Sales of £528,375,874, up 3.1 percent on a like-for-like basis on 2010 and topping £500 million for the third time ever, were recorded for 2011. Overall attendance in the West End (13,915,185) was slightly down compared to 2010, partly due to an increase in the number of dark weeks (dark weeks are the total number of weeks that member theatres didn't have shows playing in them; 146 in commercial venues, up from 85 the previous year), but the average attendance at each performance was up.

Musicals recorded attendances of 8,176,762, a drop of 3 percent on the previous year, but revenues generated saw an increase of 1 percent to £328,813,525. Plays recorded attendances of 3,784,975, an increase of 2 percent on the previous years, but revenues increased by 10 percent to £117,842,072. Attendances for opera, dance, performance pieces and other entertainments dropped by 4 percent to 1,953,458, but revenues were up by 1 percent to £81,720,277.

In a press statement, Mark Rubinstein, president of the Society of London Theatre, said, “We are extremely proud that our theatres have yet again gone on to achieve another record-breaking year of sales, with many shows announcing record-breaking runs of their own. Despite the prevailing rigours of the economic climate, theatre-goers have acted with their feet and wallets and shown just how much they value a trip to one of our world-class shows. We can confirm buoyant Box Office advances for 2012, a year in which we look forward to welcoming millions more national and international visitors through our theatre doors."