Broadway Grosses: Christmas Week Proves Very Merry at the Box Office

If only every week could be Christmas week! The holiday—which fell on Thursday, allowing for plenty of theatergoing before and after the festivities—gave every show a box office boost. Case in point: Shrek the Musical, which just missed the top five after jumping more than $414,000 from the previous week to $1,260,282 and setting a single performance house record at the Broadway Theatre with $202,020 for the December 27 matinee. Perennial favorite Wicked jumped more than $300,000 to gross more than $1.8 million at the Gershwin Theatre. A total of 11 shows topped $1 million in grosses for the week.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending December 28:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,803,262
2. The Lion King $1,535,136
3. White Christmas $1,409,256*
4. Billy Elliot $1,346,998
5. Jersey Boys $1,338,151

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. Pal Joey $386,671
4. August: Osage County $366,377**
3. Boeing-Boeing $358,613**
2. The 39 Steps $350,361
1. Dividing the Estate $303,935**

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Mamma Mia! 100.93%
2. Wicked 100%
3. Billy Elliot 99.95%
3. South Pacific 99.95% - tie
5. Chicago 99.42%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Boeing-Boeing 77.80%**
4. Gypsy 75.05%
3. August: Osage County 69.17%**
2. Equus 63.54%
1. Speed-the-Plow 58.533%

*Number based on nine regular performances.
**Number based on seven regular performances.
Data provided by the Broadway League.