Broadway Grosses: Hairspray Movie Buzz Brings Box-Office Boost

The new feature film version of Hairspray began premiering this past week, and the red-carpet buzz brought a big boost for the Broadway box office! The Neil Simon Theatre was filled to 100.66% capacity, with the gross up $50,000 from the prior week, topping $800,000. Both Beauty and the Beast and Grey Gardens, which close on July 29, seem determined to go out with a bang: Beauty filled the Lunt-Fontanne to just shy 100% and grossed over $1 million, while Grey Gardens filled the Walter Kerr to close to 90% and grossed over $485,000.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending July 15:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,468,400
2. The Lion King $1,291,898
3. Jersey Boys $1,211,053
4. Mary Poppins $1,191,101
5. Beauty and the Beast $1,095,124

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Xanadu $230,521
4. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee $226,323
3. The Year of Magical Thinking $217,751*
2. Deuce $193,561
1. Old Acquaintance $176,162

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Jersey Boys 100.79%
2. Hairspray 100.66%
3. Mamma Mia! 100.18%
4. The Lion King 100.01%
5. Wicked 100.00%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee 72.95%
4. Old Acquaintance 67.96%
3. The Drowsy Chaperone 61.98%
2. Rent 61.09%
1. Deuce 43.29%

*Number based on 7 regular performances
Data provided by the League of American Theatres and Producers.