Bold claim: Broadway’s box office is sizzling, with Hamilton roaring to a record-breaking $4.9 million in a single week. Here’s how the numbers break down and what they mean for the season ahead.
Hamilton posted its all-time high last week, pulling in an eye-popping $4.9 million. The peak came during Thanksgiving week, a peak period that tends to boost totals anyway, but this run was also buoyed by the return of Leslie Odom Jr., an original cast member, who rejoined the show on September 9. The heightened demand translated to a striking average ticket price of $454.81 for the week, helping eight performances push the total close to $5 million.
By comparison, Wicked still holds the Broadway weekly gross record, having surpassed $5 million across nine performances late last year. In other top-tier results, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ranked next with $3.1 million—a remarkable figure for a play and a new box office milestone for the Lyric Theatre. The production also benefited from Tom Felton’s guest appearance as Draco Malfoy, and the average ticket price rose to $242.95.
Wicked followed with about $3 million, then The Lion King at $2.8 million. Chess, featuring Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit, and Nicholas Christopher, pulled in $2 million and set a new house record at the Imperial Theatre.
Other notable performances included Mamma Mia! and Ragtime, each enjoying their strongest weeks in some time: Mamma Mia! around $2 million and Ragtime near $1.5 million, marking Lincoln Center Theater’s best week since the pandemic began. Chicago also had a Thanksgiving high for the venue, with its Thursday performance bringing in $151,362.45.
Overall, the Broadway industry gross rose by 19 percent versus the prior week, with the average paid admission up by about $22 and attendance up by 2.6 percent. This uptick arrives as the season’s most lucrative stretch unfolds and audiences continue returning in strong numbers.
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