Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 02/07/2016

This Week’s Notable Movements on Broadway are:

Overall Broadway Saw a Dip in Sales This Week

In the week ending February 7, 2016, the Broadway industry as a whole took a turn towards lower grosses, in comparison with the previous week which was a rebound from the terrible winter storm week. The low grosses this past week are a sign that we are still in the muck of the winter slump. This past week, of the 29 shows presently running, the industry as a whole brought in $1,201,885 less than the week before, with a collective gross of $21,024,824. This represents an average gross per show of $724,994. Although one show did close in comparison to last week, the average per show also saw a decrease: the previous week’s collective gross of $22,226,709 represented an average of $793,811 per show.

This week, the average percentage reached of each show’s gross potential was 60.68%, down from 64.55% the week before. Furthermore, the average paid ticket admission was $93.03 this past week, down from $95.43 the week before. The biggest decreases were seen by Finding Neverland ($167,494), Matilda ($138,195), Kinky Boots ($136,077), Les Misérables ($109,793), and Jersey Boys ($106,052). This shows that mid-running musicals, those that are not brand new but not long-running either, are having a tough time keeping up in the low winter season.

"Hamilton" Sees The Highest Box Office Increase

As for the highest increase, unsurprisingly, Hamilton brought in $38,433 more than the week before, bringing in an astonishing gross of $1,771,086, or 132.7% of its gross potential, with an average ticket price of $164.81.

New Show: “Blackbird”

This past week, Blackbird began previews at the Belasco Theatre. For the reported box office figures ending Sunday, only two performances are represented. From what we can tell so far, the David Harrower play starring Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams is not a runaway hit right out of the gate, but it may gain momentum as word of mouth and reviews pick up. In the first reported week of two performances, the show brought in $156,916, which represents 66.3% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $248.00, the average paid admission was $84.14. Furthermore, the average audience capacity was 90.7%.

These numbers may be a bit skewed because the producers, in this case led by Scott Rudin, often offer a fair number of complimentary tickets to the first preview for those associated with the production. Therefore, the following full week of performances will be more telling regarding whether ticket buyers are interested in this show. Nevertheless, there is still a month to go before Blackbird’s opening night on March 10, 2016, during which time the box office and word of mouth will have plenty of time to spread.

New Broadway Show is Likely to Impress Critics

Scott Rudin usually has a few tricks up his sleeve, and with such exciting box office names as Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams, under the able direction of Joe Mantello, this production has a strong chance of winning the hearts and minds of critics and early audience members alike. The show is scheduled to run until June 12, 2016.

The Following are the Broadway Ticket Sales Numbers for the Week Ending February 7, 2016:

Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2016 nytix.com