By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on November 12, 2012 6:56 PM
Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis For Week Ending 11/11/2012 Reflects Broadway Sales Getting Back On Track After The Devastating Effects Of Hurricane Sandy
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" Beats "The 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:| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Cap | AvgPaidAdm |
| A CHRISTMAS STORY | $461,281 | 7,225 | 68.13% | $63.85 |
| AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE | $133,315 | 3,083 | 68.39% | $43.24 |
| ANNIE | $872,700 | 10,763 | 80.66% | $81.08 |
| BRING IT ON THE MUSICAL | $341,557 | 5,406 | 50.66% | $63.18 |
| CHAPLIN | $382,398 | 5,192 | 62.11% | $73.65 |
| CHICAGO | $476,867 | 5,673 | 65.66% | $84.06 |
| CYRANO DE BERGERAC | $258,593 | 4,642 | 79.70% | $55.71 |
| DEAD ACCOUNTS | $310,468 | 4,188 | 59.29% | $74.13 |
| ELF | $438,569 | 6,502 | 91.32% | $67.45 |
| EVITA | $864,021 | 8,221 | 63.75% | $105.10 |
| GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS | $991,322 | 7,404 | 98.76% | $133.89 |
| GOLDEN BOY | $88,644 | 1,927 | 64.88% | $46.00 |
| GRACE | $313,522 | 4,050 | 46.92% | $77.41 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $892,540 | 8,559 | 87.12% | $104.28 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $612,816 | 7,513 | 62.69% | $81.57 |
| MARY POPPINS | $603,559 | 8,982 | 62.48% | $67.20 |
| NEWSIES | $740,138 | 8,063 | 84.34% | $91.79 |
| NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT | $736,134 | 7,611 | 66.11% | $96.72 |
| ONCE | $948,613 | 7,701 | 90.99% | $123.18 |
| PETER AND THE STARCATCHER | $268,425 | 4,404 | 53.03% | $60.95 |
| ROCK OF AGES | $471,749 | 4,365 | 93.59% | $108.08 |
| SCANDALOUS | $181,738 | 6,757 | 62.47% | $26.90 |
| SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK | $1,077,972 | 11,314 | 73.28% | $95.28 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,627,820 | 8,752 | 102.63% | $185.99 |
| THE HEIRESS | $583,852 | 6,310 | 82.94% | $92.53 |
| THE LION KING | $1,506,571 | 12,245 | 91.27% | $123.04 |
| THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD | $236,602 | 6,862 | 85.43% | $34.48 |
| THE PERFORMERS | $182,143 | 5,780 | 67.08% | $31.51 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $647,157 | 8,153 | 63.50% | $79.38 |
| WAR HORSE | $516,829 | 5,912 | 69.13% | $87.42 |
| WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? | $324,636 | 3,536 | 64.60% | $91.81 |
| WICKED | $1,506,283 | 12,560 | 86.79% | $119.93 |
| Total: | $19,598,827 | 219,655 | 73.43% | $83.46 |
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
