By Jennifer R Jones | Posted on June 11, 2014 8:00 AM
In The Week Approaching The Tony Awards, Many Nominated Shows Saw An Increase In Ticket Sales, Whereas Long-Running Shows Saw A Slow Down.
In Anticipation Of The Tony Awards, Nominated Shows See Boost
The week ending June 8, 2014 culminated in the 68th Annual Tony Awards, held at Radio City Music Hall. Almost every single nominated show saw an increase in ticket sales this week form the week prior. The winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, earned a weekly gross of $733,879, which was an increase of $32,900 from the week before.
It will be interesting to watch how much this gross increases now that the award has been taken home. Furthermore, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which also received a slew of nominations and won four awards, grossed $1,021,708 this past week, which was an increase of $42,465 from the week prior.
"Hedwig And The Angry Inch" Is A Hot Ticket
This is an extremely hot ticket, which is a major achievement with its countercultural themes. The winner of Best Play, All the Way, earned $940,550 in the week approaching the Tony Awards, which was an increase of $27,635 from the week before. Finally, the winner of Best Play Revival was A Raisin in the Sun, which earned a whomping $1,226,464, up $40,888 from the week before.
Long-Running Shows Slow Down
In contrast, many long-running shows saw a decrease in sales this week. Mamma Mia! earned $89,116 than it did the week before, Motown the Musical went down by $21,038, the 2012 Best Musical winner Once decreased by $24,401 this week, Rock of Ages went down by $12,187, The Lion King saw a decrease of $9,801, The Phantom of the Opera went down by $95,397, and even the megahit The Book of Mormon saw a decrease in weekly grosses this week of $36,161.
This goes to show that theatregoers are indeed paying attention to awards news, and they are flocking to see the shows that were in contention for awards this past Sunday evening.
"Holler If Ya Hear Me" Is Not Being Heard On Broadway
This week saw the beginning of previews for a new musical based on the music and life of Tupac Shakur: Holler if Ya Hear Me. With an almost full week of seven performances, this musical only grossed $148,964, which is only 19% of the show’s gross potential. The average ticket price was only $24.10, as the production must have been heavily discounting and also offering many complimentary seats, still managing to fill 81.2% of its audience capacity.
In a noisy climate with much awards excitement, it makes sense that this unusually themed musical would get lost in the undertow. However, once reviews come out after its opening on June 19, 2014, the show will have more of a chance of catching wind.
The following are the Broadway ticket sales numbers for the week ending June 8, 2014:
| Show | GrossGross | Total Attn | %Cap | AvgPdAdm |
| A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER | $733,879 | 7,313 | 97.88% | $100.35 |
| A RAISIN IN THE SUN | $1,226,464 | 8,368 | 98.64% | $146.57 |
| ACT ONE | $439,011 | 6,034 | 65.72% | $72.76 |
| AFTER MIDNIGHT | $515,296 | 6,237 | 69.53% | $82.62 |
| ALADDIN | $1,286,953 | 13,784 | 98.53% | $93.37 |
| ALL THE WAY | $940,550 | 7,986 | 69.17% | $117.77 |
| BEAUTIFUL | $1,152,112 | 8,253 | 98.93% | $139.60 |
| BULLETS OVER BROADWAY | $731,949 | 8,345 | 62.73% | $87.71 |
| CABARET | $762,132 | 6,998 | 95.84% | $108.91 |
| CASA VALENTINA | $262,224 | 4,017 | 74.32% | $65.28 |
| CHICAGO | $451,792 | 5,733 | 65.08% | $78.81 |
| CINDERELLA | $798,936 | 10,169 | 71.52% | $78.57 |
| HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH | $1,021,708 | 7,220 | 100.85% | $141.51 |
| HOLLER IF YA HEAR ME | $148,964 | 6,182 | 31.76% | $24.10 |
| IF/THEN | $822,382 | 8,719 | 75.80% | $94.32 |
| JERSEY BOYS | $715,475 | 7,240 | 73.33% | $98.82 |
| KINKY BOOTS | $1,374,315 | 11,022 | 96.20% | $124.69 |
| LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL | $382,910 | 3,971 | 78.03% | $96.43 |
| LES MISÉRABLES | $989,826 | 9,900 | 85.00% | $99.98 |
| MAMMA MIA! | $594,226 | 7,045 | 73.33% | $84.35 |
| MATILDA | $967,335 | 10,630 | 92.62% | $91.00 |
| MOTHERS AND SONS | $197,920 | 2,815 | 39.25% | $70.31 |
| MOTOWN THE MUSICAL | $908,099 | 9,044 | 73.53% | $100.41 |
| NEWSIES | $636,215 | 8,508 | 85.34% | $74.78 |
| OF MICE AND MEN | $764,761 | 7,934 | 90.34% | $96.39 |
| ONCE | $400,932 | 4,965 | 56.37% | $80.75 |
| PIPPIN | $548,081 | 6,028 | 73.55% | $90.92 |
| ROCK OF AGES | $278,823 | 3,431 | 70.00% | $81.27 |
| ROCKY | $617,990 | 7,453 | 56.47% | $82.92 |
| THE BOOK OF MORMON | $1,592,249 | 8,734 | 102.36% | $182.30 |
| THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN | $546,947 | 6,094 | 68.44% | $89.75 |
| THE LION KING | $1,949,684 | 13,497 | 99.03% | $144.45 |
| THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA | $869,478 | 10,637 | 81.28% | $81.74 |
| THE REALISTIC JONESES | $417,565 | 4,894 | 68.32% | $85.32 |
| VIOLET | $376,607 | 4,763 | 75.92% | $79.07 |
| WICKED | $1,924,272 | 15,195 | 97.50% | $126.64 |
| Totals: | $28,348,060 | 279,158 | 78.13% | $97.07 |
Broadway ticket sales raw data are provided courtesy of The Broadway League All other data, text, opinion, charts and commentary are copyright © 2014 nytix.com
