Revenue / 01.11.23

A Lion Roars on Broadway as Box Office Hauls Reveal Winners

Access Staff

Associated Press (01/04/23)

Not all Broadway shows enjoyed a windfall as 2022 wound down, with record grosses by popular productions not lifting up all acts. Twenty-one of the 33 shows available exceeded $1 million for the week ending Jan. 1, with The Lion King achieving its best-ever haul with $4,315,264 over nine performances. Behind it was The Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, which earned $3,971,531 over nine shows, then Wicked with $3,152,679. The Music Man had the top average ticket price at $285.80, and all shows apart from A Christmas Carol saw rising numbers over the week ending Jan. 1. Acclaimed shows with eye-catching performers like Topdog/Underdog, Ohio State Murders and Between Riverside and Crazy did not see a bump in gross typical of that week, while new productions like Almost Famous ended up closing early. These findings signal that Broadway has not fully recovered from the pandemic, although producer Tom Kirdahy suggested audience attendance could be back to normal by spring. “It's very clear that buying patterns are different, but it's equally clear that audiences are craving good work, and I think the challenge is to remind people that New York is actually a safe place to be and that theaters are safe places to be,” he said.

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Tags: Broadway , Revenue