Broadway box office continued its climb back from the early-winter Omicron surge, with 19 productions grossing a total $18,939,840 for the week ending Feb. 13, a 12% jump over the previous week’s take.
Total attendance for the shows was up 9% to 165,971, a decent 87% of total seating capacity. Average ticket price was $114, up several dollars from the previous week.
Although the Broadway League is not releasing figures for individual shows this season – a break from longstanding tradition – last week’s upward swing no doubt reflects strong box office results from two recently opened productions: MJ, the Michael Jackson musical, and last week’s big opener The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Though the latter received mixed reviews from critics, box office and advance sales are thought to be strong (and producers set aside only one night for reviewer comps rather than the standard several).
Last week’s $18.9M box office figure compares to $26.9M for the comparable week in 2020, just a month before the industry’s Covid pandemic shutdown.
Season to date, Broadway has grossed $454,935,978, with total attendance of 3,686,000 at about 80% of capacity.
Productions reporting performances on Broadway during the week ending Feb. 13 were Aladdin; The Book of Mormon; Chicago; Come From Away; Company; David Byrne’s American Utopia; Dear Evan Hansen; Hadestown; Hamilton; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child; The Lion King; MJ; Moulin Rouge! The Musical!; The Music Man; The Phantom of the Opera; Six; Skeleton Crew; Tina; and Wicked.
All figures courtesy of the Broadway League, which, in contrast to previous seasons, is not releasing box office figures for individual shows this season due to the impact of Covid on playing schedules and other statistics.