By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on January 25, 2017 1:14 PM
In The Week Ending January 22, 2017, Broadway Continued To Experience A Decrease Overall Going Down More Than Previous Week, And Oh Hello Concluded Its Successful Run
Overall Industry Went Down By 1.79% From Week Before
In the week ending January 22, 2017, Broadway continued the downward trend that it began the previous week, as the excitement of the holidays has passed and the winter season continues before the onset of spring.
This past week, of the 22 shows currently running, the collective industry brought in a total gross of $21,686,615, which is a decrease of $1,535,041 from the week before. On average, this represents a gross per show of $985,755.
Long-Running Shows Conclude Production on Broadway
In contrast to the equivalent week in 2016, nine fewer shows are running, which is a combination of the slow period between the New Years peak and the spring cascade of new shows, as well as the fact that many long-running shows have recently concluded their productions – such as Jersey Boys, Matilda, and Something Rotten! Of the 22 shows running this past week, only four saw an increase in ticket sales from the week before, and those increases were negligible.
The biggest increase was seen by Dear Evan Hansen of only $50,162, bringing the new musical to a weekly gross of $1,091,225, or 101.9% of its gross potential. In addition, Oh, Hello on Broadway went up by $41,908 in the final week of its run, bringing it to a weekly gross of $804,513, or 106.7% of its gross potential.
Volatile Broadway Box Office Brings Big Decreases
Somewhat surprisingly, In Transit went up by $8,033, bringing it to a weekly gross of $334,267, or 45.5% of its gross potential. Finally, Hamilton went up by the tiny increase of $461, bringing it to a weekly gross of $2,451,721, or 104.4% of its gross potential.
Meanwhile, significant decreases were seen by shows such as School of Rock – the Musical, which went down by $212,385 to reach a weekly gross of $805,486, or 52.7% of its gross potential. In addition, Aladdin went down by $173,516 to reach a weekly gross of $1,251,178, or 92.7% of its gross potential, and On Your Feet! went down by $156,391 to reach a weekly gross of $683,442, or 44.0% of its gross potential.
“Oh, Hello” Shows Slight Increase In Final Week
This past week, Oh, Hello on Broadway played its final performance. The show had been running since its first preview on September 23, 2016, followed by its opening night on October 10, 2016. This two-hander starred John Mulaney and Nick Kroll as two septuagenarian characters made famous in their comedy bit “Oh, Hello,” which was often performed on Comedy Central’s Kroll Show.
Taking this bit to Broadway, and accompanied by a slew of famous comedians as guest performers, Oh, Hello demonstrated that there is a market for comedy on Broadway. In its final week of performances, Oh, Hello brought in a weekly gross of $804,513, which was the highest weekly gross of any week in which there were the usual eight performances.
Recouped Capital In Final Week on Broadway
The only more lucrative week was that ending January 1, 2017, in which the duo played nine performances, and when the weekly gross was $911,602, or 108.45% of its gross potential. The final week showed an increase of $41,908 from the week before, and had the highest audience capacity yet of 100.1%. With a top ticket price of $248.00, the average paid admission in the final week was $110.25, also the highest average ticket price with the exception of the week including the New Years holiday.
Just before concluding the run, Oh, Hello announced that the show did recoup its capitalization, and also that the final week would include two taped performances, so that the show could be aired in the future. The next show entering the Lyceum Theatre will be The Play That Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields, with previews beginning March 9, 2017.
