Broadway Box Office Cools To $26M With Chilly Winter Temps

With New York City temperatures hitting single digits, virtually every Broadway show saw at least some decline at the box office last week, and with two fewer productions on the boards than the previous week, total revenue took a 12% slide to $26.5 million.

Total attendance for the 27 productions during Week 36 of the Broadway season (ending Feb. 3) was 237,108, about 9% smaller than the previous week.

The sole outlier was True West at the Roundabout’s American Airlines Theater, though that’s likely due to a rebound from the previous week’s press- and comp-heavy opening night. In any case, the Sam Shepard revival starring Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano scored $487,144, with 92% of the subscription-heavy seats filled.

Even with the frigid temps and generally lower average ticket prices, the Street’s heavy hitters stayed warm, with Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Network, The Book of Mormon, The Lion King, To Kill a Mockingbird and Wicked selling out (or close enough at 98% capacity or more).

Still, empty seats and those low ticket prices kept some productions making about half of what they could. Shows hovering near 50% of potential receipts for the week were Anastasia, Beautiful, Chicago, Choir Boy, King Kong, Kinky Boots, Pretty Woman, The Band’s Visit, The Phantom of the Opera and The Prom.

Season to date, Broadway has grossed $1,29 billion, a 15% bump over last year at this time, with attendance of 10.1 million reflecting an 11% rise year to year.

All figures courtesy of the trade group Broadway League.