Broadway Grosses: Box Office Remains as Warm as the Weather

The first week of January saw unseasonably warm temperatures in New York, and with that, a pretty steady hold at Broadway box offices after a record-breaking holiday season. Mainstays Jersey Boys, Mary Poppins and Wicked re-established themselves as tops, with Spamalot also filling the Shubert to 100.43% capacity. Fourteen of 30 shows played to greater than 90% capacity, an impressive statistic in what is usually a slow month at the box office. Only holiday-centered Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which exited the Hilton Theatre on January 7, took a particularly large fall in gross and capacity, dropping to 54.39% after a smashingly successful debut run. Manhattan Theatre Club's revival of Brian Friel's Translations began performances this week, drawing just under 50% capacity in its first five previews.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending January 7:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,404,787
2. Mary Poppins 1,240,899
3. The Lion King $1,222,828
4. Jersey Boys $1,196,388
5. Spamalot $938,881

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Butley $301,263
4. The Coast of Utopia $279,148*
3. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee $231,322**
2. The Little Dog Laughed $185,537
1. Translations $119,161***

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Mary Poppins 100.82%
2. Jersey Boys 100.75%
3. Spamalot 100.43%
4. Wicked 100%
5. A Chorus Line 99.42%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. The Vertical Hour 68.62%
4. Grey Gardens 68.48%
3. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas 54.39%****
2. Translations 49.13%***
1. The Little Dog Laughed 46.27%

*Number based on 4 regular performances.
** Number based on 7 regular performances.
*** Number based on 5 preview performances.
****Number based on 12 regular performances.
Data provided by The League of American Theatres and Producers.