Broadway Grosses: Holiday Cheer at the Box Office as Eight Shows Top $1 Million

It’s Christmastime in the city, which means that theatergoers are streaming into Times Square to enjoy some Broadway-style holiday cheer. Almost every show posted a gain at the box office from the previous week, with eight shows, including seasonal special Elf, topping $1 million. Donny & Marie: A Broadway Christmas got off to a strong start, grossing $881,925 in only five performances at the Marquis Theatre, and The Merchant of Venice continued as Broadway’s most coveted ticket, grossing just over $1 million for seven performances. Broadway said farewell to The Pitmen Painters and The Scottsboro Boys, the latter jumping more than $150,00 in his final week at the Lyceum Theatre.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending December 12:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Wicked ($1,645,313)
2. The Lion King ($1,575,589)
3. Elf ($1,302,310)
4. Jersey Boys ($1,249,427)
5. Promises, Promises ($1,239,949)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. Next to Normal ($283,836)
4. A Free Man of Color ($278,172)
3. La Bete ($253,079)
2. The Pitmen Painters ($172,345)
1. Colin Quinn: Long Story Short ($153,081)

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Merchant of Venice (102.59%)*
2. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (99.43%)**
3. Wicked (98.20%)
4. Jersey Boys (98.11%)
5. The Lion King (97.81%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. A Free Man of Color (58.23%)
4. American Idiot (51.84%)
3. Time Stands Still (49.21%)
2. Colin Quinn: Long Story Short (48.85%)
1. La Bete (46.80%)

*Number based on seven regular performances.
**Number based on five preview performances.
Data provided by the Broadway League.