Broadway Grosses: Numbers Steady; Plays Battle for Audiences

Broadway grosses remained steady this week, with both the frontrunners and underdogs virtually unchanged from the previous week’s standings. On the plus side, the top five-grossing musicals remained above $1 million at the box office. On the minus side, the underdogs all clocked in at less than 50% of capacity. Producers are in wait-and-see mode, hoping that the announcement of the Tony nominations on May 5 will put an extra spring in theatergoers’ steps.

Here is a look at who was on top and who was not for the week ending May 3:

FRONTRUNNERS By Gross
1. Wicked $1,384,780
2. West Side Story $1,200,530
3. Billy Elliot $1,073,711
4. The Lion King $1,049,168
5. Jersey Boys $1,013,306

UNDERDOGS By Gross
5. The Philanthropist $175,760
4. Irena’s Vow $154,507
3. Accent on Youth $135,710*
2. The 39 Steps $124,969
1. Reasons to be Pretty $107,404

FRONTRUNNERS By Capacity
1. Wicked 99.93%
2. Mamma Mia! 99.22%
3. Jersey Boys 99.04%
4. West Side Story 98.98%
5. Hair 98.49%

UNDERDOGS By Capacity
5. August: Osage County 42.08%
4. Irena’s Vow 38.16%
3. Desire Under the Elms 37.67%
2. Impressionism 32.15%
1. Reasons to be Pretty 30.95%

*Number based one preview and seven regular performances.
Data provided by the Broadway League.