Broadway Grosses: Santa Brings Audiences to Main Stem Hits

Broadway producers love the holidays, with good reason: Capacity crowds often hitch a ride on Santa’s sleigh to see a show while celebrating in New York. Christmas week 2010 was no exception, even as the first flakes of the blizzard fell just as audiences arrived for the December 26 matinees. A total of nine shows topped $1 million, with Elf continuing its record-breaking run and Spider-Man filling every seat in a week of four previews.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending December 26:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Wicked ($2,153,110)
2. The Lion King ($1,823,766)
3. Elf ($1,572,836)*
4. Jersey Boys ($1,156,942)
5. Mary Poppins ($1,117,422)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. La Bete ($184,011)**
4. The Importance of Being Earnest ($162,716)***
3. Colin Quinn: Long Story Short ($155,816)
2. A Free Man of Color ($143,850)
1. Time Stands Still ($117,962)****

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Merchant of Venice (102.59%)**
2. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (100%)*****
2. Wicked (100%)
4. The Lion King (97.91%)
5. Fela! (93.15%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. La Cage aux Folles (50.98%)**
4. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (48.40%)
3. Colin Quinn: Long Story Short (46.34%)
2. A Free Man of Color (43.62%)
1. La Bete (40.84%)**

*Number based on nine regular performances.
**Number based on seven regular performances.
***Number based on seven preview performances.
****Number based on two regular performances.
*****Number based on four preview performances.
Data provided by the Broadway League.