The Broadway industry grossed $14 million — $42 million below the totals from the comparable week in 2019 — in the typically lucrative week surrounding Christmas.
The low weekly gross, which is a summation of the box office totals for the 22 productions that played in the week ended Dec. 26, came as many shows cancelled performances due to COVID-19 cases detected within the companies. Attendance that week dropped to 100,956, the lowest on record for the season, albeit with a reduced number of running productions.
In the most recent week of reported grosses ended Jan. 2, grosses rebounded to $26.3 million across 30 performing productions and attendance reached 179,036. Those totals are about half of the $42.8 million the industry grossed in the week surrounding New Year’s Eve in 2019.
The two holiday weeks are typically among the highest grossing weeks of the year on Broadway.
The drop in grosses came as several productions, including “Aladdin,” “Hamilton,” “Dear Evan Hansen” “The Lion King” and “Six,” suspended performances through Christmas Day due to breakthrough cases found within the companies. “Jagged Little Pill,” “Waitress” and “Thoughts of a Colored Man” unexpectedly ended their runs.
The gross and attendance figures reported only include performances that went on as scheduled, according to the Broadway League. Because they are totals for the industry, they are not indicative of the financial health of any individual show.
While COVID-19 case numbers still remain high, with New York City reporting a 15% positivity rate Monday, the pace of Broadway show cancellations slowed after Christmas week. Viewing a tough winter ahead, “Ain’t Too Proud” and “Flying Over Sunset” will still close on Jan. 16.
