The State of Broadway as Summer Comes to an End

As the summer season on Broadway begins to wind down and make way for the fall lineup, last week’s total grosses saw a slight decrease of about 10% from the previous week, reaching $25,343,599. This decline can be attributed in part to the summer edition of Kids’ Night on Broadway, where 19 out of 24 shows offered free performances to children accompanied by paying adults. Family favorites like The Lion King and Aladdin experienced the biggest drops in gross, with The Lion King down $203,453 to $1,904,177 and Aladdin dropping $176,876 to $1,178,408.

The absence of a big earner like The Wiz also played a role in the overall decrease in grosses. Total attendance for the week ending August 25 was 211,342, 6% lower than the previous week and down 1% from the same period last year. Despite the dip in attendance, about 91% of all available seats were filled, compared to 92% the week before.

Amidst the fluctuations in grosses and attendance, some shows stood out for their strong performances during the week. Productions like Oh, Mary!, Stereophonic, and The Outsiders managed to sell out, showcasing their popularity and drawing in full crowds. Additionally, Once Upon A Mattress, Wicked, and Hadestown came close to selling out, with 99% of their seats filled. Cabaret At The Kit Kat Club also maintained strong numbers, raking in $1,459,506 for the week with 98% of seats at the August Wilson Theatre occupied.

Broadway-goers can expect to see increases in receipts in the coming weeks as actors Eddie Redmayne and Gayle Rankin approach their final performances on September 14. Redmayne, who has been playing the role of the Emcee since the revival opened on the West End in 2021 before transferring to Broadway, is sure to draw in crowds for his farewell performances.

On the flip side, some shows struggled to fill seats, with Water For Elephants, The Notebook, and Harry Potter And The Cursed Child only filling 76% capacity. Despite these lower attendance rates, Broadway as a whole is still showing positive growth, with a 6% increase in grosses over last year at this time, totaling $453,418,819 for the 14th week of the 2024-25 season. Total attendance has also seen an uptick of about 4%, reaching 3,601,394 attendees. All figures provided courtesy of The Broadway League. For a complete list of box office details, visit the League’s website.