Performing at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade—and, more importantly, on the nationally broadcast TV coverage of the annual holiday event—has proven to be as effective as producers would hope. Two of the top three shows with the largest increases at the box office last week, the first since the Thanksgiving holiday, performed during the parade: A Beautiful Noise and How to Dance in Ohio. Both saw increases in excess of six figures and the highest grosses of the production's run for all but A Beautiful Noise. (The other show getting a big boost was Harmony.)
Otherwise, we mostly saw a return to non-holiday norms on the Main Stem, with the 26 currently running shows bringing in a cumulative $29.6 million and filling 88% of seats at an average ticket price of $134. Producers will be happy to see those ticket prices beating last year's average from the same week by more than $6, a nice uptick.
MJ beat out Sweeney Todd for the much contested last spot of the top five this week, a group that also included usual suspects The Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton, and Merrily We Roll Along. Both The Lion King and Wicked kept up their holiday boost and stayed in The $2 Million Club this week, with Hamilton and Merrily both within striking distance of rejoining that elite group.
And, theatres continue to be fairly full. Half of the shows last week played to 90% or higher full houses, with 219,511 tickets being sold. That attendance is helping keep The Lion King and Wicked at the top of the charts. Both have average ticket prices well below Merrily's, but with theatres that have far larger capacities, both are out-grossing the Sondheim revival.
Take a look at the full report here.
The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):
- The Lion King ($2.4 million)
- Wicked ($2.11 million)
- Hamilton
- Merrily We Roll Along
- MJ The Musical
- Sweeney Todd
- Aladdin
- Moulin Rouge! The Musical
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
- Back to the Future
- A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical
- & Juliet
- SIX: The Musical
- The Book of Mormon
(14 of 26 currently running productions)
The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):
- Hamilton (100.32%)
- Merrily We Roll Along (100%)
- Wicked
- Moulin Rouge! The Musical
- Appropriate
- I Need That
- MJ The Musical
- Hadestown
- The Lion King
- The Book of Mormon
- SIX: The Musical
- Aladdin
- & Juliet
(13 of 26 currently running productions)
