BroadwayWorld: Broadway grosses are a significant part of how both professionals and the public learn about Broadway on a regular basis. Each week, the Broadway League reports official statistics including how much money each show earned in gross ticket sales, how many theatergoers attended, and how this compares with the previous week.
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I love statistics, mostly just because I'm incredibly nosy and obsessively passionate about my interests (I'm apparently incapable of being interested in something a normal amount -- all or nothing). Checking the grosses of my favorite shows or the box offices of movies brings me a great deal of intellectual satisfaction, and many people seem to agree with me. So, what I'm about to say is not an inditement of making grosses of shows publicly available or encouraging discussion over what shows are popular (and why). HOWEVER, in recent years, many laypeople have begun embracing the monetary gross of a show (or box office for a film or, most infamously, chart position for a song/album) as an important marker for respect. I don't think this is entirely a good thing for the arts? There's nothing wrong with keeping up with what sells and what doesn't, even if you're just a fan, but I worry that we're all acting like little investors and not, you know, fans of a piece of media. All in all, Broadway Gross = good (and not new, as the article makes clear), but putting a lot of emotional energy into the monetary performance of a show = less than good.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting an article on box office sales to be interesting. I learned quite a bit. First of all, the figures are crazy! In 1980-81, Broadway earned approximately $197 million per year. Last year, it had revenues of almost $2 billion. Moreover, attendance at Broadway theatres increased from around 7 million annually in the '80s and '90s to 14 million, with a significant drop to 6.73 million immediately following the pandemic.
The most memorable for me were old Variety articles. Back in 1922, productions actually lost money due to the arrival of the first warm spring days, as theaters had no air conditioning system then. Moreover, it is unbelievable how Chicago set a house record back in 1975, earning $142K, and nowadays, Hamilton is making over $4.8 million in a week in that very theatre.
These figures determine ticket prices, casting, and even opening/closing dates. Now, I will start tracking grosses every week.
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