By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on July 15, 2015 12:09 AM
In The Week Ending July 12, 2015, Penn & Teller On Broadway Began Previews And Brought In Over A Million Dollars.
Sales Pick Up After Holiday Weekend
In the week ending July 12, 2015, Broadway as a whole saw an increase of $2,076,675 from the week before. This is primarily because in the week ending July 5, 2015, Broadway had seen a decrease in sales of $2,288,441. Therefore, sales are almost back to their levels a week ago, but still not quite as high.
With the closure of Wolf Hall Parts One and Two and the beginning of previews of Penn & Teller on Broadway, sales still saw a pick up on a show by show basis. The biggest increase in a show that was running both weeks was seen by Aladdin, which increased by $188,986 to a figure of $1,787,410.
Amazing Grace Still Under-Performing
The next biggest jump was seen by The Lion King which went up by $165,547, reaching the weekly gross of $2,308,891. At the height of the summer season, this tourist favorite managed to gross 100.1% of its gross potential. Amazing Grace, which is still performing terribly, saw an increase of $90,234 to reach the weekly gross of $291,315, representing just 26.54% of its gross potential.
After the over two million dollar gross of The Lion King, the next biggest weekly gross was seen by Wicked with a gross of $1,900,091. Aladdin came at number three, and the fourth-highest weekly gross was earned by The Book of Mormon at $1,450,865. Overall, the most popular audience seats on Broadway in the heat of summer are the tourist attractions, as the locals are at the beach.
Penn & Teller Launches Out Of The Gate
On the note of tourist shows, Penn & Teller have left their semi permanent home of the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to do a seven week run on Broadway. In the first week of eight performances, Penn & Teller brought in $1,075,289, which represents 62.40% of the show’s gross potential.
Though this figure is outstanding at over one million dollars for the first week of previews, there is still a lot more ticket selling room at the Marquis Theatre, which can seat 1,611 people. With a top ticket price of $247.00, the average paid admission was $114.64, showing that the magic of the world’s most famous magicians extends beyond their home territory in Nevada.
Tourists Want To Be Dazzled
Those who travel to New York looking for a spectacle-filled Broadway show are not looking for dramatic or literary profundity; they are looking to be dazzled. Therefore, Penn & Teller is a great tourist treat, not relying on the Tony Award buzz to sell tickets in the summer months right after the awards.
Though the audience was only 66.4% filled this week, word of mouth is sure to spread as Penn & Teller stick around New York for another month and a half. The word of mouth needs to spread quickly in order to catch up with the longtime performing duo before they turn right back around and return to Vegas.
The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers for the week ending July 12, 2015:
| Show Name | GrossGross | TotalAttn | %Capacity | AvgPdAdm |
| A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER | $489,049 | 5,707 | 78.65% | $85.69 |
| ALADDIN | $1,787,410 | 13,785 | 100.01% | $129.66 |
| AMAZING GRACE | $291,315 | 5,810 | 62.50% | $50.14 |
| AN ACT OF GOD | $920,623 | 7,375 | 91.64% | $124.83 |
| AN AMERICAN IN PARIS | $1,406,875 | 12,894 | 95.99% | $109.11 |
| BEAUTIFUL | $918,122 | 7,337 | 89.39% | $125.14 |
| CHICAGO | $625,581 | 7,675 | 88.83% | $81.51 |
| FINDING NEVERLAND | $1,126,473 | 11,526 | 95.79% | $97.73 |
| FISH IN THE DARK | $861,784 | 7,863 | 91.60% | $109.60 |
| FUN HOME | $783,291 | 6,129 | 103.53% | $127.80 |
| HAND TO GOD | $317,244 | 4,239 | 68.64% | $74.84 |
| HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH | $533,938 | 5,539 | 78.58% | $96.40 |
| IT SHOULDA BEEN YOU | $358,327 | 5,281 | 65.23% | $67.85 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $614,775 | 6,423 | 65.38% | $95.71 |
| KINKY BOOTS | $841,500 | 8,802 | 77.26% | $95.60 |
| LES MISÉRABLES | $688,996 | 8,389 | 74.42% | $82.13 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $852,207 | 9,130 | 97.88% | $93.34 |
| MATILDA | $1,077,379 | 11,416 | 99.65% | $94.37 |
| ON THE TOWN | $509,820 | 9,090 | 60.63% | $56.09 |
| ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY | $469,559 | 5,219 | 90.36% | $89.97 |
| PENN & TELLER ON BROADWAY | $995,616 | 8,685 | 66.44% | $114.64 |
| SOMETHING ROTTEN! | $1,088,662 | 11,847 | 88.83% | $91.89 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,450,865 | 8,745 | 102.54% | $165.91 |
| THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME | $890,693 | 7,711 | 94.68% | $115.51 |
| THE KING AND I | $1,247,155 | 8,376 | 100.00% | $148.90 |
| THE LION KING | $2,308,891 | 13,556 | 99.91% | $170.32 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $914,409 | 10,596 | 82.52% | $86.30 |
| WICKED | $1,900,091 | 14,729 | 96.34% | $129.00 |
| Total | $26,270,648 | 243,874 | 85.97% | $104.00 |
