Broadway Box Office: ‘Othello’ Tops Industry Gross Amid Flurry of Show Openings

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Last week, I found myself back at the number one spot in gaming, as the thrilling performance of “Othello,” featuring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, raked in a whopping $3.179 million and bumped up the average ticket price to an impressive $382.92.

The show being performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre narrowly surpassed its closest rival, “Good Night and Good Luck,” starring George Clooney, in terms of earnings. This play generated approximately $3.135 million, which is nearly $150,000 less than the previous week’s total. However, this decrease in revenue occurred during a week that featured a completely complimentary opening night for the production.

The performance at the Winter Garden Theater started on April 3rd, receiving a mix of positive to favorable evaluations. Critics from The New York Times even selected it as a critic’s pick. Interestingly, despite this, the ticket price for Good Night and Good Luck remains the second highest in the industry, currently standing at $250.68 per ticket last week.

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending two exciting opening nights – “Glengarry Glen Ross” at the Palace Theater and “The Last Five Years” at the Hudson Theatre. Starring Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk, Bill Burr, Nick Jonas, and Adrienne Warren, these shows garnered mixed to positive reviews for the former and mixed to negative reviews for the latter. Despite the varied reception, “Glengarry Glen Ross” managed to rake in an impressive $1.8 million across eight performances at the Palace Theater. “The Last Five Years”, on the other hand, opened to a more critical response at the Hudson Theatre.

Opening performances, such as “Boop! The Musical at the Broadhurst Theatre,” that were largely provided free of charge, along with complimentary press showings, collectively led to a decrease in the total industry earnings by approximately 3 percent compared to the previous week. However, this figure remains 19 percent higher than the cumulative earnings from last season up to this point.

A number of other productions are preparing for their premieres before the Tony Awards’ qualifying deadline on April 27th. Among them is the play “Stranger Things: The First Shadow“, which had four preview performances at the Marriott Marquis Theatre last week and sold out completely, earning $676,923. The production is set to open on April 22nd.

I’m excitedly counting down the days till the April 14 premiere of “John Proctor is The Villain,” starring the talented Sadie Sink. Last week, it raked in a whopping $370,701 at the Booth Theatre, where every single seat was filled to capacity! Can’t wait to see what unfolds on the big screen as this captivating production gets underway.

After catching performances of Othello and Good Night and Good Luck, the highest-grossing shows last week were Wicked, earning $2.5 million, The Lion King raking in $1.98 million, and Hamilton taking home $1.96 million as a fan, I was truly impressed by their success.

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2025-04-08 21:54