Broadway Grosses w/e 8/20/2017 and END of Q1 Results!
If it feels like just yesterday you were enjoying your Memorial Day picnic, it wasn’t.
That was a good twelve weeks ago now, and just as Memorial Day symbolizes the beginning of the summer season, this past week on Broadway was a sign that the summer is coming to a close.
Grosses were down in almost every single show on Broadway last week, combining for a 5% drop from the week before, as schools started up again in several states around the country (you know, this education really gets in the way of trying to make a buck!).
As I fortune-told, a few shows have announced their closing in the coming weeks, as grosses continue to wane, and I expect another one or two will follow suit soon.
But when we look at the quarter overall? (Last week represented the final week of Broadway’s Q1 – the 1st 13 weeks of the year.)
Well, shoot, forget Memorial Day, it might as well be Fourth of July. Just look at where we are this season so far:
GROSSES
- The first 13 weeks of our season have grossed a total of $417,588,055.
- Last season at the end of Q1 we had grossed $342,943,810.
- That’s up 21.8% (!) from last year.
ATTENDANCE
- 3,586,852 people have seen Broadway shows so far this season.
- 3,312,154 people had seen Broadway shows at the same time last year.
- That’s up 8.3% from last season.
PLAYING WEEKS
- There were 414 playing weeks so far this season.
- There were 395 playing weeks last season.
- That’s an increase of 4.8% over last year.
Is that some growth or what? I actually have a feeling it’s historic. I doubt that any other quarter has seen that kind of growth year-over-year before. 21.8%? If we were a publicly traded company, our stock would be through the roof.
And just wait until you see what happens when Frozen and Harry Potter are running right along all these other hits.
Here are the grosses from last week:
| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Capacity | AvgPdAdm |
| 1984 | $281,481.08 | 4,690 | 60.44% | $60.02 |
| A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL | $662,502.07 | 7,243 | 86.72% | $91.47 |
| A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 | $192,023.00 | 3,613 | 58.27% | $53.15 |
| ALADDIN | $1,561,350.50 | 13,378 | 96.83% | $116.71 |
| ANASTASIA | $946,515.30 | 8,434 | 92.24% | $112.23 |
| BANDSTAND | $489,288.46 | 5,940 | 71.88% | $82.37 |
| BEAUTIFUL | $672,823.00 | 6,595 | 80.35% | $102.02 |
| CATS | $728,668.00 | 8,310 | 75.55% | $87.69 |
| CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY | $880,763.50 | 9,235 | 77.16% | $95.37 |
| CHICAGO | $592,746.81 | 7,114 | 82.34% | $83.32 |
| COME FROM AWAY | $1,274,066.58 | 8,510 | 101.70% | $149.71 |
| DEAR EVAN HANSEN | $1,715,018.96 | 7,973 | 101.28% | $215.10 |
| GROUNDHOG DAY | $640,923.05 | 7,412 | 75.45% | $86.47 |
| HAMILTON | $2,969,573.00 | 10,753 | 101.75% | $276.16 |
| HELLO, DOLLY! | $2,205,028.15 | 11,697 | 101.12% | $188.51 |
| KINKY BOOTS | $725,665.75 | 7,862 | 69.01% | $92.30 |
| MARVIN’S ROOM | $193,030.01 | 3,880 | 66.08% | $49.75 |
| MISS SAIGON | $578,754.17 | 7,131 | 60.43% | $81.16 |
| NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 | $888,426.64 | 8,731 | 95.90% | $101.76 |
| ON YOUR FEET! | $1,207,438.80 | 11,768 | 90.47% | $102.60 |
| PRINCE OF BROADWAY | $303,964.50 | 4,553 | 92.24% | $66.76 |
| SCHOOL OF ROCK | $904,546.66 | 9,563 | 78.49% | $94.59 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,207,985.00 | 8,704 | 102.06% | $138.79 |
| THE LION KING | $2,147,648.00 | 13,568 | 100.00% | $158.29 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $1,037,448.78 | 11,515 | 89.68% | $90.10 |
| THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG | $322,085.75 | 4,916 | 71.96% | $65.52 |
| THE TERMS OF MY SURRENDER | $410,588.30 | 6,331 | 78.51% | $64.85 |
| WAITRESS | $602,137.00 | 6,151 | 73.58% | $97.89 |
| WAR PAINT | $539,721.00 | 7,335 | 78.50% | $73.58 |
| WICKED | $1,792,574.00 | 14,169 | 98.01% | $126.51 |
| TOTALS | $28,674,785.82 | 247,074 | 83.60% | $106.83 |
| +/- THIS WEEK LAST SEASON | + $5,664,791.78 | |||
| PERCENTAGE +/- THIS WEEK LAST SEASON | + 24.62% |
*Broadway Grosses courtesy of The Broadway League.
Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.
