This Past Week was a Strong One on Broadway, with the Spring Shows Warming Up the Box Office. Saint Joan Began Previews Starring Condola Rashad.
Even After the Easter Surge, Box Office Continues to Rise
In the week ending April 8, 2018, the Broadway box office continued to show signs of a healthy spring season to come. This marks the beginning of the final month in which a show can open if it is to be considered for the Tony Awards. This past week, the entire industry, in which 36 shows were running, brought in a collective box office gross of $42,596,197, which represents 84.30% of the collective gross potential, and which represents a per-show average gross of $1,183,228.
The collective gross demonstrated an increase of $579,508, even though the previous week included the Easter holiday, in which three of the biggest selling shows added a ninth performance. As such, those shows had a decrease this past week: The Lion King went down by $584,971 to reach a weekly gross of $2,507,181, but that still represents 114.4% of its gross potential in a regular 8-performance week. Similarly, Wicked went down by $332,376 to reach a weekly gross of $2,390,664, which is still a very impressive 134.3% of gross potential, and Aladdin went down by $298,793 to reach a weekly gross of $1,811,639, or 104.3% of its gross potential.
Increases Literally Compensate For Decreases
The increases more than made up for the deficit, leading to an overall box office increase. The biggest increase was seen by Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two, which went up by $549,826 to reach a weekly gross of $2,138,859, or 115.4% of its gross potential. Furthermore, a new show Summer increased by $324,314 as it added more shows to reach a 7-performance week, bringing in 69.8% of its gross potential. Furthermore, Hamilton demonstrated a healthy increase of $260,574 to reach a weekly gross of $3,142,588, or 108.5% of its gross potential.
Escape to Margaritaville went up by a much-needed $200,653 to reach a weekly gross of $801,326, or 45.7% of its gross potential. In addition, following excellent post-opening reviews, Three Tall Women increased by $180,030 to reach a weekly gross of $779,656, or 83.6% of its gross potential. Also, Travesties, working its way up to a full week with an almost full week of seven performances, went up by $138,402 to reach a weekly gross of $289,614, or 50.5% of its gross potential.
New Show: Saint Joan Starring Condola Rashad
On April 3, 2018, Saint Joan began previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a Manhattan Theatre Club production, directed by Daniel Sullivan. This play by Bernard Shaw has been revived several times before on Broadway since its premiere in 1923, and the play is always a great vehicle for a young powerful actress. In this production, the title role is embodied by Condola Rashad (Stick Fly, The Trip to Bountiful, Romeo and Juliet, A Doll’s House Part 2). This past week, the show brought in $185,752 over 7 performances, which represents 31.5% of its gross potential. The show is scheduled to open on April 25, 2018.
