Broadway grosses fell back down to the earth last week as the holiday buzz wore off.
Overall, the industry was down 34 percent from the lucrative highs of the prior week, with attendance dropping close to 13 percent and the average ticket price dropping $40. Two productions, Waiting For Godot and Beetlejuice, had played their final performances Jan. 4 and Jan. 3, which meant the industry was also down to 31 productions last week, compared to 33 the week prior.
Bug, starring Carrie Coon, opened Jan. 8 to largely positive reviews, but saw a close to $130,000 drop in grosses due to the comped opening night, as well as the cancellation of two shows leading up to opening.
Liberation, which had been struggling during the holiday weeks, bucked the trend and saw a turnaround in last week as the show jumped up 86 percent capacity (from 65 percent) at the James Earl Jones Theatre and saw grosses jump up $200,000 to $639,035, the highest of its run so far. The play, which explores the creation of a second-wave feminist group, is set to end its run at the theater Feb. 1, with The Fear of 13, starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, set to run at the theater starting in March.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, starring Tom Felton from the films, retained its spot as the top-grossing show in the industry, bringing in $2.6 million and playing to close to 100 percent capacity at the Lyric Theatre, with a slightly lower average ticket price of $204 and below the $3.3 million from the prior week. Hamilton was the next highest grossing, with $2.2 million, followed by Wicked with $2 million. Mamma Mia! brought in $1.78 million, followed by The Lion King with $1.7 million.
Stranger Things: The First Shadow saw a drop in grosses from its holiday highs. Attendance was still high, at 100 percent, but the average ticket price slid down about $50, leading to a $1.6 million gross for the play. It’s still one of its highest grosses to date, but close to $340,000 below the prior week’s totals.
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