Broadway Box Office Steady At $34M With 35 Shows Up And Running; ‘Funny Girl’ Scores $1.2M

UPDATE, with Girl From The North Country details Broadway box office held steady last week as the production roster reached 35 shows: Though some productions remained in previews, all new shows that are going to open before the end of the season were up and running, with no Covid cancelations or postponements. (Girl From The North Country, which reopened last fall but went on a Covid-prompted winter hiatus, resumes performances April 29).

In all, the 35 productions grossed a total $34,204,820, with attendance at 267,796 for the week ending April 24. Both of those figures were just about dead-even with the previous week’s tallies, with one additional show on the roster – Paradise Square returned after some Covid cancelations – and a slate of opening nights causing small dips due to press and opening night comps.

With an overall average ticket price of $128, the 35 productions combined filled about 84% of available seats, just a tad short of the previous week’s percentage (87%).

The following productions had opening nights last week:

• How I Learned To Drive, filling about 90% of seats, took in $265,830;
• for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf grossed $144,377
  with about 62% of seats filled;
• Hangmen was at 74% of capacity, grossing $252,435;
• Funny Girl was SRO, grossing $1,147,648

In addition to Funny Girl, productions filling all their seats included Hadestown ($1,013,272), Hamilton ($2,445,193), Macbeth ($1,285,183), Plaza Suite ($1,684,725) and The Music Man ($3,464,388). Three shows had average ticket prices topping $200: The Music Man ($285); Hamilton ($230); and Plaza Suite ($218).

Take Me Out, the well-reviewed Second Stage production at the Helen Hayes Theater, took a noticeable box office jump of nearly $27,000 to $424,287, filling 91% of its seats. Mr. Saturday Night, the musical comedy starring Billy Crystal, took in a solid $770,229 during its final full week of previews (the show opens tomorrow night), with 90% of seats filled.

At the other end of the box office spectrum, The Little Prince did its high-flying act to sparsely populated houses (attendance was at 28% of capacity), and Lincoln Center Theater’s The Skin of Our Teeth drew preview audiences of about 55% of capacity.

Falling in the 60% to 80% of capacity range were A Strange Loop, Beetlejuice, Birthday Candles, Come From Away, Company, Dear Evan Hansen, For Colored Girls, Hangmen, Paradise Square, POTUS, The Minutes, The Phantom of the Opera and Tina.

Season to date, Broadway has grossed $721,448,334, with total attendance of 5,734,863 at about 82% of capacity.

The 35 productions reporting figures on Broadway last week were Aladdin; American Buffalo; Beetlejuice; Birthday Candles; The Book of Mormon; Chicago; Come From Away; Company; Dear Evan Hansen; for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf; Funny Girl; Hadestown; Hamilton; Hangmen; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; How I Learned To Drive; The Lion King; The Little Prince; MJ; The Minutes; Moulin Rouge!; Mr. Saturday Night; Mrs. Doubtfire; The Music Man; Paradise Square; The Phantom of the Opera; Plaza Suite; POTUS; Six; The Skin of Our Teeth; A Strange Loop; Take Me Out; Tina; and Wicked.

All figures courtesy of the Broadway League.