Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 03/20/2016

Broadway Continues On Its Upswing

In the week ending March 20, 2016, the Broadway box office continued to show excellent growth, even outperforming the big leap the week prior. This past week, the overall box office across the 31 presently running show totaled to $26,631,588, which is an increase of $3,468,989 from the week before. (The previous week had an increase from the week before that of $3,207,944.) This represents an average gross per show of $859,083, up from an average of $772,087 from the week before.

The average paid admission across all shows was $99.33, the average percentage reached of gross potential was 68.75%, and the average audience capacity was 87.16%. Of the 31 shows running, all but six saw an increase in ticket sales. Of shows that were running both weeks, the biggest increase was seen by The Lion King, which increased by $335,312 to reach a weekly gross of $2,044,101.

Big Increases For Many

Next in line, Wicked increased by $272,337 to reach a weekly gross of $1,934,807, and The Phantom of the Opera increased by $258,181 to reach a weekly gross of $981,647. Other major increases were seen by Matilda, Aladdin, Les Misérables, School of Rock, and Finding Neverland.

The biggest decrease was negligible, on the part of On Your Feet, which decreased by $39,553 to reach a weekly gross of $934,149. Hamilton continued to bring in the highest percentage reached of its gross potential, with a weekly gross of $1,740,104, representing 130.4% of its potential, although that was a slight decrease of $18,451 from the week before.

New Show: “Shuffle Along”

A new show began previews this past week, on March 15, 2016. The full title is quite long: Shuffle Along, Or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. This new musical is based on a revue called Shuffle Along from the year 1921, dealing with the challenges and aftermath of that musical, and its effect on Broadway and race relations throughout the 20th century.

The show is produced by Scott Rudin (The Crucible, Blackbird), directed by George C. Wolfe (Lucky Guy, The Normal Heart), and starring high profile actors Audra McDonald (Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess), Brian Stokes Mitchell (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Man of La Mancha), and Billy Porter (Kinky Boots, Angels in America).

Successful First Week Of Performances

The show’s first week of six performances was quite successful, especially in comparison to many of the new shows this season which found it difficult to bring in significant money right out of the gate. This past week, Shuffle Along brought in $640,453 across six performances, which represents 80.1% of its gross potential.

With a top ticket price of $373.00, the average paid admission was $113.15, and the average audience capacity was 98.0%. This bodes quite well for this new show with a comically lengthy title dealing with serious and timely issues. It will officially open on April 28, 2016, and is scheduled for an open-ended run.