Broadway Makes History with Best Box Office Year Ever

Broadway is booming! Maybe it was the tremendous number of celebrities hitting the stage, or a uniquely fantastic slate of new and revived plays and musicals, but a new report released by the Broadway League revealed that 2012 was the best year in Broadway history.

“This was our strongest 52-week season in history in terms of attendance and grosses with over 12.3 million admissions,” announced Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of the Broadway League, in a press release.

Yes, in 2012 alone, the Broadway box office reached almost $1.14 billion (up from $1.08 billion last year). For comparison’s sake, the box office ten years ago in the 2001-02 season was a slim-looking $666 million.

With 41 new productions opening this year, it’s no wonder that both grosses and attendance are up. Even the long-running shows are thriving, with Wicked recently having its best week ever and shows like The Book of Mormon and The Lion King continuing to smash box office records.

Ready for some statistics on this record-breaking year? They’re coming at you fast:

• - Tourists accounted for 63.4% of all Broadway tickets purchased.
• - International tourists purchased 18.4% of tickets.
• - 47% of theatergoers bought their tickets online.
• - Playgoers attended the theater more frequently than musical audience members (the typical playgoer saw six shows in the past year, while musical attendees saw four).
• - 67% of audience members were female.
• - People who saw fifteen or more shows comprised only 5% of the audience.
  
  Keep up the good work, theatergoers! Be sure to visit Broadway.com for all your ticket purchasing needs!