Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 05/15/2016

Broadway Ebbs And Flows Into A Slight Decline

In the week ending May 15, 2016, the Broadway industry as a whole experienced a variety of fluctuations – with many shows increasing slightly, and several shows decreasing significantly. The result was a total collective gross of $26,269,816 across the 36 shows running, which averages out to $729,717 per show.

In comparison, the previous week had a collective gross of $27,191,990 from these same shows, which averaged out to $755,333. Overall, the collective gross underwent a decrease of $922,174 from the previous week. Across all shows, the average percentage reached of gross potential was 61.98%, and the average paid admission was $97.74.

Big Increase For "Something Rotten!"

The biggest increase was seen by Something Rotten! which went up by just $79,718. Other increases of a similarly slight nature include Bright Star, which went up by $60,696, On Your Feet! which went up by $56,567, Fiddler on the Roof, which went up by $54,546, Kinky Boots, which went up by $53,915, The Book of Mormon, which went up by $52,120, and Jersey Boys, which went up by $49,807.

Overall, these are a mix of musicals both long-running and new, which does not demonstrate any significant correlation with the recently announced Tony Award nominations. In contrast, the biggest decrease was seen by Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, which brought in $464,021, which is a decrease of $610,975 from the week before. This is mostly attributed to the fact that this past week had only 4 performances of Paramour, down from 7 performances the week before. Still, ticket sales also slowed, as this past week the gross was 59.37% of its potential, down from 78.6% of its gross potential the week before.

‘The Color Purple’ Suffers Decrease In Box Office Following Jennifer Hudson’s Departure

This past week, The Color Purple brought in a weekly gross of $604,552, which is a decrease of $362,800 from the week before. That week, the week ending May 8, 2016, was the final week of performances for Jennifer Hudson, who played the role of Shug Avery in the production.

Jennifer Hudson is best known for her role in the screen version of Dreamgirls, and she made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple. While the entire production was highly acclaimed, including the performances of Hudson’s co-stars, particularly Cynthia Erivo, the numbers clearly demonstrated that it was Hudson who had attracted such healthy box office grosses for the musical. As of May 10, 2016, the role of Shug Avery is played by Heather Headley.

"Lion King" Played Only 7 Performances Last Week

This past week, the average paid admission was $86.66, down from $116.13 in the final week of Jennifer Hudson’s run. Furthermore, the average audience capacity this past week was 83.0%, down from 99.1% the week before.

Another major decrease this past week was seen by The Lion King, which decreased by $356,668 to reach a weekly gross of $1,651,070, which is attributed to the fact that it played just 7 performances this past week, down from 8 the week before. However, the percentage reached of The Lion King’s gross potential also decreased to 91.69%, down from 99.19% the week before.