Broadway Grosses: Chicago Celebrates Best Grossing Week in 21-Year History

The week just leading up to the new year was a lucrative one for Broadway. As tourists poured into town, new productions as well as old favorites set records on the Great White Way. The long-running hit Chicago saw its best grossing week in its 21-year Broadway history, taking in $1,261,237, also setting a house record at the Ambassador Theatre. The musical sensation Wicked reported a gross of $3,301,067—the show's highest ever—also a house record for the Gershwin Theatre. The celebrated new musical The Band's Visit took in a box office gross of $1,564,647, the highest for any nine-show week in the Barrymore Theatre's 90-year history, while fellow new tuner SpongeBob SquarePants reported its highest gross yet: $1,456,764.20. Wintertime is surely here, and while the digits outside might be dropping, Broadway is seeing its highest numbers ever.

Here's a look at who was on top—and who was not—for the week ending December 31:

FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Hamilton ($3,854,874.00)
2. Wicked ($3,301,067.00)*
3. The Lion King ($3,099,930.00)
4. Hello, Dolly! ($2,464,573.13)
5. Springsteen on Broadway ($2,410,757.50)**

UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. The Parisian Woman ($646,792.00)
4. Junk ($457,473.50)
3. John Lithgow: Stories by Heart ($291,612.80)***
2. The Children ($236,201.50)***
1. Home for the Holidays ($79,124.80)

FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. The Book of Mormon (102.54%)*
2. Come From Away  (101.99%)*
3. Hamilton (101.76%)
4. Dear Evan Hansen (101.52%)
5. Hello, Dolly! (101.09%)

UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. The Parisian Woman (87.49%)
4. The Children (85.65%)***
3. Miss Saigon (84.95%)*
2. Junk (72.42%)
1. Home for the Holidays (30.25%)

*Number based on nine performances
**Number based on five performances
**Number based on seven performances
Source: The Broadway League