Broadway Grosses: Mormons and Lions Fight for the Crown; Janis Joplin, The Winslow Boy Join the Party

In the eternal battle between Broadway’s biggest blockbusters, the tides can change at any moment! That’s why The Book of Mormon trounced The Lion King at the box office this week, with the two perennial frontrunners in a heated battle with only dollars separating the two. (Last week, Lion won by $6,000, while this week, Mormon conquered by $16,000). Joining the ranks are two Broadway newcomers: The Winslow Boy, starring Roger Rees, and A Night with Janis Joplin. Both shows wiggled their way onto the list this week, but we won’t know their full performing potential until they’ve got a full week of eight shows under their belts. Until then: Rock on, Janis. And Mr. Winslow.

Find out who was on top—and who most certainly was not—for the week ending September 22:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. The Book of Mormon ($1,759,612)
2. The Lion King ($1,743,149)
3. Kinky Boots ($1,584,027)
4. Wicked ($1,471,059)
5. Motown The Musical ($1,425,653)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. Rock of Ages ($376,048)
4. First Date ($358,225)
3. A Night with Janis Joplin ($144,461)*
2. Soul Doctor ($143,750)
1. The Winslow Boy ($88,627)**

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.63%)
2. Pippin (101.11%)
3. Kinky Boots (100.77%)
4. The Lion King (99.03%)
5. Motown The Musical (98.22%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. First Date (66.32%)
4. Soul Doctor (64.85%)
3. The Winslow Boy (63.84%)
2. Cinderella (53.39%)
1. Annie (47.04%)

* Number based on three preview performances
** Number based on five preview performances

Data provided by the Broadway League