Broadway Grosses: Equus Starts Strong; Overall Box Office Drops Sharply

It's the in-between season on Broadway, when the kids are back in school and the new fall shows haven't gotten going yet. The result: Box offices took a big hit this past week, particularly among musicals that appeal to families and younger audiences. For the first time in memory, no show not even Wicked reported filling seats to 100% of capacity, and several shows saw their grosses drop in half from the previous week. Broadway said good-bye to Rent, which remained in the top five for capacity in its final week at the Nederlander Theater, and hello to Equus, which pulled in the highest average paid ticket price of any show on Broadway $119.97 in its first two previews at the Broadhurst Theatre.

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

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,351,513
2. Jersey Boys $1,043,538
3. The Lion King $991,099
4. Mamma Mia! $926,839
5. South Pacific $919,818

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Xanadu $261,194
4. Spring Awakening $257,541
3. Avenue Q $237,760
2. The 39 Steps $196,403
1. [title of show] $106,905

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. South Pacific 99.80%
2. Wicked 98.22%
3. Rent 97.35%
4. Mamma Mia! 96.04%
5. Jersey Boys 95.73

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Spring Awakening 51.14%
4. Legally Blonde 49.90%
3. Mary Poppins 46.52%
2. Spamalot 41.89%
1. [title of show] 32.19%

Data provided by the Broadway League.