BROADWAY TICKET SALES TOP 37 MILLION
It was a very merry Christmas on Broadway, as ticket sales on the Great White Way went through the roof during Christmas week.  Coming in at a total of $37,441,497, Christmas week actually exceeded the (already quite impressive) Thanksgiving week sales by more than $10 million.  The combination of tourist dollars, families in search of something to do with their relatives in town, special matinee performances geared towards the holiday crowd, and the willingness of many people to pay premium ticket prices as a Christmas treat all meant big bucks at the box office for Broadway.

FIVE BROADWAY SHOWS EXCEED TWO MILLION
A total of five Broadway musicals managed to make it over the two million mark, which is no easy feat.  Annie, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, and Wicked were the chosen few to rake in that much cash, with Wicked coming extremely close to hitting a whopping $3 million ($2,947,172).  Though Wicked grabbed the week’s top spot in total revenue, The Book of Mormon had the highest average paid admission, which was an incredible $219.24 per ticket.

SPIDER-MAN RISES TO THE SECOND HIGHEST GROSSING SHOW FOR THE FIRST TIME 
Spider-man Turn Off the Dark did extremely well this past week almost doubling their gross ticket sales (in dollars) from last week’s $1,471,237 to $2,716,990. The extreme increase in ticket sales could be due to the Holidays.  Kids (who seem to be the target market) are out of school for the Holiday break.  As a result, the broadway show increased the total attendance from 12,386 to 16,946.  Another factor that resulted in this large increase in gross ticket sales would be the increase in ticket price. The Holidays allow shows to sell Broadway tickets at a higher price because there are more buyers than tickets allowing a show to continue to raise their ticket price until the market cannot tolerate the price point.
On Broadway, tickets further from the stage are traditionally lower in price the further back you go. Spider-Man’s ticket pricing, however, at the Foxwoods theatre in New York City bucks this trend with seats in random locations around the theatre, priced considerably higher than their adjacent seats because Spiderman will land in the area close to them. For example, half the seats in the flying circle (the quaint British name for the mezzanine) are being priced at $300 face value, compared to an adjacent seat at $159 at the same show. Also some random seats in the Orchestra are priced at $349, with adjacent seats being $299. Patrons of the show who sit in these seats are provided with an incomparable and unique experience that they cannot find with any other Broadway show.

BRING IT ON AND A CHRISTMAS STORY CONCLUDE WITH GOOD SALES
The two Broadway shows that finished their runs at the end of this past week, Bring It On: The Musical and A Christmas Story, both enjoyed great ticket sales their final week.  Both shows filled their theaters to more than 97% capacity, with A Christmas Story getting an excellent $131.67 average paid admission (helped no doubt by its being a holiday-themed family show) and Bring It On earning a solid average of $96.39 per admission.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending December 30, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

STRONG PRE-CHRISTMAS TICKET SALES
This past week’s ticket sales reflected a kind of “pre-Christmas” period, as many people had already begun gathering for the holiday at the end of the week ending 12/23. Accordingly, Broadway saw a boost in total ticket revenue, bringing in $25,850,274 (up well over $2 million from the previous week’s $23,488,097).

THE LION KING AND WICKED TOP 2 MILLION
Disney’s The Lion King won the week, earning a total of $2,129,609, and Wicked was close at its heels at $2,100,170. The third Broadway show in the mighty trio of top earners, The Book of Mormon, was uncharacteristically quite a bit further behind at $1,684,372. However, that difference of roughly $500,000 in sales is not due to any lag on Mormon‘s part, which sells out at top ticket prices week after week, but is rather due to the fact that Wicked and Lion King have much larger theaters and therefore much larger earning potential.

ANOTHER BAD WEEK FOR PICNIC AND THE OTHER PLACE
The revival Picnic and the new play The Other Place, both of which just recently began performances on Broadway, had another difficult week. With reviews not yet out, and any little potential word of mouth drowned out by the distraction of the more tourist-friendly shows that are popular at Christmas, these two plays each brought in approximately $149,000, making them by far the lowest earners of the week.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending December 23, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

SMALL DECREASE IN BROADWAY TICKET SALES
Total ticket sales for Broadway shows were slightly lower this week than last, coming in at $23,488,097 (about $400,000 less than last week’s take).  With this being high tourist season, it would seem that Broadway sales should be higher, not lower.  However, the drop could be due to lower attendance among locals, some of whom might have been busy with Chanukah festivities and others who may have been overwhelmed with pre-Christmas shopping and the end-of-year work rush.

TWO NEW SHOWS START PERFORMANCES
The Other Place, an Off-Broadway play that is now taking its chances in the Big Leagues, started preview performances this week.  Starring Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne), the drama managed to fill 70.63% of the theater (not bad for a new play with little buzz), but the average paid admission was only $44.79.  Another new production, William Inge’s Picnic, also began performances this week and experienced similar numbers (72.59% capacity with average admission at $37.82).

PLAYS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE
It’s no surprise, but most Broadway plays continue to be shut out of the holiday bounty.  While holiday-oriented musicals like Annie, A Christmas Story, and Elf (not to mention heavy hitters like Wicked, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, Spider-Man, and Once) all made over a million this week, most Broadway plays earned only a fraction of that amount.  Boasting tabloid favorite Katie Holmes didn’t help Dead Accounts to fill even half its theater, and star Paul Rudd (who is particularly high profile right now due to his forthcoming movie This Is 40) wasn’t able to help Grace fill more than 51.19% of its theater.  It’s possible that star-wattage simply doesn’t count for much during the Christmas season, when tourist-heavy audiences are more focused on seeing family shows than an edgy new play.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending December 16, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

BROADWAY TICKET SALES ON THE RISE
The total Broadway ticket sales for this past week rose from $22,154,853 to $23,837,823.  As an infusion of holiday tourists are enjoying the delights of Christmas in New York City, many of them are including a trip to at least one Broadway show on their itinerary, making the producers to many Broadway musicals and plays quite happy.

SCANDALOUS GOES OUT WITH A WHIMPER
Even in its final week on Broadway, Kathie Lee Gifford’s musical Scandalous ended its run with the worst gross on Broadway, only earning $177,438.  Reviews were largely negative, but the show’s quick demise is a misfortune for the musical’s star, the very talented Broadway stalwart Carolee Carmello, and for the audiences who are missing the chance to see her in a starring role.

HOLIDAY AUDIENCES PUT ANNIE AND CHRISTMAS STORY OVER A MILLION
With the exception of the highly lucrative Thanksgiving week, Annie and A Christmas Story had not been topping the million dollar mark, but that changed this week.  Both musicals enjoyed entry into the millionaires’ club, no doubt to do their family-friendly holiday appeal, making them ideal choices for vacationing families looking for a Broadway show to see.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending December 9, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

SALES BACK TO NORMAL FOLLOWING HOLIDAY BOOST
As expected, Broadway’s total ticket revenue was considerably lower this week than it was Thanksgiving week, since Broadway always experiences abnormally high ticket sales during that holiday.  However, this week’s total earnings on Broadway, which amounted to $22,154,853, were still very good.  In fact, excluding last week’s $27 million, that is the highest number Broadway has seen in total sales since August.  December is traditionally a very good time for The Great White Way, since Christmas season tourists flood New York City during this time.

BROADWAY’S HOLIDAY SHOWS: ELF AND A CHRISTMAS STORY
This season, Broadway is hosting two musicals that are doing limited-run productions aimed squarely at the holiday theater-going crowd.  Both Elf and A Christmas Story (each based on well-loved holiday films) are enjoying solid sales, earning $845,719 and $976,184, respectively.  However, given their particularly Christmas-y themes and recognizable names, it’s surprising that they aren’t doing a bit better.  Elf, for instance, only filled its theater to 70% capacity, so the cheery musical could still stand to see better ticket sales.  A Christmas Story is doing better, though, filling to nearly 85% capacity.

LONG-RUNNING HITS AND FAMILY SHOWS FIGHT FOR TOURIST DOLLARS
Well-known shows like Chicago and Phantom, along with family-friendly fare like Annie and Spider-man are all wrangling to bring in the holiday visitors, and the results are rarely predictable.  While the youth-friendly Newsies is doing very well (filling at 88.86% capacity, with an average paid admission of $99), Disney’s Mary Poppins only filled 64.58% of its theater last week.  Long-running musical Jersey Boys is seeing better-than-usual sales, bringing in a total of $1,018,387 last week and filling to 89.45% capacity, while longtime tourist favorite Mamma Mia! only filled to 61.47%.  When push came to shove, though, the week’s winner in total sales was Wicked, followed very closely by risque hit The Book of Mormon, and perennial family favorite The Lion King.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending December 2, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

THANKSGIVING BOOSTS BROADWAY SALES
Broadway certainly has cause to be thankful this week for the very existence of Thanksgiving.  The holiday is always a hit on Broadway, when families who have gathered for the long holiday weekend find themselves looking for a festive group activity.  Due to this injection of holiday spirit, Broadway’s total ticket sales revenue shot up to $27,019,880, an enormous improvement from last week’s $20,881,272.

MILLIONAIRES ABOUND ON BROADWAY
Shows that seldom if ever get into seven digits in sales broke the million mark this week as a result of the Thanksgiving holiday.  Not surprisingly, family shows in particular profited, including A Christmas Story ($1,104,312), Annie ($1,499,879), Mary Poppins ($1,118,687), and Newsies ($1,106,383).  Even The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway’s longest-running musical by far, managed to bring in $1,125,470, despite the fact that it’s been playing for 25 years.

WICKED AND THE LION KING EXCEED TWO MILLION IN SALES
Without even completely selling out its enormous theater (the Gershwin was filled to 97.09%), tween-friendly musical Wicked managed to blow past the two million mark and take the top spot, earning a whopping $2,290,819.  The Lion King, which has held a corner on the family theater-going market for years, also was a two-millionaire, completely selling out its theater and bringing in $2,125,661.

NOT ENOUGH WEALTH TO GO AROUND
While many Broadway shows enjoyed the Thanksgiving bounty, most shows that were already struggling continued to do so.  The new musical Chaplin only filled 57.31% of its theater, though its average paid admission was a respectable $77.86.  Scandalous‘ attendance was shockingly low, as the Kathie Lee Gifford-penned musical only filled 33.28% of its theater.  Having Katie Holmes as its star didn’t help the new play Dead Accounts sell more than $61.51% of its theater, but its average paid admission of $81.06 wasn’t bad for a play.  Plays in general (e.g. Cyrano, Golden Boy, The Anarchist) didn’t do too well, as they aren’t very popular with the holiday crowd.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending November 25, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

BROADWAY TICKET SALES RISE SLOWLY
Broadway appears to be gradually recovering from the blow of Hurricane Sandy, as evidenced by the total Broadway sales revenue numbers this week, which came in at $20,881,272, up from last week’s $19,598,827.  However, this week’s revenue is still more than one million shy of the numbers we saw in the week preceding Sandy, which is troubling at a time when a burst of new Broadway shows and holiday tourists should be quickly nudging ticket sales higher.

ANARCHY ON BROADWAY
The new David Mamet play The Anarchist began previews this week.  Though the drama can only dream of doing the numbers that the revival of Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross starring Al Pacino is currently seeing (Glengarry‘s theater is filling at 100.92% capacity with average ticket price at $152.96), The Anarchist had a very respectable start, selling at 73.61% capacity with an average paid admission of $80.43.  The play is likely enjoying a boost from Mamet’s well-known name, as well as having both a movie star (Debra Winger) and a Broadway icon (Patti Lupone) leading the cast.

POOR PERFORMANCE
Two of the three bottom earners last week, An Enemy of the People and The Performers, have now closed.  An Enemy of the People was a limited run for the non-profit Manhattan Theatre Club and managed to play its entire engagement, but The Performers was a commercial venture that succumbed to poor ticket sales and largely negative reviews.  Cutting their losses, the show’s producers decided to close just a few days after the play officially opened.  Meanwhile Scandalous, which has the lowest average paid admission at $23.77, plays on, but the bad reviews that the show received upon its opening this past week could mean that it is doomed.

THE LION KING’S CROWN IS SNATCHED AGAIN
Not only has The Lion King, once the biggest money-maker on Broadway, lost its spot at the top again this week to The Book of Mormon (Lion King earned $1,402,169, compared to Book of Mormon’s $1,620,206), but it was also beat out by Wicked, which brought in $1,598,476.  When this happened a few weeks ago, it appeared that Hurricane Sandy was to blame, but it could be that we’re seeing a downward trend for Disney’s long-running hit.

Then again, it could just be that other family-friendly competition (which is prevalent during the holiday season) such as Elf, A Christmas Story, and Annie are temporarily stealing Lion‘s thunder.  After all, the Tony-winning musical does have a 15-year track record of reigning supreme over other pretenders to the throne.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending November 18, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

POST-SANDY TOTAL BROADWAY SALES IMPROVING
Although its not up yet to pre-Hurricane Sandy numbers, the total weekly Broadway ticket sales revenue has bounced back considerably, from the terrible low of $13,578,724 during the week of the storm and its immediate aftermath up to $19,598,827.  Those numbers can only improve as New York City works at getting back to normal, with more and more locals getting power back and most transportation routes restored.

BROADWAY GETTING BACK TO NORMAL
After a rough week, in which a few incoming shows delayed starting previews, three new Broadway shows started performances this week.  The new seasonal musical A Christmas Story got off to a decent start, filling its theater to 68.13% capacity with an average paid admission of $63.85.  However, given that this Christmas-themed show is an extremely limited run, the producers are likely hoping to seeing it selling better soon.  The new play Dead Accounts had a similarly okay start, at 59.29% capacity with an average admission of $74.13.  Time will tell if the word that Tom Cruise’s ex, Katie Holmes, is starring in the play will make ticket sales spike.  Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of the drama Golden Boy only earned an average admission of $46.00 for its first week in previews, but non-profits like LCT have come to expect low numbers like that until opening, at which point they hope for a rave from the Times.

THE BOOK OF MORMON BESTS LION KING AGAIN
For the second week in a row, super-hit The Book of Mormon has beat long-running favorite The Lion King in total weekly sales.  The two have been engaged in a power struggle for some time and it will be interesting to see if The Book of Mormon can continue to tame the Lion.  Wicked came in third, making just a few hundred dollars less than The Lion King.  Other than those three, Spiderman was the only other Broadway show to earn over a million this week.  Even the Al Pacino-starring Glengarry Glen Ross, which is filling at 98.76% at an average paid admission of $133.89, could break the million mark.  The fact that some other more popular shows like Evita and Once didn’t manage those kinds of total sales this week might point to more post-Sandy affects, or it could be that they are losing ticket buyers to the many new shows on Broadway now that the fall season is in full swing.

UNDER-PERFORMING BROADWAY SHOWS
Though shows like An Enemy of the People and Cyrano de Bergerac have showed steadily low numbers during their runs at the non-profit theaters Manhattan Theatre Club and the Roundabout Theatre Company, respectively, there are two newer shows that are struggling even more.  The Kathie Lee Gifford co-authored musical Scandalous is doing extremely poorly, with an average paid admission of just $26.90, indicating that even to fill the theater to its modest 62.47% capacity, the show is having to “paper” the theater by giving away many tickets for free.  The new play The Performers is only selling a few more seats than that, with a slightly higher average admission of $31.51.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending November 11, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com

BROADWAY TICKET SALES PLUMMET DUE TO HURRICANE SANDY – THE SUPERSTORM THAT SWEPT THE EAST COAST LAST WEEK
The total ticket revenue for Broadway shows this past week experienced an extremely sharp decrease, dropping from the already lower-than-usual $20,083,783 to an alarmingly low $13,578,724.  Broadway normally sells $22 Million in ticket inventory, so it was a loss of $9.5 Million in just one week. This Broadway sales decrease was of course no surprise, since Hurricane Sandy necessitated the cancellation of all Broadway shows on Monday and Tuesday, with some shows also cancelling performances on Wednesday.

Even once performances re-started, Broadway had many other post-storm troubles to contend with.  Airport closures and delayed flights kept tourists away for a few days (though many hopeful Broadway shows did offer special discounts to draw stranded tourists out of their hotel rooms), and the over-crowded and only partially running public transit system kept many locals from visiting Times Square.

THE BOOK OF MORMON TOPS THE LION KING
The Book of Mormon finally beat out The Lion King on total ticket revenue for the week, though it likely has Hurricane Sandy to thank since The Lion King was one of the few Broadway shows that cancelled performances on Wednesday.  These two popular musicals, along with Wicked (which came in 2nd place among the top three earners), were the only Broadway shows to bring in over $1 million this past week–an impressive feat given the fact that New York City didn’t even have much working public transit for half of the week.

THE HARDEST HIT BROADWAY SHOWS
A number of shows weren’t even able to crack the $200,000 mark when it came to total sales:  An Enemy of the People, Bring It On, Cyrano de Bergerac, Peter and the Starcatcher, Scandalous, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and The Performers.  Having just begun preview performances last week when the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy was already starting to cause problems on Broadway, The Performers has had the misfortune to begin during a far-from-ideal time.  But though the Broadway comedy featuring Henry Winkler only filled its theater to 58.14% capacity with an average paid admission of $42.76 last week, good buzz may help it see better numbers next week, when it has its official opening night.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending November 04, 2012:

Empty Times Square subway station

HURRICANE SANDY CAUSES DROP IN BROADWAY TICKET SALES
Weekly total sales revenue on Broadway went down for the first time in several weeks, dropping from $22,023,787 to $20,083,783.  There is little doubt that the significant $2 million drop was directly related to the specter of Hurricane Sandy, which was making its way up to New York City during the course of last week.  Though the devastating storm had not yet hit on Sunday, many potential Broadway ticket buyers were surely scared away from Broadway and from NYC altogether due to the storm’s imminent arrival.  Furthermore, public transit was shut down that evening and all Sunday night Broadway shows were canceled.

Sadly next week’s total ticket revenue will surely be far lower, taking into account the fact that Broadway shows were canceled across the board on Monday and Tuesday, along with several shows canceled on Wednesday.  Even with all Broadway shows back to normal schedules as of Thursday, November 1, there is no question that the storm’s aftermath is continuing to keep Broadway ticket buyers at bay.

BIG HITS SEE SMALL DECLINE
Even the big Broadway hits are not completely immune to disaster, as Broadway smashes like The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, and Wicked saw drops in their weekly ticket grosses.  However, these losses were relatively slight, and even though next week will show even lower numbers for them due to Hurricane Sandy, these are the shows that can expect to bounce back quickly.

AL PACINO CONQUERS BROADWAY
The writing was already on the wall last week when Glengarry Glen Ross began previews at nearly 100% capacity and with an average paid admission rivaled only by The Book of Mormon.  But now it is clear that the Broadway revival starring Al Pacino is a bona fide smash, easily making it into the elite group of Broadway shows that boast a weekly gross of over $1 million.  The theater filled to 98.45% capacity this week, with an average paid admission of $154.73.

FRANKIE VALLI BESTS JERSEY BOYS IN AVERAGE ADMISSION
In the final week of their limited run at the Broadway Theatre, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons on Broadway saw strong numbers, getting the theater to 89.97% capacity.  Though it had little chance of beating the weekly gross of Jersey Boys–the Broadway musical that tells the true story of Frankie Valli’s rise to fame–since Jersey Boys plays at a larger theater, Frankie Valli in the flesh managed to get a higher average paid ticket price of $121.67, compared to Jersey Boys‘ average admission price of $104.88.

The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers from the week ending October 28, 2012:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League
All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2012 nytix.com