Broadway Grosses Analysis: The Holiday Boost Continues as Ticket Prices Soar | Playbill

Grosses Broadway Grosses Analysis: The Holiday Boost Continues as Ticket Prices Soar

More than half of Broadway's 26 shows made The $1 Million Club this week as tourists continue their descent on NYC.

Graphic by Vi Dang

Are those jingle bells I can hear in Times Square? Probably! But it also might be the full pockets of Broadway producers as the Main Stem continues to enjoy a holiday box office boost. While numbers haven't quite returned to Thanksgiving week totals, fortunes have been notably trending high as the winter holiday season is in full swing in NYC. Broadway brought in more than $31 million last week, playing to nearly 90% full houses at an average paid admission of $140. Happy holidays, indeed.

Leading that high average ticket price continues to be the starry revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Its average of $250 (thanks to a top ticket price of $650), is far and away the highest on Broadway, beating runner-up The Lion King's average ticket price by around $50. Celebrities and Sondheim are proving to be a powerful combo, with both the Daniel Radcliffe-, Jonathan Groff-, and Lindsay Mendez-led revival of Merrily We Roll Along and Josh Groban- and Annaleigh Ashford-led Sweeney Todd now reliable mainstays in the weekly top five highest grossers.

Leading the pack as usual is The Lion King with $2.5 million, followed by Wicked and Hamilton with $2.3 and $2 million, respectively. Wicked, at the high capacity Gershwin Theatre, also continues to reliably top the list of most attended—15,304 people saw the Wizard of Oz prequel musical last week, beating runner-up Aladdin by more than 2,000. In fact, all of Broadway is pretty well attended, with 17 shows playing to 90%-or-higher capacities. 

It should be noted that last week's grosses were 15% lower than the same December week in 2022, though that can be attributed to there being eight fewer shows playing this December compared to last December. 

Take a look at the full report here.

The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):

(14 of 26 currently running productions)

The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):

  • Hamilton (101.03%)
  • Merrily We Roll Along (100%)
  • Wicked
  • Moulin Rouge! The Musical
  • Sweeney Todd
  • I Need That
  • Appropriate
  • Hadestown
  • SIX: The Musical
  • The Book of Mormon
  • The Lion King
  • Gutenberg! The Musical!
  • MJ The Musical
  • Aladdin
  • & Juliet
  • Wicked
  • Back to the Future

(17 of 26 currently running productions)

 
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