Broadway Grosses: Halloween Pushes B.O. Down; Billy Elliot Strong

Broadway box offices took an across-the-board hit last week, presumably due to a slow Halloween night, which fell on Friday. Newcomers Billy Elliot and All My Sons remained strong, with the tuner hitting the top five at more than $980,000 in its first week of giving eight rather than six previews. Meanwhile, the starry Sons, along with South Pacific, pushed down perennial one-two combo Wicked and Jersey Boys in terms of capacity, doing close to sellout business. The season’s second David Mamet revival, American Buffalo, gave its first four previews at the Belasco Theatre.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending November 2:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,403,819
2. Jersey Boys $1,057,856
3. The Lion King $986,360
4. Billy Elliot $981,223*
5. Mamma Mia! $955,671

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. 13 $198,610
4. Dividing the Estate $198,239*
3. The 39 Steps $182,134
2. To Be or Not To Be $130,119
1. American Buffalo $124,431**

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. South Pacific 99.62%
2. All My Sons 99.52%
5. Wicked 98.50%
4. Jersey Boys 98.49%
5. Mamma Mia! 96%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Spamalot 51.74%
4. Spring Awakening 47.24%
3. 13 45.62%
2. A Tale of Two Cities 44.51%
1. To Be or Not To Be 44%

*Number based on eight previews.
**Number based on four previews.
Data provided by the Broadway League.