Broadway Drops Holiday Weight: Thinner Roster Sees Box Office Down 28% To $31M

Greg Evans

Broadway’s winter thinning continued last week, with a trimmer roster and lower ticket prices sending total box office on a 28% drop from the previous week to $31.1 million.

Attendance for the 29-show lineup was 259,101, a drop of 18% from the previous week’s 36-show list.

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Most productions reported box office dips for the week ending January 12, even those doing sellout business — ticket prices that were lower on average than the holiday highs the culprit.

Even with the tumbles, though, the sturdiest of the shows continued to pull big numbers. David Byrne’s American Utopia, closing February 16, took in a whopping $1.1M, with premium ticket sales at the Hudson Theatre pushing the celebrated theatrical concert to 139% of its potential.

West Side Story was SRO at the Broadway Theatre, grossing $1.4M for seven previews, and Beetlejuice, continuing its amazing revitalization at the Winter Garden, was a sellout yet again, taking in $1.2M.

In its final week, Freestyle Love Supreme was SRO at the Booth, grossing $1.1M. The Sound Inside, starring Mary-Louise Parker, also played its last, seeing a significant bump of $182,735 in receipts to hit $630,651, filling 84% of its seats.

Broadway Ends 2019 With Record Weekly Hauls For ‘West Side Story’, ‘Beetlejuice’, ‘Ain’t Too Proud’ & More

In addition to West Side Story, three shows are in previews:

  • My Name Is Lucy Barton, starring Laura Linney at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, was at 97% of capacity for seven performances, grossing $478,414 (opens January 15);

  • A Soldier Play, starring David Alan Grier and Blair Underwood, was at 85% capacity at the nonprofit Roundabout’s American Airlines Theatre, taking $305,205 (opens January 21);

  • Grand Horizons at the Helen Hayes, starring Jane Alexander, James Cromwell, Ben McKenzie and Michael Urie, was at 74% of capacity at the not-for-profit Second Stage’s Broadway venue, grossing $213,547 (opens January 23).

Season to date, Broadway has grossed $1.13 billion, down about 6% year to year. Total attendance to date is 9,179,499, about 2% lower than last season at this time.

All figures courtesy of the trade group Broadway League.

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