Broadway Grosses: Merchant Returns With $1 Million in Its Cash Register

Winter doldrums? Not at the Broadhurst Theatre, where Al Pacino is back for a final three weeks in The Merchant of Venice, racking up more than $1 million in just seven performances. Who says people don't care about Shakespeare? Meanwhile, on an eight-show week, Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark topped the grosses list—and made the front page of the Sunday New York Times with Joan Rivers’ suggestion that audience members wear helmets (!) during the show.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending February 6:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ($1,297,283)*
2. Wicked ($1,214,880)
3. The Merchant of Venice ($1,094,515)**
4. The Lion King ($1,089,357)
5. Jersey Boys ($866,391)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. Chicago ($343,159)
4. Million Dollar Quartet ($337,405)
3. Driving Miss Daisy ($278,831)*
2. Lombardi ($274,019)
1. Colin Quinn: Long Story Short ($157,063)

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Merchant of Venice (100.07%)**
2. Wicked (89.02%)
3. Jersey Boys (88.81%)
4. The Importance of Being Earnest (88.68%)
5. The Lion King (87.70%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. The Addams Family (63.16%)
4. The Phantom of the Opera (58.98%)
3. American Idiot (57.17%)
2. Chicago (57.07%)
1. Million Dollar Quartet (46.67%)

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