The Broadway box office report won’t register the impact of this morning’s Tony Award nominations for a week or two, but today’s news certainly comes as welcome and promising signs for Shucked, Kimberly Akimbo, Fat Ham and other well-reviewed productions doing their best to compete against blockbusters like Sweeney Todd and Parade.
Shucked in particular stands to benefit: The comedy opened on Broadway a month ago with no brand recognition, no big-name stars and virtually no advance word beyond the ubiquitous, pun-filled subway posters that raised more questions than they answered.
The musical surprised more than a few Broadway-watchers with strong reviews and, today, nine Tony Award nominations including Best Musical. At the box office, Shucked has been doing okay business, grossing $550,546 last week with 87% of seats at the Nederlander filled, but average ticket prices still at a modest $67.52.
Kimberly Akimbo, which opened to excellent reviews last fall, was at about 89% of capacity last week, grossing $419,928 with an average ticket of $76.35. Eight Tony nominations (and solid odds of some wins) should bolster sales.
Some other recent arrivals pulled eye-popping numbers last week: Prima Facie, the solo play starring Jodie Comer, took in an astounding $986,851, filling 98.43% at the John Golden. Peter Pan Goes Wrong, the very funny British farce that was somehow shut-out from Tony noms, pulled a stellar $988,560, no doubt helped along by guest star Neil Patrick Harris (he’s on board with the show through May 7).
Some other pre-nomination numbers:
- Good Night, Oscar, starring the nominated Sean Hayes, grossed $640,324 for seven performances last week;
- Summer, 1976, which earned co-star Jessica Hecht a nomination and extended its run by a week, grossed $374,454 for the non-prof Manhattan Theatre Club, filling 92.37% of seats at the Friedman;
- Bad Cinderella, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest, grossed just $514,980 at 65% of capacity at the Imperial. No Tony nominations today;
- New York, New York proved more popular with audiences than with critics: The musical at the St. James grossed $943,394, at 96.34% of capacity albeit with a lukewarm $75 average ticket price;
- The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, which earned a couple strong nominations, began previews at the James Earl Jones, grossing $512,441 for one performance, still finding its footing with 87% of seats filled.
Grey House, the first Broadway production of the 2023-24 season, began performances at the Lyceum ahead of a May 30 opening; the thriller, starring Laurie Metcalf, sold out its first preview, grossing $96,424.
In all, Broadway’s 35 productions grossed $31,930,896 for the week ending April 30, holding steady from the previous week. Attendance was 271,062, about 88% of total capacity.
Season to date, Broadway has grossed $1,483,238,671, with total attendance of 11,482,958 at 89% of capacity.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.