Broadway began its trek into the lucrative holiday season last week at a steady clip, with the 28 shows grossing a total of $29,163,440 for the week ending November 12. That’s up about 10% over the previous week, though down about the same percentage from last year at this time.
Last year’s take at this point in the fall – $32,314,920 for 34 shows – was closer to pre-Covid pandemic levels: The week ending November 11, 2018, saw Broadway receipts of $36,501,888, while the week ending November 10, 2019 was at $35,399,366. In 2021, when Broadway returned from its year-plus shutdown, the comparable November week was down to $25,565,641.
The better news is that the majority of shows currently on the boards are doing pretty good business, with only six of the 28 shows pulling in audiences of less than 90% capacity (A Beautiful Noise, Chicago, Melissa Etheridge: My Window, Purlie Victorious, Some Like It Hot and The Shark is Broken).
Twelve of the 28 shows grossed more than $1 million for the week: & Juliet ($1,107,122); Aladdin ($1,188,415); Back to the Future ($1,299,452); Gutenberg! The Musical ($1,031,617); Hamilton ($1,941,374); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($1,241,808); Merrily We Roll Along ($1,865,831); MJ ($1,556,037); Moulin Rouge! ($1,269,624); Sweeney Todd ($1,770,126); The Lion King ($1,990,894); and Wicked ($1,864,500). Six was almost there with $999,517.
The Merrily We Roll Along take of $1,865,831 was another house record at the Hudson Theatre, with the musical starring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez also topping the roster in average ticket price: $241.44 (average ticket price for all 28 shows was $123.69).
Two shows were in previews last week: Harmony, which opened last night, filled about 92% of seats at the Barrymore, grossing $643,894; and Spamalot, which was at 91% capacity for seven previews at the St. James, grossing $753,230. Figures for both of those shows were no doubt impacted by heavily comped press performances. Spamalot opens November 16.
Season to date, Broadway has grossed $708,085,316, with total attendance at 5,808,985.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.