A string of Broadway newcomers led by Sweeney Todd: Fleet Street’s demonic barber helped bring the industry’s total box office earnings to $28,638,821 last week, up 13.8% from the previous week. The total number of visitors increased proportionally to 229,771.
Sweeney Todd, starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford, grossed a whopping $1.8 million for the cat, selling out seven previews at the Lunt-Fontanne for the week ending March 12. The Stephen Sondheim-Hugh Wheeler musical had a healthy average ticket price of $172.18. The premiere is on March 26.
Another strong performer last week was A dollhouse, the critically acclaimed Ibsen revival starring Jessica Chastain. The play, which opened on March 9, grossed $728,913, representing 97% of the Hudson’s seats.
march, with just seven previews (Saturday night’s show was canceled due to a technical glitch) grossed $861,707 — down from $52,803 no doubt reflecting the loss of the sold-out weekend preview — with 95% of seats filled at the Jacobs. The musical revival with Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond opens on March 16.
First examples Camelot at the nonprofit Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. Adapted by Aaron Sorkin, the revival of the classic musical filled 95% of the venue’s seats and grossed $486,692 for four previews. The average ticket was $122.35 and the premiere is on April 13.
Some other notable numbers:
- Dance by Bob Fossein previews at the Music Box ahead of a March 19 opening, grossed $415,251 for six shows, at 82% capacity;
- Evil Cinderella, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical, grossed $592,938 for seven previews at the Imperial. Attendance was 89% of capacity, with an average ticket price of $68.44. premieres on March 23;
- life of pi began previews at Schoenfeld ahead of a March 30 opening and grossed $376,362 for five performances and 99% of seats. The average ticket costs $77;
- peeled offthe new musical comedy based on a book by Robert Horn (tootsie), directed by Grammy winner Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally hair spray‘s Jack O’Brien, began previews at the Dutchman and grossed $291,972 for five performances. The musical, about a young farm girl who wants to save her town, sold out 99% of the time, with an average ticket price of $50.14. The low ticket price was in line with producer Mike Bosner’s plan to bring preview pricing back to Broadway, with orchestra seats for all previews starting at $69 (and capped at $149) and mezzanine seats starting at US$29 to encourage ticket buyers to a bet on an unknown completely original show. With the first week of previews almost sold out, the decision looks promising.
Among the long-running shows, Chicago, now starring Jinkx Monsoon as Mama Morton, had its best grossing week in its 26-year history. The production grossed $913,161, beating the previous record of $912,003 set in 2013.
In the season to date, Broadway has grossed $1,241,489,742 with total admissions of 9,595,685 and an 88% seat loading rate.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. The full box office list can be found on the league’s website.
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Source: Deadline
Bernice Bonaparte is an author and entertainment journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a passion for pop culture and a talent for staying up-to-date on the latest entertainment news, Bernice has become a trusted source for information on the entertainment industry.
