INDUSTRY INSIGHT: Weekly Grosses Analysis - 1/2; Multiple Shows Smash Records

Welcome to this week's edition of BroadwayWorld's exclusive WEEKLY GROSSES ANALYSIS - read on for all the weekly grosses statistics for the movers and shakers from the latest grosses, for the week ending 12/30/2018. This week multiple Broadway shows broke records, due to increased holiday traffic and for many - 9 shows instead of 8.

HAMILTON hit a new height, breaking $4 million for the first time and setting a new record at $4,041,493.

Disney Theatrical Productions rang in the new year with record-breaking grosses for all three of its Broadway shows, ALADDIN, FROZEN and THE LION KING. ALADDIN broke the house record at the New Amsterdam Theatre with a gross of $2,584,549.00 on nine performances, breaking the previous record of $2,583,344.00 for the week ending January 1, 2017. This marks the 14th house record set by ALADDIN at the New Amsterdam Theatre.

FROZEN set its fourth house record at the St. James Theatre since opening this spring, grossing $2,624,495.00 on eight performances and breaking the previous record of $2,319,012.50 for the week ending November 25, 2018.

THE LION KING broke the house record at the Minskoff Theatre with a gross of $3,696,974.00 on nine performances, breaking the previous record of $3,099,880.00 for the week ending December 31, 2017. This marks the 30th house record set by The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre.

CHICAGO grossed $1,247,572.10 in its final week of the year (w/e 12/30/18) at the Ambassador Theatre, and also set a record as 2018 was the best grossing year ever in the 22 year history of CHICAGO.

The National Theatre production of NETWORK, shattered its own box office record at the Belasco Theatre. NETWORK's gross for the week was $1,367,012.84, the highest for any eight-show week at the Belasco Theatre.

KING KONG on Broadway saw weekly gross ticket sales climb $733,508 to $1,847,782 (for the week ending December 30, 2018) and capped the year with the best-selling performance in the history of the Broadway Theater, with the Sunday matinee grossing $243,090.

MEAN GIRLS broke the August Wilson Theatre box office record yet again, grossing $1,994,386.00 for the eight-performance week ending December 30, 2018.

THE FERRYMAN on Broadway grossed $1,037,447 for the week ending December 30, 2018, marking the best week yet for Jez Butterworth's acclaimed play that has landed on more than 20 year-end Best Lists, the most of any show this year.

The new Broadway production of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD has broken its own one-week box office record and is now the highest single-week grossing American play in Broadway history. The now record-breaking gross of $1,701,683.59 was achieved in the second full week of performances (w/e 12/30/18) after the play officially opened to critical acclaim on Thursday, December 13.

Last week, the production broke The Shubert Organization's box office record for the highest weekly gross of any play on Broadway in the organization's history. Since performances began on Thursday, November 1, 2018, To Kill A Mockingbird has not played to an empty seat, with capacity being at 100% or greater for every performance. The advance currently stands at more than $22 million.

The Tony and Olivier Award-winning Best Play HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD has set a new Broadway record for weekly ticket sales for a play, reporting a gross of $2,525,850 for the week ending December 30, 2018. This gross, which is also a new house record for the Lyric Theatre (214 West 43rd Street, New York, NY), passes the high mark set by the two-part play for the week ending November 25, 2018 ($2,338,315).

This week, 39 shows played on Broadway, with 378,910 tickets sold and a total gross of $57,807,272. The average ticket price was $152.56.

Top 5 by This Week Gross

HAMILTON	$4,041,493
THE LION KING	$3,696,974
WICKED	$3,411,819
THE ILLUSIONISTS - MAGIC OF THE HOLIDAYS	$2,978,349
FROZEN	$2,624,495

Bottom 5 by This Week Gross
RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR ($163,429), TORCH SONG ($244,596), CHOIR BOY ($258,754), HEAD OVER HEELS ($383,200), THE WAVERLY GALLERY ($463,000)


Top 5 by This Week Gross vs. Last Week Gross

THE ILLUSIONISTS - MAGIC OF THE HOLIDAYS	$1,539,090
WICKED	$1,146,827
THE LION KING	$935,703
ALADDIN	$832,076
SCHOOL OF ROCK	$768,586

Bottom 5 by This Week Gross vs. Last Week Gross
RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR ($23,680), TORCH SONG ($26,626), CHOIR BOY ($86,282), THE WAVERLY GALLERY ($99,260), TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD ($114,738)


Top 5 by Average Ticket Price

HAMILTON	$375.39
THE LION KING	$242.15
DEAR EVAN HANSEN	$241.65
MEAN GIRLS	$201.43
WICKED	$196.83

Bottom 5 by Average Ticket Price
RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR ($46.51), CHOIR BOY ($58.44), HEAD OVER HEELS ($59.91), TORCH SONG ($73.92), THE WAVERLY GALLERY ($74.81)


Top 5 by Gross % of Potential

WICKED	170.39%
MEAN GIRLS	150.11%
THE BOOK OF MORMON	144.43%
DEAR EVAN HANSEN	141.56%
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA	135.91%

Bottom 5 by Gross % of Potential
RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR (11.04%), TORCH SONG (37.7%), CHOIR BOY (41.19%), HEAD OVER HEELS (43.37%), THE NEW ONE (47.22%)


Top 5 by % of Seats Sold of Total Seats

THE BOOK OF MORMON	104.4%
ONCE ON THIS ISLAND	103.1%
COME FROM AWAY	102.1%
HAMILTON	101.9%
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD	101.7%

Bottom 5 % of Seats Sold of Total Seats
RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR (26.8%), THE NEW ONE (65.9%), TORCH SONG (70.7%), HEAD OVER HEELS (73.8%), SUMMER (78.2%)


Top 5 by Seats Sold This Week vs. Last Week

THE ILLUSIONISTS - MAGIC OF THE HOLIDAYS	8525
KINKY BOOTS	4893
SUMMER	4582
SCHOOL OF ROCK	4257
KING KONG	3803

Bottom 5 by Seats Sold This Week vs. Last Week
RUBEN & CLAY'S FIRST ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CAROL FAMILY FUN PAGEANT SPECTACULAR (-581),

That's all for this week... Note: All data presented for informational purposes only. BroadwayWorld.com makes no guarantees as to the accuracy of the data, or the matter in which it's presented. Source: The Broadway League..