Broadway Grosses: Box Office Rises Slightly; The Lion King Roars

In the week leading up to Columbus Day, Broadway’s box offices showed strength across the board, with a mix of new and long-running shows making their way onto both frontrunners’ lists. The Book of Mormon set another house record at the O’Neill Theatre, but an even bigger feat is The Lion King’s climb to the top of the grosses list almost 14 years after its original opening night. (It looks like all those moviegoers who pushed the Disney classic's 3D re-release to the top of the charts decided to see the musical, too!)

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending October 9:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. The Lion King ($1,660,023)
2. Wicked ($1,656,867)
3. Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark ($1,464,858)
4. The Book of Mormon ($1,338,080)
5. Jersey Boys ($1,083,996)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. Relatively Speaking ($648,394)
4. Chicago ($589,391)
3. The Mountaintop ($530,317)*
2. Rock of Ages ($402,081)
1. Man and Boy ($194,119)**

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.63%)
2. The Lion King (100.03%)
3. War Horse (100%)
4. Jersey Boys (98.09%)
5. Wicked (97.77%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. Mamma Mia (80.86%)
4. Mary Poppins (73.80%)
3. Priscilla Queen of the Desert (72.51%)
2. Follies (71.27%)
1. The Addams Family (69.51%)

*Number based on eight previews.
**Number based on seven previews and one regular performance.
Data provided by the Broadway League.