Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 08/07/2016

“Cats” Takes A Leap

As Mr. Mistoffelees and his fellow Cats are climbing on Broadway, the biggest cat in the jungle, The Lion King, saw a dip in ticket sales. In the week ending August 7, 2016, Cats increased by the most of any show on Broadway, going up by $327,656 to reach a weekly gross of $1,083,009.

While this is the first time this production has crossed the million dollar mark, it is also the first week the show played a full performance week of eight performances. Still, it has a lot of room for further growth, as that represented just 76.16% of its gross potential. This increase was likely spurred by the opening night and subsequent reviews, which took place on July 31, 2016, just before this performance week began.

“The Lion King” Falls

Meanwhile, The Lion King, despite still being the highest earner on Broadway, saw the biggest dip in ticket sales this past week. The show decreased by $262,025 to reach the weekly gross of $2,292,428, which represents 96.9% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $225, the average paid admission was $169.08, and the audience was filled up to an average of 99.9%.

In comparison, the week prior, The Lion King brought in $2,554,453, which represented 97.15% of its gross potential, and the audience was filled up to an average of 99.3% of capacity with an average ticket price of $168.46. Therefore, while The Lion King is still the biggest cat on Broadway, Cats is catching up.

Struggling Shows: “An Act of God,” “Fun Home” And More

In the week ending August 7, 2016, the show that brought in the lowest gross at the box office was An Act of God. That small-scale comedy starring Sean Hayes had a weekly gross of $306,023, which represents 42.5% of its gross potential. The production will need to survive a few more weeks before it closes on September 4, 2016.

The next lowest earner was Fun Home, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical just one year prior, and yet which has already announced its closing date of September 10, 2016. This past week, Fun Home brought in $379,924, which represents 47.8% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $220, the average paid admission was $76.27, and the audience was filled up to an average of 84.1%.

"A Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time" Will Close Early

Meanwhile, A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which was also a Tony Award winner the previous year, brought in only $467,506 at the box office, which represents 54.5% of its gross potential. Although this is a slight increase of $6,243 from the previous week, the show is still having a difficult time bringing in substantial grosses. This show will also close early next month, on September 4, 2016. Surprisingly, the next few lowest earners are long-running musicals.

Jersey Boys, which has been a resounding success over the years, brought in only $519,934 this past week, which represents 45.2% of its gross potential. Unlike these others, that show has not yet announced closing, but unless sales pick up it may have to. In addition, Chicago brought in only $534,575, which represents 56.5% of its gross potential. While Chicago has been running since 1996, it will need to pick up some sales to stay afloat in the coming months.