By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on June 09, 2015 4:38 PM
In The Week Ending June 7, 2015, The Week Approaching The Tony Awards, Many Shows Nominated Saw An Increase In Ticket Sales.
An Act Of God Sails Upward
In the week leading up to the Tony Awards, the week ending June 7, 2015, the show that saw the biggest increase in ticket sales from the week before was one that was ineligible for awards consideration. An Act of God, a new comedy starring Jim Parsons, opened past the date for eligibility for Tony nominations, and thus it was not honored at the ceremony this past Sunday night.
Still, it received great reviews on its recent opening night, and the numbers showed an increase because of it. This past week, it brought in $843,731, which represents 83.72% of the show’s gross potential. This weekly gross is an increase of $150,352 from the week before, when it brought in only $693,379.
Beloved Actor Jim Parsons Draws In Audiences
This past week, the average paid admission was $120.12, with a top ticket price of $349.00. This is also a significant increase from last week’s average paid admission of $93.92. Finally, the average audience capacity across the eight performances increased to 91.7%, up from 82.5% the week before.
Therefore, this show is defying the general principle that a summer opening is a bad idea, and that Tony recognition is a crucial factor in a show’s success. In this case, a beloved lead actor, great reviews, and the attraction of a light-hearted comedy on religious themes was enough to boost ticket sales.
Long Running Musicals Saw A Decrease In Interest
As the Tony buzz was buzzing, the long running musicals that have been playing on Broadway for years saw a decrease in ticket sales. One of the highest earning musicals on Broadway, The Lion King, saw a decrease of $67,274 from the week before, bringing in the still extraordinary gross of $1,959,636.
Les Miserables saw a decrease of $46,631, bringing in a weekly gross of $564,893. Furthermore, The Phantom of the Opera, decreased by $45,159 from the week before, bringing in a weekly gross of $883,328. Kinky Boots, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2013, decreased by $23,688, bringing in a gross of $832,015.
Many Shows Nominated For Tony Awards Saw Increases
In addition, Chicago saw a decrease of $12,481, Jersey Boys went down by $4,586, and Matilda decreased by $3,063. The only shows nominated for this year’s Tony Awards that saw a decrease in ticket sales this past week were On the Twentieth Century, Something Rotten!, and Gigi.
On the other hand, most of the shows that were nominated for Tony Awards saw an increase in ticket sales in the week approaching the event. These included It’s Only a Play, which increased by $134,047, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, which increased by $97,788, Wolf Hall Parts One and Two, which increased by $86,781, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which increased by $67,380.
The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers for the week ending June 7, 2015:
| Show | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Cap | AvgPdAdm |
| A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER | $533,867 | 5,932 | 81.75% | $90.00 |
| AIRLINE HIGHWAY | $169,126 | 3,690 | 73.56% | $45.83 |
| ALADDIN | $1,535,301 | 13,787 | 100.02% | $111.36 |
| AN ACT OF GOD | $843,731 | 7,024 | 87.28% | $120.12 |
| AN AMERICAN IN PARIS | $1,368,734 | 13,489 | 100.42% | $101.47 |
| BEAUTIFUL | $964,024 | 7,357 | 89.63% | $131.03 |
| CHICAGO | $626,499 | 7,700 | 89.12% | $81.36 |
| FINDING NEVERLAND | $1,103,830 | 11,588 | 96.31% | $95.26 |
| FISH IN THE DARK | $1,246,196 | 8,716 | 101.54% | $142.98 |
| FUN HOME | $652,930 | 6,054 | 103.66% | $107.85 |
| GIGI | $401,946 | 5,324 | 48.09% | $75.50 |
| HAND TO GOD | $449,227 | 5,481 | 88.75% | $81.96 |
| HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH | $457,557 | 4,912 | 69.68% | $93.15 |
| IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU | $321,819 | 5,304 | 65.51% | $60.67 |
| IT’S ONLY A PLAY | $669,145 | 7,314 | 84.89% | $91.49 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $639,044 | 6,565 | 66.83% | $97.34 |
| KINKY BOOTS | $832,015 | 7,942 | 69.72% | $104.76 |
| LES MISÉRABLES | $564,893 | 7,193 | 63.81% | $78.53 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $718,764 | 8,173 | 87.62% | $87.94 |
| MATILDA | $873,458 | 10,887 | 95.03% | $80.23 |
| ON THE TOWN | $493,263 | 10,016 | 66.81% | $49.25 |
| ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY | $491,692 | 4,972 | 98.38% | $98.89 |
| SKYLIGHT | $831,694 | 6,416 | 100.00% | $129.63 |
| SOMETHING ROTTEN! | $1,033,492 | 11,430 | 85.71% | $90.42 |
| THE AUDIENCE | $1,114,361 | 7,499 | 100.21% | $148.60 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,478,236 | 8,716 | 102.20% | $169.60 |
| THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME | $800,264 | 7,887 | 96.84% | $101.47 |
| THE KING AND I | $1,110,174 | 8,376 | 100.00% | $132.54 |
| THE LION KING | $1,959,636 | 13,557 | 99.68% | $144.55 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $883,328 | 10,771 | 83.89% | $82.01 |
| THE VISIT | $194,400 | 4,213 | 58.45% | $46.14 |
| WICKED | $1,737,141 | 14,228 | 98.42% | $122.09 |
| WOLF HALL PARTS ONE & TWO | $634,917 | 6,302 | 56.96% | $100.75 |
| Totals | $27,734,699 | 268,815 | 85.18% | $99.84 |
