Broadway Grosses: The Great White Way Celebrates Its Highest-Grossing Season on Record

The 2016-17 Broadway season ended on May 21, marking yet another record-breaking year. Grosses were up by 5.5% from the 2015-16 season, bringing in a total of 13.27 million theatergoers and $1.45 billion; this year marks the Great White Way's highest-grossing season on record. During the 2016-2017 season, 45 productions opened, including 20 musicals (13 original, 6 revivals, 1 return engagement), 20 plays (10 original, 9 revivals, 1 return engagement) and 5 specials. Broadway's variety of new works and old favorites clearly has audiences of all ages coming back for more.

One particular standout this past week was the new Broadway musical Anastasia, which saw an increase at the Broadway box office in the week ending May 21; the fantastical stage adaptation of the film favorite took in $1,120.134.50, an increase of $30,454.10 from the prior week's gross of $1,089,680.40. Usual suspects like Hamilton, The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, The Phantom of the Opera and Aladdin have continued their streaks at the top this season. Nevertheless, productions like Hello, Dolly!, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, The Great Comet and Groundhog Day have also been going strong, especially with the buzz of the forthcoming Tony Awards.

Here's a look at who was on top—and who was not—for the week ending May 21:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Hamilton ($3,133,555)
2. The Lion King ($1,976,301)
3. Hello, Dolly! ($1,933,853.48)*
4. Wicked ($1,730,401)
5. Aladdin ($1,452,664)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. The Glass Menagerie ($335,673.50)
4. A Doll's House, Part 2 ($325,010)
3. Sweat ($301,574.60)
2. Indecent ($291,234.00)
1. 1984 ($212,625.54)**

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.17%)
2. Come From Away (101.90%)
3. Hamilton (101.77%)
4. Dear Evan Hansen (101.54%)
5. Hello, Dolly! (101.49%)*

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. School of Rock (74.71%)
4. Miss Saigon (73.92%)
3. On Your Feet! (66.67%)
2. Indecent (61.37%)
1. Six Degrees of Separation (52.35%)

*Number based on seven performances
**Number based on four preview performances

Source: The Broadway League