Hello Dolly! Holding Strong, But Takes Box Office Hit When Midler Misses A Matinee Performance

Deadline
Broadway Box Office: Brendon Urie Kicks ‘Kinky Boots’ To $1.4M; Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ Up $207K
by Jeremy Gerard
July 24, 2017 1:23pm

A steady mid-summer on Broadway overall reflects a decent, tourist-driven mean but not the roller-coaster ride some shows are on, especially those that are star-driven. Kinky Boots, in its fifth year at Jujamcyn Theatres’ Hirschfeld, has enjoyed a big shot in the arm from Brendon Urie on the marquee; the show was up $60K last week to $1.4 million thanks to the Panic! At The Disco frontman’s fan base. That was more than 15 per cent above the show’s gross potential, with an average ticket price of $126.49.

Ticket holders mobbed the Shubert Theatre box office, by contrast, demanding refunds or rescheduling when Bette Midler unexpectedly took the Wednesday matinée off, leading to an $80K drop for that b.o. smash. Meanwhile, hit shows like Hamilton, Aladdin and Wicked, that have become their own brands and aren’t star driven, held even.

The 5 top grossing shows were:

• Hamilton ($3.03 million at the Nederlander Organization’s Richard Rodgers; $282.01 average ticket)

• The Lion King ($2.3 million at the Nederlanders’ Minskoff; $170.33)

• Hello, Dolly! ($2.15 million at the Shubert; $191.75)

• Wicked ($1.95 million at the Nederlanders’ Gershwin; $128.25)

• Aladdin ($1.84 million at Disney’s New Amsterdam; $121.61)

Aggressive ad campaigns on behalf of non-musicals also seemed to be paying off: 1984, at Ambassador Theatre Group’s Hudson, was up again, $14K, to $397K, just over 50 per cent of potential. A Doll’s House, Part 2, at the Shuberts’ Golden, was up $89K to $647K, 90 per cent of potential; and Indecent, at the Shuberts’ Cort, was up $93K to $482.5K, 52 per cent of potential.

Total ticket sales across 29 shows for Week 9 of the 2017-2018 season came to $31.4 million, down about 1.6 per cent from Week 8, according to the trade group Broadway League. Average ticket price was up $0.71 to $119.45.