A number of shows saw their attendance fall last week, as spring break crowds dissipated, and as several productions comped tickets in the lead up to openings.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was the highest grossing show last week, bringing in $2.4 million at the Lyric Theatre, followed by Hamilton with $1.9 million and The Lion King with $1.8 million. Moulin Rouge! brought in $1.6 million, on the continued strength of Megan Thee Stallion’s run in the musical. Every Brilliant Thing, starring Daniel Radcliffe, also cracked the top five for the first time with $1.5 million and the top average ticket price last week of $198.
Last week saw the openings of The Fear of 13, starring Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, which opened to mixed reviews, Proof, starring Ayo Edebiri and Don Cheadle, which opened to mixed to positive reviews and Fallen Angels, starring Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara, which opened to largely positive reviews. Six more shows were in previews last week, with all set to open before April 27, the Tony Awards eligibility cutoff.Â
Overall gross fell 10 percent and attendance fell five percent.Â
Among the lower grossing shows, the new musical Beaches saw capacity fall to 61 percent in its third week of Broadway previews, and will need to see a turnaround after opening at the Majestic Theatre April 22. Total gross fell to $473,027.
Amidst the number of new show offerings, Chess fell to 71 percent capacity at the Imperial Theatre and Two Strangers Carry A Cake Across New York fell to 69 percent capacity at the Longacre Theatre (both opened in the fall). Stranger Things: The First Shadow fell to 73 percent at the Marquis Theatre and Death Becomes Her fell to 91 percent at Lunt-Fontanne after both opened last season.
Post-opening, Cats: The Jellicle Ball and Death of a Salesman were all trending up, with Cats: The Jellicle Ball hitting $1 million in grosses for the first time and Death of a Salesman, starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, hitting $1.3 million.
