Broadway Rings in the New Year with Broken Record: 2005 is Highest Grossing Year Ever
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 27, 2005
Paid attendance for Broadway in 2005 reached 11.98 million, the highest calendar year paid attendance in the past two decades -- a 5.7 % increase from 11.33 million in 2004. Theatre seats were 80.4% filled – the highest level since 1997. Thirty-nine shows opened in the 2004 season; thirty-four shows opened last year. Playing weeks, the best indicator of overall Broadway activity, numbered 1,517, the highest in the past decade. Last year, the playing weeks numbered 1,455."This incredible calendar year for Broadway is a testament to an extraordinary, diverse array of offerings, as well as the return of domestic and international tourism to Broadway, now back to pre-September 11 levels," commented Jed Bernstein, President, The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. "These record-breaking numbers for Broadway's 2005 calendar year demonstrate how live entertainment and Broadway are very much at the top of the cultural menu."
In 2005, plays such as Doubt, The Pillowman, Glengarry Glen Ross and Democracy prospered alongside musicals such as The Light in the Piazza, Spamalot and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Plays brought in a record-breaking $136,245,789 and 2.11 million in paid attendance, a 57.2% increase over last year's $86,656,934 gross, and 33.2% increase over last year's 1.58 million in paid attendance. For 2005, there were 439 playing weeks, compared to 372 in 2004 – an 18% increase. Twenty-three new plays opened in the 2005 calendar year, compared to 2004's twenty-two plays.
For more information, visit www.livebroadway.com.
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