NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� It was feast or famine at the Broadway box office as 2022 wound down, with eye-popping revenue for popular shows 鈥� including a staggering new Broadway record for 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� 鈥� not lifting all strugglers.
Twenty-one of the 33 shows available broke the $1 million mark for the week ending Sunday, and 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� made history with the biggest haul ever 鈥� an astonishing $4,315,264 over nine performances for It took the crown from "Hamilton, the first Broadway show to crack $4 million, which it did with eight performances at the end of 2018.
鈥淭he Music Man鈥� was close behind with two high-wattage stars in Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman 鈥� $3,971,531 over nine shows 鈥� followed by 鈥淲icked鈥� with $3,152,679. The top average ticket price went to 鈥淭he Music Man鈥� with $285.80, just about a dollar more than 鈥淭he Lion King.鈥�
All shows bar one 鈥� 鈥淎 Christmas Carol鈥� 鈥� saw their numbers grow over the week ending Sunday. However, the usual bump was barely evident for 鈥淭opdog/Underdog,鈥� with just $345,567 over eight shows, and 鈥淥hio State Murders鈥� pulling in just $311,893 to a half-empty theater over nine performances despite the presence of six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald. A revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning dark comedy 鈥淏etween Riverside and Crazy鈥� starring the rapper Common pulled in just $260,085.
Box office numbers had been treacherous for new works even before the holidays 鈥� early closing notices were posted for shows like 鈥淎lmost Famous,鈥� 鈥淜POP," 鈥淎 Strange Loop鈥� and 鈥淎in鈥檛 No Mo'.鈥� That announcement was met with a ticket spike.
The data is a reminder that Broadway has not fully rebounded from the pandemic, which wiped out live theater for 18 months and dried up its lifeblood 鈥� tourism.
Tom Kirdahy, a veteran producer behind the current starry revival of 鈥淭he Piano Lesson鈥� and the upcoming 鈥淣ew York, New York,鈥� said audiences are steadily coming back and could be back to normal by spring.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very clear that buying patterns are different, but it鈥檚 equally clear that audiences are craving good work, and I think the challenge is to remind people that New York is actually a safe place to be and that theaters are safe places to be,鈥� he said.
The 33 shows running on Broadway grossed $51,912,862 last week, the biggest seven-day period since the last week of 2019, when the box office earned $55,765,408. The holiday period is especially rough on performers and crew members who are usually asked to staff extra performances.
While January and February are among the bitterest months on Broadway, many producers were popping champagne after the latest numbers. The 26-year-old revival of the musical 鈥淐hicago鈥� earned its biggest weekly total with $1,299,404 and 鈥淭he Piano Lesson鈥� starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington and Danielle Brooks became the highest-grossing August Wilson play on Broadway in history last week.
set a new box office record at the August Wilson Theatre with $2,405,901. And broke the box office record at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, grossing $1,639,788 for nine performances. 鈥淗arry Potter and the Cursed Child鈥� broke the house record at the Lyric Theatre, grossing $2,671,191 for its eight-performance week.
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
