This post was originally published on Playbill - News
Written by: Logan Culwell-Block
Industry News
Over 71 productions, Broadway grossed $1.54 billion last season, a plateau from the season prior. The Broadway League has released end-of-season statistics for the 2023-2024 Broadway season, which saw grosses of $1,539,278,706. Over 71 productions, 39 of which were new, 12.3 million people saw a Broadway show last season, cumulatively filling almost 90% of all available seats.
The figures represent a more-or-less status quo compared to the 2022-2023 season, which took in $1.58 billion in grosses and saw a total attendance of 12.2 million.
“Audiences are responding to the incredible variety of plays, musicals, and specials that we have on Broadway,” says Interim Broadway League President Jason Laks in a statement. “Broadway continues to provide a dynamic space for audiences and artists to explore diverse worlds and narratives together and remains a place where everyone can find something they will love to see.”
That slight dip in overall grosses is likely due to lower-priced tickets. The average Broadway ticket was $125.27 in the 2023-2024 season, down from $128.43 the season previous.
The full report is available at BroadwayLeague.com.
As for last week’s numbers, it looks like Broadway fans flocked to Lempicka to catch the musical before it played its final performance May 19. Over the week, 97% of its seats were filled at the Longacre, which led to the best-performing week of its entire run with a total gross of $588,388.30.
The top five were dominated by usual suspects The Lion King, Cabaret, Hamilton, Wicked, and Merrily We Roll Along, but Best Musical nominee Hell’s Kitchen reached the number-six spot with the highest gross yet of its run, $1.6 million. Could the Alicia Keys musical become the next top five mainstay after Merrily closes in July? That may depend on how this year’s Tony Awards go down. Those are planned for June 16 at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Stay tuned!
Take a look at the full report here.
The $1 Million Club (shows that earned $1 million or more at the box office):
The Lion King ($2.03 million)
Cabaret
Hamilton
Wicked
Merrily We Roll Along
Hell’s Kitchen
MJ The Musical
The Wiz
The Great Gatsby
Aladdin
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Water for Elephants
An Enemy of the People
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Uncle Vanya
(15 of 35 currently running productions)
The 90s Club (shows that played to 90% or higher of their seats filled over the entire week):
An Enemy of the People (103.2%)
The Outsiders (100.97%)
Hell’s Kitchen (100.51%)
Hamilton (100.15%)
Merrily We Roll Along (100%)
Cabaret
Hadestown
Stereophonic
Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Mother Play
The Great Gatsby
Uncle Vanya
Wicked
The Book of Mormon
Mary Jane
Lempicka
The Lion King
The Wiz
Appropriate
MJ The Musical
Suffs
Aladdin
SIX: The Musical
& Juliet
Illinoise
