Broadway Show Ticket Sales Analysis w/e 09/04/2016

“Holiday Inn” Begins And “Les Misérables” Ends

In the week ending September 4, 2016, Holiday Inn, the New Irving Berlin Musical began previews. In this first partial week of four performances, the show brought in $165,392, which represents just 34.0% of its gross potential. The show will officially open on October 6, 2016, which leaves an entire month to build momentum.After all, this is why previews were designed: to allow shows to work out their kinks before critics come in and publish their reviews, which is when word of mouth can really begin.

At least, that’s how it used to be. In this age of so much media, critical response is less important, and marketing and general world of mouth can often begin well before the reviews are released. Therefore, if a show is doing as poorly as Holiday Inn, even in the very first partial week, it is not a good sign for box office figures to come. On the other hand, Les Misérables had a very different story this past week.

Les Misérables Has A Successful Run

On September 4, 2016, the revival concluded its run, which had begun on March 4, 2014 and officially opened on March 23, 2014. The production was a success, running for a total of 1,024 performances in addition to 22 previews, although that does not come close to the success of the original production of Les Misérables, which ran from 1987 to 2003. Still, in its final week, the box office saw an upsurge, demonstrating that audience members were sorry to see the show go so soon.

Its final weekly gross was $1,326,559, which represents 113.1% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $225, the average paid admission was $118.34, and the audience was filled up to 99.4% on average across the eight performances. The show brought in over one million dollars in the final five weeks of the run, demonstrating lasting interest in the show’s final weeks, although it only brought in over 100% of its gross potential in the final week.

“Beautiful” Breaks Even In A Very Unlikely Coincidence

Each week, some shows bring in more than they did the week before, and some bring in less, and this a helpful way to track whether interest in a show is building or waning. However, this past week, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical did something miraculous. It brought in exactly as much money this past week as it did the week before – to the dollar.

In the week ending September 4, 2016, as well as the week ending August 28, 2016, Beautiful brought in $749,762, which represents 74.5% of its gross potential. While the producers may have greatly preferred that the show increased in the box office rather than miraculously staying the same, it is still worth noting this coincidence.

Successful Week In Broadway

This past week was a very successful one for Broadway overall, with only three of the 26 shows currently running experiencing a decrease in ticket sales; these were Aladdin, Wicked, and The Lion King, all with negligible decrease and excellent weekly grosses. Still, Beautiful has defied the odds once again.

A small-scale musical with an overly general title, Beautiful has managed to stay afloat through difficult Broadway slump weeks ever since it began previews on November 21, 2013. Although the consecutive identical grosses may be nothing more than a coincidence, it may also be kismet: a sign that Beautiful has a lot of life in it left.