Broadway Grosses: Week Ending 4/7/19

[Rob]

Click below to access all the Broadway grosses from all the shows for the week ending 4/7/2019 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.

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Up for the week by attendance was: THE BAND'S VISIT (4.5%), KING LEAR (2.3%), HADESTOWN (1.3%), OKLAHOMA! (1.3%), THE FERRYMAN (1.2%), WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (0.4%), THE BOOK OF MORMON (0.2%), THE CHER SHOW (0.1%),

Down for the week by attendance was: KINKY BOOTS (-13.5%), TOOTSIE (-13.1%), KING KONG (-9.1%), BE MORE CHILL (-8.6%), MEAN GIRLS (-8.2%), CHICAGO (-7.7%), WAITRESS (-7.3%), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (-6.7%), BEETLEJUICE (-5.2%), THE PROM (-5.1%), FROZEN (-4.9%), BURN THIS (-4.2%), PRETTY WOMAN: THE MUSICAL (-2.9%), NETWORK (-2.8%), AIN'T TOO PROUD (-2%), ALADDIN (-2%), MY FAIR LADY (-1.9%), BEAUTIFUL (-1.8%), GARY: A SEQUEL TO TITUS ANDRONICUS (-1.8%), HILLARY AND CLINTON (-0.7%), COME FROM AWAY (-0.7%), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (-0.5%), THE LION KING (-0.4%), KISS ME, KATE (-0.2%), HAMILTON (-0.2%),

Click Here to Visit the BroadwayWorld Grosses...

[Sauja]

Thrilled to see CONSTITUTION's grosses up so much. I really hope the show is the hit it deserves to be. With a couple shows yet to go (Hadestown, All My Sons, Ink), it's the best thing I've seen this season on OR off-Broadway.

[barcelona20]

Not a great start for Beetlejuice or Tootsie.

[n2nbaby]

I don’t like thinking negatively about shows but I’m genuinely confused when King Kong is even open at this point. I saw it on Saturday, getting a front row rush ticket an hour before showtime, and the orchestra was maybe 1/3 full. They also never have it on TDF on the weekends or have lotto on weekends either (not that it would do much for grosses but it at least would make the house a little more full, I felt bad for the actors). It wasn’t great theatre or even really good theatre, but worth paying rush prices to see Kong. Everything they did with him was amazing, but I feel weird saying “it isn’t very good but you need to see it!”

I also hope the Tony nominations help out The Ferryman. I expected it to be a big sold out hit, especially with the West End cast, which never really happened.

[YvanEhtNioj]

So many shows went down last week

[bjh2114]

barcelona20 said: "Not a great start for Beetlejuice or Tootsie."

Surprised Tootsie's attendance percentage dropped so much, but I actually don't think that Beetlejuice's numbers are that bad for a 7-show week. If it played a full 8-show week, in theory it would have brought in about $875k. Not amazing but certainly not horrible.

[barcelona20]

Have to look at the average ticket price.  Only $77 for Beetlejuice.  No musical can sustain that. Needs to be $100+

[YvanEhtNioj]

I'm honestly surprised Beautiful is still open 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Those are respectable starts for both Tootsie and Beetlejuice, but both will have to sustain and build upon those numbers. One looks like it's getting mixed reviews and some Tony noms, the other looks like it's getting mixed-to-negative reviews.

Kong is running because its producers can afford to keep it running, and there's not a show clamoring to get into the Broadway right now. It won't go down without a fight.

BMC's $102 ticket average is pretty good, in that they're not papering the heck out of it. But a 16% drop is bad (on top of drops the previous 2 weeks).

[bjh2114]

barcelona20 said: "Have to look at the average ticket price. Only $77 for Beetlejuice. No musical can sustain that. Needs to be $100+"

Well considering its average price last week for its first 2 performances was $122.97, we'll have to wait and see what the pattern looks like. Obviously it can't sustain at $77 a week forever, but for one week of a 7-show preview week, that isn't horrible. Hell, Kinky Boots which just ended a 6+ year run on Broadway played at under an $80 average for the entirety of previews. Granted it got help from its Tony wins, but the point is that a pattern can change. A single $77 average week won't sink a show.

[Braniff Forever]

Do you think Be More Chill will go up in the summer? It seems to drop week after week. What happened to the “its going to be the next Hamilton?” Funny, I would have thought that Hadestown would be doing better since a lot of people around this board think Hadestown is actually the next Hamilton. (But it doesn’t seem that Hadestown could actually be the next Hamilton because the theater is smaller so could never sell that much in a week?)

[bjh2114]

Be More Chill will probably get a bump during the summer since its main target audience (teens) will be out of school. Once the reviews for Hadestown come out and the non-NY theatre crown hears about it (especially after it inevitably wins the Best Musical Tony), it'll be VERY hard to get a ticket. "The next Hamilton" seems a little extreme, but it'll get a bump in the grosses without a doubt.

[Mike Barrett]

bjh2114 said: "Be More Chill will probably get a bump during the summer since its main target audience (teens) will be out of school. Once the reviews for Hadestown come out and the non-NY theatre crown hears about it (especially after it inevitably wins the Best Musical Tony), it'll be VERY hard to get a ticket. "The next Hamilton" seems a little extreme, but it'll get a bump in the grosses without a doubt."

In terms of next theatre event, being an out of towner who loves when people bring up theatre, I’d say the next event psst Hamilton is Dear Evan Hansen. So I’d say in terms of buzz/ticket sales Hadestown is the next DEH for awhile. Tough ticket to get but not impossible if you plan. Where with Hamilton if you plan it may not matter anyways lol and prices are absurd 

[JSquared2]

BE MORE CHILL = Lyceum available after Labor Day (if not sooner)

They should have gone to New World Stages.

 

[SomethingPeculiar]

I wish "the next Hamilton" could be retired permanently.

Hamilton is a once-in-a-generation musical that received an unprecedented amount of critical praise, word-of-mouth, awards, and press from outside the theatre community –– all because it was unlike anything else on Broadway. It eclipsed the response for similarly-lauded shows like The Book of Mormon, The Producers, Angels in America, and A Chorus Line. It wiill easily run 10+ years.

Will there be other great shows that make money and win awards? ABSOLUTELY! But comparing them to Hamilton is sort of the anti-Hamilton; that show was successful because it was different.

[TFMH18]

That Constitution number!!!!!!! WOW. Only 100K less than The Prom, how thrilling (for the former, not the latter, sadly). 

[Jarethan]

Mike Barrett said: "bjh2114 said: "Be More Chill will probably get a bump during the summer since its main target audience (teens) will be out of school. Once the reviews for Hadestown come out and the non-NY theatre crown hears about it (especially after it inevitably wins the Best Musical Tony), it'll be VERY hard to get a ticket. "The next Hamilton" seems a little extreme, but it'll get a bump in the grosses without a doubt."

In terms of next theatre event, being an out of towner who loves when people bring up theatre, I’d say the next event psst Hamilton is Dear Evan Hansen. So I’d say in terms of buzz/ticket sales Hadestown is the next DEH for awhile. Tough ticket to get but not impossible if you plan. Where with Hamilton if you plan it may not matter anyways lol and prices are absurd"

Agree with your point...there is always the most recent big thing.  Of course, Hamilton is STILL the really big thing; if Hadestown does become the next DEH, I am betting that its reign will be incredibly short-lived, since I am betting that Moulin Rouge will be the real next Hamilton.  (Interestingly, Hello Dolly was really only the next big thing for about 7-8 months...Fiddler became a much harder ticket as soon as it opened).  

[ccbway]

I always wonder why people are so quick to anoint Hadestown as the "next big thing" and a guaranteed Best Musical winner as if any of this means anything.

Good reviews and critical acclaim could easily be the next Great Comet, and the Best Musical (if it even wins) could be the next Band's Visit - neither of which blew up to any significant levels. I still question that its inability to win any Olivier awards isn't an indicator that it isn't a given to "definitely" sweep awards season somehow, but it also seemed like it had somewhat of a warm, but not blazing hot reception during its London run in general.

This board likes to make sweeping generalizations - half a year ago, people were ready to anoint something like Girl From North Country as a guaranteed transfer that would for-sure hit it big, and I haven't heard anything about that show at all since it closed.

If there's anything coming up to be the "next Hamilton" - I would put wagers on Moulin Rouge - just based on ticket prices and seeming demand. But again, you never know when something flops or hits. Trying to equate anything to Hamilton that had mid-$100 ticket prices from the get-go and over 100% sell rates through its very first week, seems unlikely anytime soon.

[RWPrincess]

A lot of NY area schools have Spring Break next week and/or week after so it will be interesting to see the impact of that

[Impossible2]

The delusion that Hadestown is going to become the next big 'Hamiltonesque' thing makes me larf.

The only reason it's getting the hyperbolic raves on here is because the last years musicals have been so utterly bland/terrible which is also the only reason it'll get any of the awards it may be nominated for.

Beyond score (and even that's for the most part what 10 years old???) and maybe at a stretch Paige, it doesn't really 'deserve' anything.

If it does happen to sweep, it won't be a deserved one like Band's Visit, it'll be just plain old good luck.

[itsjustmejonhotmailcom]

SomethingPeculiar said: "BMC's $102 ticket average is pretty good, in that they're not papering the heck out of it. But a 16% drop is bad (on top of drops the previous 2 weeks)."

That $102 is average paid admission. Papering doesn't bring that down. A better metric is revenue per seat, which is just dividing gross by capacity. That takes comps into account.

 

[WhizzerMarvin]

I’m thrilled Constitution posted those gains! I’m sure the running costs are low...I’m hoping this turns into a big hit! 

 

None of new musicals seem to be a hit right out of the gate. Even Book of Mormon was on tdf the first weeks of previews here and there, so anything can happen, but these numbers aren’t great at the moment for Hadestown, Tootsie and Beetlejuice (nor Be More Chill, The Cher Show, The Prom or King Kong). I do see Hadestown winning Best Musical, but I think it will have more of a Band’s Visit effect than a DEH. 

The only exception to this is Ain’t Too Proud, which is charging out the gate, but the same happened to flops like Summer and Charlie. Big million dollar+ grosses during the spring and summer and then a drastic drop off after Labor Day. Maybe Ain’t Too Proud can hang on a little longer and buck the trend. 

[ACL2006]

AIN'T TOO PROUD got better reviews than SUMMER, CHARLIE or MOTOWN. So it stands to possibly run longer.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Yes, Ain’t Too Proud will be helped by those kind reviews. I could see it sticking around for a couple years.

I think the average ticket price does include comps. For the three weeks Blonde in the Thunderbird ran, the average ticket prices were: $11.86, $11.02 and $19.49. This were all far lower than tdf or the cheapest available ticket.

[Rogerdellibovi]

I’m 100% done with the “next Hamilton” talk. A show can be good without it being a sweeping financial success for years and years. And anyone who says “X doesn’t deserve best musical” (or any other award) without saying who from this season does deserve it are just dumb. I didn’t enjoy the bands visit but I think it deserved best musical because it was the best musical that year. It’s not a hard concept. I have no problem with people saying “x didn’t deserve it because I think y should have gotten it” but let’s stop saying “x doesn’t deserve it because I personally don’t like it or because this season is so weak no one deserves it”