Analysis of Broadway Grosses: Box Office Drops Without Phantom; Disney’s The Lion King retakes the top spot

fat

Analysis of Broadway Grosses: Box Office Drops Sans Ghost; by Disney The Lion King Take first place

With Tony’s eligibility threshold in sight, Sweeney Todd consistently proves to be the top performing new show of the season.

Broadway said goodbye to The Phantom of the Opera April 16, and he certainly felt the loss last week. Minus the long-running musical’s stratospheric box office performance in its final weeks, cumulative revenue on the main stem plummeted by nearly $7 million. To be fair, we can’t just blame Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh; 21 of the 33 shows running last week are new this season, many in previews and in industry and press-only seats. The box office typically sees increases after Tony nominations, which are due to be announced on May 2, and even more once the winners are determined on June 11.

And speaking of those Tony Awards, voters are sure to have their eyes on the contenders for Broadway’s top honors hitting the audience. The Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford-directed revival of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler Sweeney Todd is still the top-performing new show of the season, placing third overall last week with $1.82 million. When Ghost still dominated with nearly $4 million weeks, Sweeney seemed to hesitate between fifth and sixth place. The loss of the long runner can pave the way for Sweeney become a permanent fixture in the top five.

newcomer friends & Juliet, ParadeAnd A nice sound were also in the $1 Million Club this week. And At first glance, even during a week of previews that featured plenty of reserved seating, is proving to be a strong contender among the season’s newest plays. The Jodie Comer-directed solo show grossed $807,415.60 and played to nearly 97% capacity at the Golden Theater. A doll’s housewith Jessica Chastain, came right behind At first glance at $806,285. Ibsen’s revival has been another strong performer this season.

But remember, anything can happen in the weeks to come. Tony’s nominations and wins could change everything. We won’t know for sure until June who will enter the summer of 2023 as Broadway’s hottest ticket.

In a post-Ghost world, disney The Lion King reclaimed his Player of the Week award with $2.17 million. If past performance is any indicator, we can expect Elton John’s musical to battle with hamilton for the top spot in the coming weeks. The Lin-Manuel Miranda Musical grossed $1.95 million last week and has frequently broken into the $2 million club.

Take a look at the full report here.

The Million Dollar Club (Shows that made $1 million or more at the box office):

(13 of the 33 productions currently in progress)

The club of the 90s (Shows that played 90% or more of their seats full all week):

(18 of the 33 productions currently in progress)