (11%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (5.2%), THE FERRYMAN (3.8%), ALADDIN (2.6%), KING KONG (2.4%), THE CHER SHOW (1.4%), PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL (0.9%), MEAN GIRLS (0.8%), COME FROM AWAY (0.3%), DEAR EVAN HANSEN (0.3%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (0.3%), HAMILTON (0.2%), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (0.1%),

Down for the week by attendance was: WAITRESS (-8.1%), KINKY BOOTS (-7.8%), CHOIR BOY (-7.5%), MY FAIR LADY (-7%), THE PROM (-6.9%), ANASTASIA (-4.4%), WICKED (-4.4%), BE MORE CHILL (-4.1%), THE BAND'S VISIT (-3.6%), CHICAGO (-2.3%), NETWORK (-0.8%), BEAUTIFUL (-0.7%), KISS ME, KATE (-0.7%), TRUE WEST (-0.4%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:14pm

Why the big drop in so many shows from last week to this week? 

Also, anyone have a guess as to how long King Kong will be around for? Will it even make it to the Tonys..?

[InTheBathroom1]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:18pm

Last week was Presidents’ Day Weekend so some families took a long weekend which helped some shows find a midwinter bump and now we’re back to normal.

[vampire musical]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:19pm

Last week had a 3-day holiday weekend, so one reason could be there were more tourists in town last week purchasing tickets and attending shows. 

King Kong has several deep pocket producers above the title. The show will last as long as the producers continue to cover any short fall between the weekly gross and the weekly running cost. 

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:21pm

InTheBathroom1 said: "Last week was Presidents’ Day Weekend so some families took a long weekend which helped some shows find a midwinter bump and now we’re back to normal."

Ahhh gotcha  - thanks. So The Prom has a av. ticket price of about $77. Seems pretty low. I see marketing for the show literally everywhere in NYC so hopefully it helps. 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:42pm

It will be interesting to see if The Ferryman rebounds after the January - March doldrums. With that huge cast, it can’t be a cheap show to keep running although I guess since it’s not a musical, they save on not having an orchestra. Also, a Tony Win for best play may help boost box office for awhile.

Not sure what running costs are for The Waitress. I know it has recouped and Spring will be here soon, but most musicals can’t continue to run on those numbers if it becomes a pattern.

The Prom seems the most in danger of shows that haven’t already announced closings.

[Wick3]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:43pm

I was hoping for a higher gross from Be More Chill (last week they earned $738k for 7 performances but only $705k for 8 performances this week.)

The house record for Lyceum is $911k from Oh HELLO, right? Hopefully Be More Chill can beat that in June or 4th of July weekend.

As expected, FERRYMAN has a lower gross than the week before due to the cast change, but it's good to see it has a higher % attendance this week than last week; which tells me it's selling a lot more discounted tickets. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 3:48pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Not sure what running costs are for The Waitress. I know it has recouped and Spring will be here soon, but most musicals can’t continue to run on those numbers if it becomes a pattern.

The Prom seems the most in danger of shows that haven’t already announced closings."

 

With the original WAITRESS cast from 3 years ago the weekly nugget was around $650k/week (according to the article https://www.forbes.com/sites/leeseymour/2017/01/26/sara-bareilles-proves-broadway-cred-as-waitress-recoups-12m-investment/#270814132562 

That obviously has changed now (probably lower but really depends on who is starring.)

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 4:46pm

Wick3 said: "With the original WAITRESS cast from 3 years ago the weekly nugget was around $650k/week" 

that's a lot of nuggets

 

[Kad]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 4:58pm

I suspect that Be More Chill saw more higher-priced tickets sold in its first performances to devoted fans. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 5:19pm

I did not see this week as a down one. Some up, some down, some flat.

I agree Prom is likely the most at risk.

BMC is not looking over a cliff, but that could change. we shall all see.

That waitress number was not a real one even 3 years ago; it was a pre-production number that may or may not be close to reality.

[vampire musical]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 5:52pm

HogansHero said: "That waitress number was not a real one even 3 years ago; it was a pre-production number that may or may not be close to reality."

If the weekly running costs go up after production starts and don't match what was in the offering documents, do the producers have an obligation to let the investors know? Or do the investors just find out when they get a financial update months after the fact?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 6:04pm

I think it's time WAITRESS & BEAUTIFUL pack it in. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 10:01pm

@vampire no. what's in the papers is just a projection. investing in a show is like getting on a boat and sailing into a pitch black cave, hoping that it doesn't spring a leak.

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 11:33pm

Wick3 said: "I was hoping for a higher gross from Be More Chill (last week they earned $738k for 7 performances but only $705k for 8 performances this week.)

The house record for Lyceum is $911k from Oh HELLO, right? Hopefully Be More Chill can beat that in June or 4th of July weekend."

That is the record for a nine-performance week.

https://deadline.com/2019/02/be-more-chill-broadway-house-record-box-office-31-million-1202560374/

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 11:48pm

Miles2Go2 said: "It will be interesting to see if The Ferryman rebounds after the January - March doldrums. With that huge cast, it can’t be a cheap show to keep running although I guess since it’s not a musical, they save on not having an orchestra. Also, a Tony Win for best play may help boost box office for awhile."

I'm sure they're holding out til the Tonys -- Sonia Friedman can afford that. It will probably be re-reviewed in a few weeks, which could give it a bump before awards season. And while they don't have to pay an orchestra, they do have to pay overtime because the show is over 3 hours. (And there are babies, animals, etc)

[theaterlyfe19]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 8:10am

ACL2006 said: "I think it's time WAITRESS & BEAUTIFUL pack it in."

 

I think Waitress might see a bit of a boost during Shoshana Beans run, but I think I heard a rumor from an industry professional that Beautiful  may be closing soon. Take it with a grain of salt, although he was right about something else that came to fruition. You never know! Also as long as there are fans of the show and they keep coming back, and since Waitress recouped and I believe it doesn't have a high running cost, I think it won't be posting a closing notice any time soon...(but it's also one of my top favorite musicals so I'm hoping and praying it won't). Also- why would you ever wish a closing on a show (time for a show to close up shop)? 

 

Updated On: 2/26/19 at 08:10 AM

[bowtie7]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 9:45am

HogansHero said: "@vampire no. what's in the papers is just a projection. investing in a show is like getting on a boat and sailing into a pitch black cave, hoping that it doesn't spring a leak. "

Such a brilliant way to put it. (a single script change can cause a ensemble quick change and explode the wardrobe weekly cost, a cast change adds to the cost--actually all cast costs are usually estimates and every cast members' agent wants to see that number increase)

(Note to Vampire Musical--investors receive regular financial statements, so they do see what the weekly expenses are (and how they can vary week to week) though slightly after the fact)

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 9:54am

re the variation by the week: it can actually be very un-slight. As a for instance, a show that splashes a huge color spread in the sunday Times for spring preview week can easily have a six figure variation. 

[Wick3]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 10:01am

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Wick3 said: "I was hoping for a higher gross from Be More Chill (last week they earned $738k for 7 performances but only $705k for 8 performances this week.)

The house record for Lyceum is $911k from Oh HELLO, right? Hopefully Be More Chill can beat that in June or 4th of July weekend."

That is the record for a nine-performance week.

https://deadline.com/2019/02/be-more-chill-broadway-house-record-box-office-31-million-1202560374/"

thank you for this! So many house records but I'm guessing the standard is the 8-performance a week house record, which is $804k. I think Be More Chill can beat that perhaps Easter weekend or even Memorial Day weekend if not sooner.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 10:06am

I don't really understand the infatuation with house records, but the house record is the house record, whether it has an asterisk or not.