Broadway Grosses: Strike Shows Immediate Effects

As a strike by stagehands darkened the marquees at 27 Broadway shows before the Saturday matinee on November 10, box office numbers for the week took an immediate hit. The loss of three performances made a big dent in the bottom line of perennial chart toppers Wicked and Jersey Boys both down approximately $500,000 from the previous week; shows that missed four weekend performances lost half of their grosses for the week. The timing of the strike also puts on hold opening nights for several plays currently in previews first to postpone: The Farnsworth Invention and The Seafarer. On the plus side, Mary Poppins, playing in a theater not affected by the strike, jumped more than $150,000 from the previous week to top the grosses chart.

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

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Mary Poppins $1,070,840
2. Wicked $852,843*
3. Jersey Boys $732,840*
4. Cyrano de Bergerac $518,554*
5. The Lion King $507,570**

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. A Bronx Tale $142,169**
4. August: Osage County $128,401***
3. Rent $116,317**
2. The Seafarer $62,157****
1. Is He Dead? $34,151*****

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Jersey Boys 100.77%*
2. The Little Mermaid 99.91%******
3. Wicked 98.86%*
4. The Lion King 96.72%**
5. Pygmalion 94.83%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Les Miserables 50.70%*
4. The Seafarer 45%****
3. August: Osage County 44.35***
2. Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas 44.14%*******
1. Is He Dead? 43.71%*****

* Number based on 5 regular performances
** Number based on 4 regular performances
*** Number based on 5 previews
**** Number based on 4 previews
***** Number based on 2 previews
****** Number based on 3 previews
******* Number based on 4 previews and 1 regular performance
Data provided by the League of American Theatres and Producers