Broadway Grosses: Box Office Remains Perky; Three Shows Bid Farewell

The closings continue on Broadway, preparing the way for more than 20 shows to open in the first four months of 2009. All My Sons, Gypsy and Spamalot played their final performances, and all three productions drew more than 90% of capacity at their respective theaters. In fact, more than half the shows on Broadway played to houses 90% to 100% full, a heartening statistic in what’s usually a difficult time of year at the box office. Even the threat of a weekend snowstorm didn’t keep ticketholders away.

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

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,365,879
2. Billy Elliot $1,221,123
3. Jersey Boys $1,064,072
4. The Lion King $1,030,694
5. South Pacific $950,130

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. August: Osage County $343,057
4. Speed-the-Plow $334,429
3. Avenue Q $321,533
2. Hedda Gabler $185,209*
1. The American Plan $144,887**

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Spring Awakening 100.13%
2. South Pacific 99.84%
3. Spamalot 99.77%
4. Jersey Boys 98.81
5. All My Sons 98.36%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. Mary Poppins 79.55%
4. Equus 69.31%
3. August: Osage County 66.24%
2. The American Plan 59.27%
1. Speed-the-Plow 54.44%

*Number based on 6 preview performances.
**Number based on 8 preview performances.
Data provided by the Broadway League.