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2w ago

Broadway Grosses Hit $52 Million for New Year’s Week as 'Lion King' and 'Mamma Mia!' Break House Records

The season is running about 10% ahead of last year, underscoring resilient demand beyond the holiday surge.

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Lest anyone think that Julie Taymor's popular production of The Lion King got off without injury, it turns out many of the dancers in that show sustained injuries just by coming to work and performing their moves every day—though this is a problem plaguing many Broadway productions. The actors who play the giraffes tend to have wrist issues from clutching their stilts. Likewise, the actresses who play the cheetah sometimes have back problems. And it has been suggested that the elaborate, and heavy masks and headpieces can exacerbate cervical and upper-thoracic strain in cast members.

Overview

  • For the week ending Jan. 4, 33 shows sold 313,513 tickets for $52,037,125 with an average paid admission of $165.98 and overall capacity at 97.72%, with 24 productions at or near sell-out.
  • Attendance rose 2.79% from the prior week while total grosses slipped 4.08% and the average ticket price fell by $11.90, reflecting calendar shifts from the Christmas to New Year’s frames.
  • The Lion King set a new eight-performance house record at the Minskoff with $3,145,899, and Mamma Mia! delivered its best week at the Winter Garden with $2,594,204 over nine shows.
  • Top earners were Hamilton ($3,332,754), Wicked ($3,286,525), Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($3,270,718), The Lion King ($3,145,899) and Mamma Mia! ($2,594,204).
  • Programming changes included final performances for Beetlejuice ($1,373,691; 96% of seats) and Waiting for Godot ($1,549,152; sold out), while Bug grossed $446,806 across eight previews ahead of its Jan. 8 opening.