Broadway Box Office: Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘McNeal’ Sells Out First Four Previews

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As a seasoned gamer of Broadway shows, I must say, the recent surge of performances has left me utterly spellbound! The impressive debut of Robert Downey Jr.’s play, McNeal, at the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater is nothing short of electrifying. The fact that it could potentially rival top-grossing musicals with a $1.5 million haul if it had played eight performances? Mind-blowing!

Last week, I was absolutely blown away by the opening of the fresh Broadway production, “McNeal,” starring the legendary Robert Downey Jr. In just four shows, this play raked in an astounding $746,230! Talk about a powerful start!

If the play running at the Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater had followed its usual pattern of eight shows per week, it would have generated approximately $1.5 million in ticket sales – a substantial amount for a play, positioning it alongside top-earning musicals. The production was sold out for every performance, with an average ticket price of $170.37, the second highest industry rate that week, surpassed only by Cabaret, and this is uncommon for a nonprofit theater with a substantial subscription audience.

In his Broadway debut, Downey stars in a play penned by Ayad Akhtar and orchestrated by Bartlett Sher. The production presents Downey as an accomplished writer who consistently falls short of winning the Pulitzer Prize, but becomes increasingly captivated by artificial intelligence. Previews for this production, titled McNeal, started on September 5th, with the official opening scheduled for September 30th.

Cole Escola’s comedy “Oh Mary!” is maintaining a robust performance at the Lyceum Theatre, shattering the box office record for the fifth consecutive week and raking in an impressive $1.1 million, while selling out every single seat.

After the Labor Day holiday, many Broadway shows experienced a decline in earnings as they transitioned into the Broadway Week promotional period, which offers ticket discounts from September 3rd to the 15th. Despite this, the total industry gross decreased by 9.5% compared to the previous week, while attendance only dropped by 1.4%.

Cabaret, unlike most shows, experienced a significant surge in earnings each week during its revival, boosting the total gross by $50,000 every seven days. By the end of the week, it had amassed a gross of $1.5 million, making it the third highest earning show. The current stars, Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin, are scheduled to depart their roles on Sept. 14, with Adam Lambert and Auli’i Cravalho stepping into their places from Sept. 16 onwards.

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2024-09-10 22:55