Broadway Box Office: ‘Sunset Blvd’ Brings in $1M Opening Week, ‘Romeo+ Juliet’ Draws Crowds

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As a seasoned Broadway enthusiast with over two decades of theater-going under my belt, I must say last week was a rollercoaster of emotions for me! Sunset Blvd and Romeo + Juliet, both highly anticipated productions, managed to draw in impressive crowds despite generous comped tickets, which is truly commendable.

Last week, Sunset Blvd earned approximately $1.2 million, even with five shows featuring numerous complimentary tickets for the press prior to its October 20th premiere, and an entirely free opening night performance.

The revamped production, with Nicole Scherzinger’s act being widely praised yet the adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical drawing mixed opinions, nearly filled the St. James Theatre to its fullest capacity.

Last week, Romeo + Juliet made its debut on the red carpet and continued to draw a substantial audience, raking in $1.06 million during its initial eight-day run at the Circle in the Square Theatre. With over 100% attendance, the production featuring Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler will officially premiere on October 24th.

Following the peak performances during the recent holiday break, several shows experienced a return to typical box office earnings. Leading the pack in the theater industry, Wicked earned approximately $2.2 million, a drop of around $250,000 compared to the previous week. Similarly, The Lion King made about $2 million, decreasing by roughly $200,000. Lastly, Hamilton took in approximately $1.9 million, a slight reduction of around $100,000.

Last week’s earnings for Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen increased, totaling approximately $1.55 million – a boost of around $130,000 compared to the previous week. On the other hand, Cabaret, featuring Adam Lambert and Auli’i Cravalho, witnessed an uptick in its earnings, reaching $1,123,538 this week. The show played to nearly 93% of its capacity. This marks the second consecutive week of rising earnings for Cabaret, although the current totals are still lower than when Eddie Redmayne was in the production.

In summary, the industry witnessed a 1% rise in ticket sales and a 5% boost in attendance this week due to several new productions commencing previews. One of these shows is “Maybe Happy Ending,” starring Darren Criss and Helen J Shen, which generated $241,825 during its five preview performances at the Belasco Theatre, filling 81% of the theater’s capacity. The official opening is scheduled for November 12.

Tammy Faye, featuring music by Elton John, held a single preview at the Palace Theater, selling tickets for 90% of the available seats and earning $167,504. Its official opening night is scheduled for November 14.

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2024-10-22 23:27