Strong showings at the June 11 Tony Awards – both in terms of trophies and on-air performances – seem to have made an equally sturdy impact at the box office, with best musical Kimberly Akimbo and nominated & Juliet – posting their best numbers yet, and best play Leopoldstadt making significant gains over the previous week.
In fact, the argument for Tony’s value as a national Broadway marketing tool found some support in the overall box office figures: Grosses for the week ending June 18 were up 6% (to $32,939,618) over the previous week, and that’s with one fewer show on the boards (32, compared with the previous 33). Attendance was up 2% to 260,027.
The total numbers also compare favorably to the same period last year, with both grosses and attendance up nearly 12% year over year.
Among the newer shows selling out, or coming close, were Kimberly Akimbo (grossing $695,405); Parade ($1,168,463); Prima Face ($1,107,830); & Juliet ($1,339,854); and Sweeney Todd ($1,935,912). Leopoldstadt was up by more than $270,000 to $924,033. Shucked, Some Like It Hot and New York, New York all posted gains well in excess of $100,000 ($862,188, $1,143,488 and $995,844, respectively).
Among the post-Tony arrivals, Once Upon a One More Time, the new fairy tale musical featuring songs made popular by Britney Spears, showed some improvement over the previous week, grossing $645,628 but still filling only about 71% of seats. The musical opens this week – June 22 – and reviews could show their impact.
Here Lies Love, the David Byrne-Fatboy Slim immersive dance club musical about Imelda Marcos, sold out its first preview, filling all seats at the revamped Broadway Theatre and grossing $126,461. Opening night is July 20.
In its final week, Summer, 1976 filled 89% of seats at the Friedman, grossing $446,296. Life of Pi, which just today announced a July 23 closing notice, took in $494,001, with attendance at the Schoenfeld at just 75% of capacity.
Season to date, Broadway has grossed $128,133,731 with total attendance of 1,055,336 at 86% of capacity.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.