The vast majority of Broadway shows flop. However no one ever hears the details of the financial repercussions endured by these ambitious Producers who have put everything on the line. The story of the 21st century Broadway Producer’s dream is not always a triumphant tale of bold new directions for New York’s theatre district, it is a story of the expanding bottom line.
Jim Freydberg, a prominent Broadway theatre investor, rallied a team of starry eyed investors who put in an estimated $500,000 into The Phantom of the Opera when it opened in 1988 on Broadway. Since then he has earned a staggering $15 million dollars in profit from the show and is famous for saying that only his Apple shares had been a better investment.
Total Broadway box-office revenue has successively risen over the past five years. Last year’s cumulative sum of $1.44 billion is expected to be eclipsed by the numbers from the most recent season, which includes lavish new shows such as “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “Frozen.”
Here is a list of who was on top and who was not over the last week!
FRONTRUNNERS (By Gross)
1. Hamilton ($2,763,624.00)
2. The Lion King ($1,841,117.00)
3. Moulin Rouge! The Musical ($1,673,382.00)
4. Wicked ($1,602,999.00)
5. Tina—The Tina Turner Musical ($1,470,935.00)
UNDERDOGS (By Gross)
5. My Name Is Lucy Barton ($564,433.40)
4. Girl From the North Country ($561,909.50)
3. A Soldier’s Play ($460,368.50)
2. The Inheritance ($378,046.50)
1. Grand Horizons ($243,910.43)
FRONTRUNNERS (By Capacity)
1. Come From Away (101.98%)
2. Beetlejuice (101.77%)
3. Hamilton (101.51%)
4. Dear Evan Hansen (101.46%)
5. Hadestown (101.10%)
UNDERDOGS (By Capacity)
5. Chicago (88.33%)
4. Grand Horizons (87.14%)
3. Girl From the North Country (84.53%)
2. The Phantom of the Opera (83.23%)
1. The Inheritance (53.69%)
