By Lee Gilbert | Posted on October 26, 2022 11:46 PM
The Phantom of the Opera Closing Announcement In 2023 Might Have Shocked The Industry, But Boatloads of Ticket Buyers Wasted No Time In Scooping Up Tickets While They Still Can.
Tickets to the Opera Get White-Hot Prior to 2023 Closing
While The Music Of The Night will no longer be heard reverberating through the Majestic Theatre come February of 2023, The Phantom Of The Opera will certainly end its historic 35 year run on an appropriately high note to be sure.
Ticket sales have been soaring on the heels of September’s surprising closing announcement. According to megahit producer Cameron Mackintosh, the show took in a whopping $2 million in ticket sales alone by 8pm the day the news went public.
Phantom Broadway Ticket Sales Skyrocket
According to the most recent numbers for the week ending 10/2, The Phantom of the Opera came in as the sixth highest-grossing show on the Rialto with over $1.3 million in receipts. A closer look at the show’s weekly grosses prior to and after the closing notice show a crystal clear trend, and a markedly profitable one at that.
For the week ending 9/11 (before the news went public), Phantom grossed $867,997.20, taking in an average ticket price of $83.14, and filling 81.31% of its capacity. The following week, those numbers climbed to $964,172.35, $84.10, and 89.29% respectively.
Showing no signs of slowing down, the week of 9/25 ended even higher ($1,205,363.60, $93.29, 100.62%) and the week of 10/2 even higher still ($1,331,023.98, $105.56, 98.20%) albeit with a slight dip in potential capacity.
Will Phantom Extend Past February 2023?
Does a notable surge mean that Phantom will stay open? Not likely, but it is possible. First, most shows expect a significant bump, which is probably why Phantom announced its closing several months before it actually plans to shutter. But this is Phantom Of The Opera and it can do what it likes.
Moreover, Mackintosh himself said the show had run its course. However, he hinted that the titular disfigured musical genius haunting the Paris Opera House may eventually return to the Great White Way, albeit in a different form. The cut-down set of the London version has been in development, but it is pale comparison to the original London and Broadway shows.
Until then, remember that The Phantom Of The Opera is there…inside your mind.
Don’t Cry For Andrew Lloyd Webber
Yes, endings can be bittersweet, especially for such a beloved Broadway commodity like Phantom. But the show will have run for 35 years, 14,000 performances, grossing over $1.3 billion! Those numbers will likely never be surpassed.
And a show almost 35 years into its run is still finding ways to make history. The week ending 9/25 brought the production its first over-100% capacity score since 2017. Not bad for a workhorse that’s been around since the 1980s.
Besides, Sir Webber won’t have time to wallow as he readies himself for his next Broadway opening, Bad Cinderella, which bows at the Imperial just a few weeks after the chandelier comes down for good.
Phantom Of The Opera Epilogue
The Phantom may continue to haunt the Majestic Theatre rafters for years to come, so any leading lady that dares to appear on that stage may be whisked away at moments notice. She may need a Raoul at the ready for her rescue, but even Raúl Esparza will do.
