Broadway Grosses: The Color Purple & School of Rock Push Da Box Office Button in First Weeks

While usual suspects like Wicked, The Lion King and Hamilton secured the top spots at the box office, two new productions made sizable, if not placing, debuts on the boards. The revival of The Color Purple, led by Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Hudson and Danielle Brooks, played its first six preview performances at 98.10% capacity and grossed 89% of its potential at $690,820. School of Rock, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Glenn Slater and Julian Fellowes’ new musical that’s set up class at the massive Winter Garden Theatre, was just shy of reaching the top five, earning $928,596 over eight performances. We’ll keep an eye on both shows as buzz continues to develop. Meanwhile, while the underdogs consisted mostly of limited runs and shows already set to close, Dames at Sea took the bottom spot in grosses. While its home, the Helen Hayes Theatre, is the smallest on Broadway, the musical took in only 35% of its potential, and the approaching winter will make for choppy waters.

Here’s a look at who was on top—and who was not—for the week ending November 15:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Wicked ($1,646,787)
2. The Lion King ($1,633,344)
3. Hamilton ($1,596,311)
4. The Book of Mormon ($1,487,214)
5. Aladdin ($1,467,772)

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. The Gin Game ($391,114)*
4. Sylvia ($364,084)
3. Fool for Love ($351,306)
2. Hand to God ($221,229)
1. Dames at Sea ($201,412)

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.35%)
2. Hamilton (101.61%)
3. The Lion King (100.03%)
4. Wicked (99.00%)
5. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (98.39%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. Spring Awakening (63.80%)
4. Sylvia (59.87%)
3. Dames at Sea (59.54%)
2. Hand to God (53.55%)
1. Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games (52.36%)

* Number based on seven regular performances

Source: The Broadway League