Is the Broadway season over? If so, statistically, 2019-20 was both disastrous and illustrative of the industry’s resilience.
‘AIN’T TOO PROUD,’ ‘MOULIN ROUGE’ SUFFER THEIR WORST WEEK AS VIRUS SPOOKS TOURISM & MARKETS
The musicals Ain’t Too Proud, Moulin Rouge, Frozen, Jagged Little Pill and The Tina Turner Musical posted their worst sales since opening as tourists increasingly stay home in response to the coronavirus threat.Continue Reading
THE AGE OF THE BLOCKBUSTER MUSICAL (GRAPHIC)
Hit musicals are running longer and making more money than ever — which is illustrated by two fascinating interactive charts.
DAVID BYRNE PROFITS AS ‘UTOPIA’ TICKETS TOP $649 ($699 IF YOU WANT A PRIVATE BATHROOM)
EXCLUSIVE: Turns out the road to nowhere is paved with gold.
Investors in David Byrne’s Broadway concert American Utopia have been repaid and profit checks are imminent, according to a person familiar with the production.Continue Reading
GROSS POTENTIAL IS KEY FOR INVESTORS: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
To the Editor:
Re: ‘THE CURSED BOX OFFICE YARDSTICK‘
There are important reasons to have a specific gross potential when a show begins performances.
Investors are solicited based on a theoretical model created by the producers and general managers. A key component of the offering (or operating agreement) is a budget and a recoupment schedule. This schedule is the best guide for a potential investor as to the economic viability of the project, both in the pre-production phase and while the show is running.Continue Reading
‘HARRY POTTER’ & THE CURSED BOX OFFICE YARDSTICK
The last week of July 2019 was business as usual for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. Sales rose less than 2 percent to $1.4 million, according to data from the Broadway League, the trade association of producers and theater owners.
But there was a huge increase in a closely watched measure in those seven days. Harry Potter ‘s sales jumped from 84 percent of its “gross potential” to 101 percent, according to the same posting. What changed was the basis for comparison. After four months of claiming a weekly gross potential of $1.7 million, the production slashed the figure to $1.4 million.
Like average ticket prices, sales relative to gross potential is an important signifier of a show’s box office strength. But gross potential, which the League posts weekly with other box office figures, loses value as a benchmark of success when it fluctuates along with ticket prices.Continue Reading
‘MOULIN ROUGE!’ RAISES PRICES THROUGH JULY 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Tickets for Broadway’s Belle Époque hit have gone from pricey to pricier.Continue Reading
INCLUSIVENESS AS BIG BOX OFFICE & OTHER TONY TAKEAWAYS
Hadestown’s strong sales and its Tony Award for Best Musical may advance the cause of female theater artists more effectively than any speech advocating for industry inclusiveness.
The inventive folk opera, which won eight awards at Radio City Music Hall Sunday night, is an all-but-guaranteed hit — and just the latest musical written in part or entirely by a woman to demonstrate staying power.
Of the dozen new musicals running on Broadway longer than a year, six have a female composer, lyricist or book writer. (They are Wicked, Waitress, Mean Girls, Frozen, Come From Away and Beautiful, the Carole King jukebox show.)Continue Reading
BROADWAY POSTS RECORD SALES, RISING ATTENDANCE
Thanks to Hamilton, The Lion King, Harry Potter and other blockbusters that draw fans from around the world, Broadway reported a record $1.8 billion in sales — up 7.8 percent — for the season that ended on Sunday.
MORRISSEY SELLS BRISKLY WITH $425 TOP TICKET
Morrissey’s seven-night engagement at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre sold well in the first hour of general public availability, suggesting a bright future for rock stars on Broadway.
As of 11 am, scattered seats were available in the front orchestra for $399, or $424.70 with Ticketmaster fees, and for $279 in the mezzanine and rear orchestra. Tickets topped out at $850 for Bruce Springsteen, who ended 236 performances at the Walter Kerr in December. His shows went for thousands in the secondary market.Continue Reading
