Broadway Box Office Drops 35% After Holiday Surge

Broadway box office was back on earth last week following the previous week’s unusual double-holiday surge, when both Christmas and New Year’s Eve fell within the same theatrical window.

For the week ending January 7, Broadway’s 26 productions grossed a total $29,681,396, a 35% drop from the previous week‘s $45,413,789. Attendance was down about 14% to 219,787; the discrepancy between the percentages attributable to the holiday week’s high ticket prices.

Last week’s average ticket price was $135.05, $42 lower than the holiday week.

Despite the total box office drop-off, most shows continued pulling in decent numbers, with 15 of the 26 productions grossing more than $1 million (and three of those taking in more than $2 million).

Members of the $1M Club were & Juliet ($1,118,062), Aladdin ($1,617,006); Back to the Future ($1,374,815); Gutenberg! ($1,056,646); Hamilton ($1,988,349); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($1,708,338); Merrily We Roll Along ($1,785,231); MJ ($1,569,159); Moulin Rouge! ($1,335,524); Six ($1,032,379); Spamalot ($1,081,965); and The Book of Mormon ($1,103,605). The highest earners were The Lion King ($2,444,074); Wicked ($2,124,815); and Sweeney Todd ($2,037,853).

Joining the roster was Days of Wine and Roses, the new Craig Lucas-Adam Guettel musical adapted from the 1962 film and original 1958 teleplay. Directed by Michael Greif and starring Kelli O’Hara and Brian d’Arcy James, Days filled all seats at Studio 54 for its first two previews, grossing $162,093. Opening night is January 28.

Also in previews was Prayer for the French Republic, the non-prof Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of Joshua Harmon’s play opening tonight; Prayer took in $366,523, filling 91% of seats at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

Season to date, Broadway has grossed $969,989,281, with total attendance at 7,641,019.

All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.