The West End does not release weekly box-office statistics for every show, as is custom on Broadway. But the Society of London Theatre, the trade body who represents West End theatre owners and producers, provides an annual report of the overall earnings and attendance at the theatres they represent and work in.
Though attendance was down 2.8 percent overall in 2016—compared with the previous year—with 14,328,121 tickets sold, the number of performances given was also down by 5.95 percent. Nevertheless, two new records were set: for percentage of available seats filled, up 4.1 percent on 2015 to a new high of 76.7 percent, and for the highest weekly attendance of 439,103 for the week of December 26, 2016.
Gross revenues also increased 1.7 percent compared to 2015, up to £644,719,639. The average price paid for a ticket was £45 (an increase of 4.68 percent), which suggests an increase in demand and a reduction in discounting.
In a press statement, Caro Newling, president of the Society of London Theatre, commented, “With our shows performing to record numbers, the box office figures for 2016 further cement London’s place as a world-leader in theatre. Revenues are just one measure of success; what we are most proud of is that new generations of theatre-goers are drawn to the capital, home of the world’s greatest creative talent, by our peerless ability to craft and tell the stories that resonate.”
