By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on May 20, 2015 3:32 PM
In The Week Ending May 17, 2015, Broadway Had An Excellent Week With Over $2 Million Increase In Overall Box Office Across The 33 Shows.
An Overall Excellent Week On Broadway
In the week ending May 17, 2015, the entire Broadway box office saw an increase of $2,179,880 from the week before. With 33 shows running, that is an average increase of $66,056.97 across the entire industry. Of these 33 shows, 30 of them saw an increase in sales this week, and only three saw a decrease in sales in comparison to the previous week.
The largest increase was seen by the musical On the Town, which increased by $412,136 from the week before; this is due partly to the fact that the show had four performances the week prior, but also this is an increase in comparison to two weeks before, when the show had brought in $501,640.
Significant Increases For "On The Town" And "The Lion King"
After On the Town, the next biggest increase was seen by The Lion King, which went up by $264,769 to reach its weekly gross of $1,966,567.
The third biggest increase was seen by a show that has newly begun previews, An Act of God, which went up by $260,979 to reach its weekly gross of $738,682. In addition, Wicked went up by $132,403, and Wolf Hall Parts One and Two went up by $103,691 to reach its weekly gross of $734,344.
Greater Than 100% Of Gross Potential
This past week, three shows demonstrated such high demand that their weekly box office grosses reached over 100% of the gross potential. This is due to the fact that on top of selling out of full price tickets, the show managed to sell enough premium price tickets to push the shows over 100% of their potential.
Interestingly, only one of these is a musical – The Book of Mormon – but two are plays: The Audience and Fish in the Dark. All three of these shows have been major hits since they began their runs. The Book of Mormon has been running for several years, generally with remarkable financial success. This past week, it brought in $1,534,408, which represents 110.31% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $477.00, the show’s average paid admission was $175.50, which is greater than the top ticket price for some shows.
New Shows With Limited Runs
The Audience and Fish in the Dark are both new shows this season with limited runs. Whereas The Audience received good reviews and several Tony nominations, Fish in the Dark received mixed reviews and zero Tony nominations, instead relying on the star power of its writer and lead actor Larry David to account for the financial prowess.
This past week, The Audience brought in $1,194,528, which represents 113.00% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $323.00, the average paid admission was $157.67. As for Fish in the Dark, it brought in $1,208,230, which represents 116.09% of its gross potential. With a top ticket price of $497.00, the average paid admission was $138.57.
The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers for the week ending May 17, 2015:
| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Capacity | AvgPdAdm |
| A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER | $577,859 | 6,143 | 84.66% | $94.07 |
| AIRLINE HIGHWAY | $180,476 | 3,591 | 71.59% | $50.26 |
| ALADDIN | $1,467,090 | 13,788 | 100.03% | $106.40 |
| AN ACT OF GOD | $738,682 | 6,489 | 80.63% | $113.84 |
| AN AMERICAN IN PARIS | $1,280,111 | 13,417 | 99.89% | $95.41 |
| BEAUTIFUL | $1,124,463 | 7,979 | 97.21% | $140.93 |
| CHICAGO | $667,974 | 8,184 | 94.72% | $81.62 |
| FINDING NEVERLAND | $1,067,924 | 10,846 | 90.14% | $98.46 |
| FISH IN THE DARK | $1,208,230 | 8,719 | 101.57% | $138.57 |
| FUN HOME | $587,716 | 5,985 | 102.48% | $98.20 |
| GIGI | $493,858 | 7,301 | 65.94% | $67.64 |
| HAND TO GOD | $427,117 | 5,533 | 88.44% | $77.19 |
| HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH | $448,280 | 5,207 | 73.87% | $86.09 |
| IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU | $418,416 | 6,231 | 76.96% | $67.15 |
| IT’S ONLY A PLAY | $639,751 | 6,545 | 75.96% | $97.75 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $686,201 | 6,998 | 71.23% | $98.06 |
| KINKY BOOTS | $1,017,917 | 9,947 | 87.32% | $102.33 |
| LES MISÉRABLES | $675,325 | 8,800 | 78.07% | $76.74 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $730,105 | 8,317 | 89.16% | $87.78 |
| MATILDA | $846,868 | 10,693 | 93.34% | $79.20 |
| ON THE TOWN | $614,881 | 9,756 | 65.07% | $63.03 |
| ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY | $582,568 | 5,794 | 100.31% | $100.55 |
| SKYLIGHT | $775,421 | 6,392 | 99.63% | $121.31 |
| SOMETHING ROTTEN! | $950,418 | 12,436 | 93.25% | $76.42 |
| THE AUDIENCE | $1,194,528 | 7,576 | 101.24% | $157.67 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,534,408 | 8,743 | 102.52% | $175.50 |
| THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME | $766,673 | 7,641 | 93.82% | $100.34 |
| THE KING AND I | $1,001,947 | 8,376 | 100.00% | $119.62 |
| THE LION KING | $1,966,567 | 13,508 | 99.32% | $145.59 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $883,247 | 10,859 | 84.57% | $81.34 |
| THE VISIT | $211,430 | 3,981 | 55.23% | $53.11 |
| WICKED | $1,601,725 | 13,959 | 96.56% | $114.74 |
| WOLF HALL PARTS ONE & TWO | $734,344 | 6,711 | 60.66% | $109.42 |
| Total | $28,102,518 | 276,445 | 87.13% | $99.28 |
