Ben Platt Takes $650G At Reopened Palace As Broadway Box Office Holds Steady In Summer Heat

Broadway box office held fairly steady as the industry settled into a post-Memorial Day summer, with most productions reporting some slippage from the holiday traffic highs.

In all, the 35 productions grossed $33,662,845 for the week ending June 2, down about 5% from the previous week (but up 8% over last year at this time). Total paid attendance was 280,253, down 2% from the previous week (but up 7% year over year). About 86% of all seats were filled.

The week’s sole newcomer was Ben Platt: Live At The Palace, the concert residency at the legendary, now renovated and reopened, venue. For his first six performances (no previews, no critics invited to review), Platt grossed $650,306, reflecting attendance at about 74% of the Palace’s capacity. Average ticket price was a modest $89.10.

Elsewhere on Broadway, a couple shows saw some box office slips as high-profile cast members were away. Merrily We Roll Along, with Daniel Radcliffe missing five of the eight performances due to pre-planned time off, was down $464,004 to a still-sturdy sell-out gross of $1,148,603.

At Uncle Vanya, Steve Carell also was out sick for five shows, with the production taking a more noticeable hit than Merrily: Attendance was down from the previous week’s 95% of capacity to 74%, with grosses dropping $268,341 to $734,380.

Mother Play, which canceled a Wednesday matinee performance due to an illness in the company, was at $528,216, with attendance at 91% for the seven shows.

In its second week of previews at the Todd Haimes Theatre, the non-prof Roundabout’s revival of the late Samm-Art Williams‘ Home filled about 74% of available seats, grossing $116,448. Opening night is June 5.

The top earner of the week was the ever-reliable The Lion King, taking in $2,084,039. Other productions grossing $1 million or more were Aladdin, An Enemy of the People, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hell’s Kitchen, Merrily We Roll Along, MJ, The Great Gatsby, The Outsiders, The Wiz and Wicked. Shows selling out were An Enemy of the People, Hell’s Kitchen, Merrily We Roll Along and The Outsiders, with Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Stereophonic and Wicked each at 99% of capacity.

At the other end of the attendance spectrum, shows below 60% of capacity were: Patriots and The Heart of Rock and Roll, both at 58% of capacity.

Season to date, Broadway, in the second week of the new season, has grossed $68,958,251, with total attendance at 567,499.

All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.