Broadway Grosses: Summer Fun at the Box Office

The total number of Broadway shows may be down from season’s end, but the vast majority of those still running are doing pretty darn well at the box office. For the week ending July 19, 15 out of 23 shows played to greater than 90% of capacity, seven musicals grossed more than $1 million, and four other shows came within shouting distance of the magic number, including The Little Mermaid (whose “last weeks” advertising is helping pack ’em in before an August 30 closing date at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre). Meanwhile, Broadway said farewell to Angela Lansbury and the revival of Blithe Spirit, which jumped more than $125,000 from the previous week and announced that it had recouped its investment at the Shubert Theatre.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending July 19:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Wicked ($1,634,385)
2. The Lion King ($1,455,842)
3. Billy Elliot ($1,443,565)
4. West Side Story ($1,314,443)
5. Jersey Boys ($1,147,932)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. Next to Normal ($445,512)
4. The Norman Conquests ($352,377)
3. Avenue Q ($340,324)
2. Mary Stuart ($289,900)
1. The 39 Steps ($195,347)

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. God of Carnage (102.21%)
2. Jersey Boys (101.24%)
3. Hair (100.58%)
4. Billy Elliot (100.02%)
5. Wicked (100%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. Blithe Spirit (80.33%)
4. Avenue Q (74.21%)
3. The 39 Steps (70.48%)
2. 9 to 5 (66.91%)
1. Mary Stuart (52.88%)

Data provided by the Broadway League.