Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 05/08/2016

“Shuffle Along” Takes Major Leap Ahead

This past week, the week ending May 8, 2016, Shuffle Along, or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1912 and All That Followed brought in a weekly gross of $924,352. This is the nearest yet that the show has come to reaching the one million dollar mark, having increased by $216,085 this past week, which was the biggest increase of any show.

This week was also the highest percentage reached of the show’s gross potential, at 87.94%. With a top ticket price of $373.00, the average paid admission was $118.95; this was also the highest average paid admission yet of the run. The audience capacity also reached its record of the run thus far at 100.9%.

"Shuffle Along" Earned 10 Tony Award Nominations, Second To Hamilton

One of the reasons for this strong increase in ticket sales is that the Tony Award nominations were announced this past week, on May 3, 2016.

Just behind Hamilton, which earned a record-breaking 16 Tony nominations, Shuffle Along earned 10 Tony Award nominations: including those for Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical by George C. Wolfe, Featured Acting nominations for Brandon Victor Dixon and Adrienne Warren, Best Scenic Design, Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, Best Direction by George C. Wolfe, Best Choreography by Savion Glover, and Best Orchestrations by Daryl Waters.

Otherwise, Tony Nominations Not Yet Making Huge Box Office Impact

With the exception of Shuffle Along, most other shows that were nominated for Tony Awards last week did not yet see a major increase in ticket sales. Hamilton has already been earning about as much at the box office as possible, and therefore the nomination couldn’t have much of an impact; this past week, the musical increased by $14,715 to reach 137.3% of its gross potential.

Other Best Musical nominees that increased this past week were Waitress, which increased by just $52,541 to reach a weekly gross of $960,477, and Bright Star, which increased by just $46,891 to reach a weekly gross of $416,362. Meanwhile, the last Best Musical nominee, School of Rock – the Musical, decreased by $186,846, which was the biggest decrease of any show last week, to reach a weekly gross of $816,811.

"The Father" Sees Decrease In Ticket Sales

As for the Best Play nominees, the biggest increase was seen by Eclipsed, which went up by only $60,161 to reach a weekly gross of $329,271, which is only 41.8% of its gross potential. The Humans went up by just $19,815 to reach a weekly gross of $432,744, which is 74.4% of its gross potential. However, The Father saw a decrease in ticket sales of $37,019, bringing in a weekly gross of $257,203, or 36.3% of its gross potential. The final Best Play nominee, King Charles III, is no longer running, as that was a fall show.

All in all, the Tony nominees did not see a major increase in ticket sales immediately after the nominations were announced. However, many people may have bought advance tickets upon the announcement, and thus the grosses may start to increase as the weeks progress. Of course, the winners are most likely to see the greatest benefit from the awards recognition.