By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on May 10, 2017 5:09 PM
This Past Week’s Box Office Demonstrated Positive Interest In New And Long-Running Shows On Broadway, With Leading Success Earned By “Hello, Dolly!” “Dear Evan Hansen,” And “Hamilton.”
“Hello, Dolly!,” “Waitress,” and “Dear Evan Hansen” Topped the Charts On Broadway
As the Tony Awards are approaching, the box office is on the rise for certain shows that are in the running for awards. Meanwhile, some long-running shows are also at the top of their game. This past week, the week ending May 7, 2017, the best performing show in terms of its own gross potential was the Bette Midler led revival of Hello, Dolly!. Even while decreasing by $141,511 in comparison to last week, this show brought in a weekly gross of $1,963,963, which represents 120.2% of its gross potential.
The next best performing show was Waitress, which is thriving at the box office due to the lead role presenting being portrayed by the show’s composer, Sara Bareilles. The show’s weekly gross this past week was $1,183,018, which represents 116.0% of its gross potential. Perhaps most interestingly, of the four shows that are nominated for this year’s Tony Award for Best Musical, the best performing is Dear Evan Hansen, which brought in a weekly gross of $1,296,755, or 110.1% of its gross potential.
The Broadway Shows Spark Positive Feedback
While box office performance is not necessarily an indicator of a show’s likelihood of winning a Tony Award, it is certainly a sign that word of mouth has been positive enough to garner such box office interest. In fact, it is often the other way around, with a show’s box office spiking after it has won an award. Still, Dear Evan Hansen looks to be a strong contender for the race, which also includes the nominees Come From Away, Groundhog Day the Musical, and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.
“Hamilton” Brings in Sixth Highest Gross of its Run
While certain shows that are new this season are faring well, one crowd pleaser has continued to break its own records. Last year’s Tony Award winning Best Musical Hamilton, which is widely known to be a hot ticket, brought in the sixth highest gross of its run this past week. Breaking the three million dollar mark yet again, the weekly gross was $3,141,642, which represents 108.1% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $849.00, the average paid admission was $292.14, and the audience was filled up to 101.8% of its capacity on average across the eight performances.
This is a notable increase of $354,704 from the week before, which also had an impressive gross of $2,786,938. The record for the highest weekly gross for Hamilton is still held by the week ending January 1, 2017, this past year’s New Year’s holiday week, which had a weekly gross of $3,335,430. Other long-running musicals are also faring well in the lead-up to the Tony season, despite all the new shows to choose from. For instance, The Lion King brought in a weekly gross of $1,950,008, or 96.0% of its gross potential, Aladdin brought in $1,388,432, or 95.2% of its gross potential, and Wicked brought in $1,539,527, or 86.5% of its gross potential.
Broadway Box Office Performance Reveals Competition
As for the other new musicals vying for the Tony Award for Best Musical, Come From Away brought in a weekly gross of $1,098,080, or 91.9% of its gross potential, Groundhog Day brought in a weekly gross of $823,512, or 62.7% of its gross potential, and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 brought in a weekly gross of $875,723, or 66.2% of its gross potential.
