Broadway Grosses: How the Grinch Became a Holiday Hit

Who says it's not easy being green? Both of the top two grossing Broadway shows for the week ending December 3 feature a green leading character: perennial favorite Wicked and new holiday hit Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Of course, with 12 performances a week, Grinch has a leg up when it comes to potential receipts, but the musical has climbed to a very respectable 88.53% of capacity at the Hilton Theatre. After a record-breaking Thanksgiving week, the Broadway box office as a whole returned to more normal levels. While rehearsing Part II "Shipwreck" of Tom Stoppard's The Coast of Utopia, Lincoln Center Theater presented only one performance of Part I "Voyage", which naturally cut drastically into its weekly figure. Over at The Producers, the powers-that-be have to be hoping that the imminent arrival of Tony Danza will perk up its numbers, while previewing tuners High Fidelity opening December 7 and Spring Awakening opening December 10 are banking on good reviews for a box-office boost heading into the holidays.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending December 3:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,413,336
2. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! $1,411,528*
3. Jersey Boys $1,181,879
4. Mary Poppins $1,123,330
5. The Lion King $1,086,393

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee $270,223
4. Heartbreak House $244,112
3. The Little Dog Laughed $227,532
2. Spring Awakening $199,827**
1. The Coast of Utopia, Part I, "Voyage" $31,766***

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Jersey Boys 100.78%
2. Wicked 99.04%
3. Mamma Mia! 97.12%
4. Mary Poppins 96.55%
5. A Chorus Line 93.78%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. The Producers 52.76%
4. The Little Dog Laughed 49.08%
3. High Fidelity 45.44%**
2. Spring Awakening 44.72%**
1. The Coast of Utopia, Part I, "Voyage" 43.27%***

*Number based on 12 regular performances.
**Number based on eight preview performances.
***Number based on one regular performance.
Data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers.