Broadway Box Office: ‘Charlie,’ ‘Groundhog Day’ Heat Up

The overall Broadway box office slowed last week, but some of the Street’s newer shows picked up — among them “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Groundhog Day,” as well as the powerhouse “Hello, Dolly!,” breaking yet another house record.

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” ($1,151,021) got its fair share of downbeat reviews (plus a handful of swell ones) following its April 23 opening, but neither that nor last week’s second-night press comps seemed to slow down sales for the crowd-pleasing title, which climbed almost 15% (or about $140,000) to move back into the millionaires’ club. “Groundhog Day” ($755,009), which opened April 17, wasn’t as far up the chart, but it did hit its highest tally so far — by a good $100,000 — in the wake of some prominent raves.

And then there was “Hello, Dolly!” ($2,105,474 for seven), which muscled up to the No. 2 spot on the Top 10 behind “Hamilton” ($2,786,938). In the previous frame, the show had taken a tumble due to press comps and its opening night, but last week it rebounded easily, hitting its highest numbers yet and setting its newest house record at the Shubert Theater.

New musical “Bandstand” ($508,757) managed to rise a bit even in its opening week, as did last fall’s buzzmagnet “Dear Evan Hansen” ($1,235,972), while a few freshly opened plays also climbed — “Six Degrees of Separation” ($361,926) and “A Doll’s House, Part 2” ($144,520), both rising in their opening week, plus “The Little Foxes” ($402,742), recovering after its opening frame. Fellow plays “Oslo” ($584,905) and “Indecent” ($241,757) upticked.

Otherwise, most shows posted declines last week as attendance fell by about 18,000 to 297,215, or 86% of the overall seating capacity. Cumulative box office slipped by more than $3 million to $32.5 million for 36 shows now playing.

But no matter where it falls on the chart, each of this season’s new productions is holding its breath for the Tony nominations, which can help build national awareness title in advance of the big night. Nominations are announced first thing in the morning May 2 — and the whole street will be watching for the box office fallout from there.

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