Broadway Grosses: The Great White Way Rings in 2016 with a Thrillifying, Record-Breaking Week at the Box Office
As the opening lyrics of Wicked cry out, good news! The Great White Way rang in 2016 with the highest-grossing and best attended week in Broadway history, bringing in a total of $43,065,466. The long-running hit about the witches of Oz led the top spot with its highest revenue since 2013. Rounding out the top five were usual suspects: The Lion King, Aladdin, The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. The shattered records are no surprise for the holiday season; this past week, 17 shows played more than the standard eight-show week. With the added performances, 20 shows reached seven figures. The beginning of the year also marks a farewell for many productions. On January 3, Dames at Sea, Hand to God, Lord of the Dance, Sylvia, Thérèse Raquin and The Illusionists played their final performances. China Doll, the Al Pacino-led play by David Mamet that began as a box office frontrunner, appeared in the bottom five by capacity this week after a flurry of negative buzz; it’s set to close on January 31.
Here’s a look at who was on top—and who was not—for the week ending January 3:
FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Wicked ($2,940,096)*
2. The Lion King ($2,878,505)*
3. Aladdin ($2,398,110)*
4. The Book of Mormon ($2,024,551)*
5. Hamilton ($1,959,785)
UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. Sylvia ($391,703)*
4. Thérèse Raquin ($370,028)**
3. The Gin Game ($349,779)
2. Dames at Sea ($211,207)*
1. Our Mother's Brief Affair ($113,194)***
FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.63%)*
2. School of Rock (102.10%)*
3. Hamilton (101.67%)
4. Matilda (100.46%)*
5. Aladdin (99.99%)*
UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. Misery (72.34%)
4. Sylvia (72.10%)*
3. China Doll (70.99%)**
2. Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games (68.86%)*
1. Our Mother's Brief Affair (66.44%)***
* Number based on nine regular performances
** Number based on seven regular performances
*** Number based on six preview performances
Source: The Broadway League