Broadway Grosses w/e 9/17/2017: Why shows are stickin’ around in September
It used to be that shows that were winding down their runs on Broadway in the summertime closed up shop on Labor Day weekend, before the dreaded first two weeks of September.
This season we saw two shows (Groundhog Day and Bandstand) run into these low-grossing September weeks and close yesterday instead.
Why?
Most likely it was because of BroadwayWeek, the 2-for-1 promotion that benefits the newest shows in town, as local bargain hunters who don’t want to pay full price for the new offerings come a runnin’.
And it worked, as both of those shows put bigger numbers on the boards, making them money at a time when other shows struggle to make money. (Since your closing weeks tend to sell more than weeks when there isn’t as much scarcity, it’s sometimes beneficial to close in a down week, as opposed to a week that would sell on its own.)
Overall, sales were up 13% from the previous week, thanks a bit to the shows above, as well as to Bette Midler’s return to Dolly (that’s over $1mm right there).
Family shows continue to be a bit depressed this time of year, and while I’d normally say the worst of September is over, this weekend’s beginning of the Jewish holidays will keep grosses depressed for a bit longer.
Come on Columbus Day.
Here are the grosses from last week:
| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Capacity | AvgPdAdm |
| 1984 | $313,796.58 | 4,920 | 63.40% | $63.78 |
| A BRONX TALE THE MUSICAL | $761,800.76 | 7,743 | 92.71% | $98.39 |
| A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2 | $303,106.00 | 4,034 | 65.06% | $75.14 |
| ALADDIN | $1,330,021.00 | 13,388 | 96.90% | $99.34 |
| ANASTASIA | $868,775.90 | 9,020 | 98.64% | $96.32 |
| BANDSTAND | $757,431.22 | 8,344 | 100.97% | $90.78 |
| BEAUTIFUL | $906,680.04 | 8,029 | 97.82% | $112.93 |
| CATS | $758,050.00 | 9,433 | 85.75% | $80.36 |
| CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY | $823,794.00 | 9,970 | 83.31% | $82.63 |
| CHICAGO | $622,109.30 | 7,560 | 87.50% | $82.29 |
| COME FROM AWAY | $1,298,037.50 | 8,529 | 101.92% | $152.19 |
| DEAR EVAN HANSEN | $1,664,830.34 | 7,958 | 101.09% | $209.20 |
| GROUNDHOG DAY | $892,580.90 | 9,061 | 92.23% | $98.51 |
| HAMILTON | $2,932,511.00 | 10,753 | 101.75% | $272.72 |
| HELLO, DOLLY! | $2,322,113.74 | 11,658 | 100.78% | $199.19 |
| KINKY BOOTS | $844,456.05 | 9,453 | 82.98% | $89.33 |
| MISS SAIGON | $695,225.16 | 9,211 | 78.06% | $75.48 |
| PRINCE OF BROADWAY | $387,395.20 | 4,443 | 90.01% | $87.19 |
| SCHOOL OF ROCK | $676,955.21 | 8,611 | 70.67% | $78.62 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,185,674.00 | 8,695 | 101.96% | $136.36 |
| THE LION KING | $1,791,715.00 | 13,489 | 99.42% | $132.83 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $933,806.50 | 11,143 | 86.78% | $83.80 |
| THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG | $335,892.75 | 5,034 | 73.68% | $66.72 |
| THE TERMS OF MY SURRENDER | $308,614.40 | 5,788 | 71.78% | $53.32 |
| TIME AND THE CONWAYS | $92,816.39 | 1,772 | 80.47% | $52.38 |
| WAITRESS | $696,736.05 | 7,643 | 91.42% | $91.16 |
| WAR PAINT | $615,785.50 | 7,912 | 84.67% | $77.83 |
| WICKED | $1,492,476.50 | 14,542 | 97.39% | $102.63 |
| TOTALS | $26,613,186.99 | 238,136 | 88.54% | $105.05 |
| +/- THIS WEEK LAST SEASON | +$4,438,337.13 | |||
| PERCENTAGE +/- THIS WEEK LAST SEASON | +20.02% |
*Broadway Grosses courtesy of The Broadway League.
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