‘Moulin Rouge’ Sets House Record As Broadway Holds Steady With $34M Box Office

Broadway box office held steady last week, with grosses of $33,730,889 and a total attendance of 270,067 for the week ending August 4. Adding to the tally was the $956,611 from five performances of Barry Manilow’s 17-show engagement at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre.

Manilow, in the final summer residency concert series at the theater, played to 81% of capacity, with an average ticket price of $157. The engagement ends Aug. 17.

Moulin Rouge! The Musical, meanwhile, scored $1,987,914, setting an eight-performance record at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. With an average ticket price of $191 (and a $499 top premium price) last week, the musical has bested its own box office each week since its June 28 opening.

At the Hudson, the previewing Sea Wall/A Life, the pair of one-acts starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge that ran Off Broadway earlier this year, played to nearly full houses (98% of capacity). Grossing $732,416, the production earned 72% of its potential; opening night is Aug. 8.

Heading into their final weeks, Pretty Woman, The Prom, Be More Chill, King Kong, What The Constitution Means To Me and The Cher Show mostly saw little last-chance impact at the box office. The soon-to-depart productions include:

• Be More Chill, closing Aug. 11, at the Lyceum. Last week’s grosses were $544,745, 62% of potential, with attendance at 87% of capacity;
• The Prom, closing Aug. 11, at the Longacre. An $809,522 gross reflected a decent last-chance uptick, with attendance at 98% of capacity;
• The Cher Show, closing Aug. 18, at the Neil Simon, grossed $800,337, a few percentage points over half of its potential. Attendance was at 74% of capacity;
• King Kong, closing Aug. 18, at the Broadway, took in $779,522, like The Cher Show just over half of potential. Attendance was at 79% of capacity;
• Pretty Woman, closing Aug. 18, at the Nederlander, took in less than half of its $1.4M potential, grossing $634,078. Attendance at 75% of capcity;
• What The Constitution Means To Me, closing Aug. 24 after two extensions at the Helen Hayes, grossed $508,597, a sturdy 86% of its potential, with attendance at 99% of capacity.

In addition to Heidi Schreck’s Constitution, other productions playing to full (or nearly full, at 98% of capacity or more) were Ain’t Too Proud, Aladdin, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Hadestown, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge!, Sea Wall/A Life, The Book of Mormon, The Prom, To Kill a Mockingbird and Wicked. 

Season to date, Broadway has grossed $342,927,090, down about 9% year to year. Total attendance to date is 2,843,710, about 2% lower than last season at this time.

All figures courtesy of the trade group Broadway League.