Broadway Grosses: Moore Starts Strong; Long-Running Musicals Still Tops

Movie queen Julianne Moore began her Broadway debut performance in the world premiere of David Hare's new political drama The Vertical Hour, and her fans turned out in support, filling the Music Box Theatre to 97.25% of capacity for the first four previews. As it posted a November 19 closing notice, Twyla Tharp's The Times They Are A-Changin' dropped to the underdog list, drawing 65.29% capacity at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. Otherwise, box office receipts held fairly steady across the board, the time-tested musical hits like Wicked and Jersey Boys once again topping the list both in gross and in percentage of capacity.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending November 11:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,402,177
2. Jersey Boys $1,175,005
3. The Lion King $1,059,416
4. Spamalot $948,413
5. The Drowsy Chaperone $946,388

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Heartbreak House $244,746
4. The Coast of Utopia, Part I Voyage $201,078*
3. The Little Dog Laughed $172,616**
2. Losing Louie $167,098
1. Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! $63,247

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Jersey Boys 100.70%
2. Wicked 100.00%
3. Mamma Mia! 99.14%
4. The Coast of Utopia, Part I Voyage 98.38%*
5. The Vertical Hour 97.25%***

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! 66.46%****
4. The Times They Are A-Changin' 65.29%
3. Losing Louie 61.38%
2. The Little Dog Laughed 46.95%**
1. Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! 28.30%

*Number based on three preview performances.
**Number based on eight preview performances.
***Number based on four preview performances.
****Number based on one preview and 11 regular performances.
Data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers.