‘The Lion King’, ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ Set New Broadway Box Office Records

The Lion King and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child both set records during Christmas week, with the highest weekly earnings for a Broadway musical and play, respectively, in history.

In the week ending December 31, the long-lasting hit The Lion King grossed $4.316 million in nine performances, surpassing its own record of $4.315 million last year. However, this is the highest weekly gross in a nine-show week. hamilton It still has the highest grossing for an eight-week show, grossing $4.04 million during Christmas week 2018.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which premiered on Broadway in 2018, grossed $2.72 million over eight showings, above last year’s record of $2.67 million during Christmas week. The play, which was previously divided into two parts but has been presented in one since November 2021, was named by Guinness World Records as the highest-grossing non-musical play in Broadway history with more than $330 million. in total sales and more than 2,583 million tickets sold.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is typically the highest-grossing week on Broadway thanks to holiday crowds and productions that raise ticket prices to meet demand. Many shows feature nine performances instead of the typical eight, which also contributes to higher weekly grosses.

This season’s Christmas week, which ran from Dec. 25 to Dec. 31, was down 12.5 percent in gross receipts compared to the previous year. However, there were fewer productions in theaters (27 compared to 33 the previous year) and last year’s comparable week did not include Christmas Day.

The average ticket price was $176.88, up $10 from last season, with the highest average ticket price of $286 at The Lion King and $258 in Happily we move forward, which grossed $1.99 million. The average ticket price in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child It was $211.74.

Overall, this season’s gross receipts are down 2.6 percent from last season and attendance remains virtually flat. Still, many programs reached new marks, including Wicked, which reached a record production of $4 million for nine performances.

Several other musicals also broke their own box office records, including Aladdin, which set his 17th record with $2.98 million from nine performances and the Michael Jackson musical. MJ, which broke the house box office record for the eleventh time with $2.61 million in nine performances. & Julieta pop reimagining of Romeo and JulietIt grossed $1.78 million in nine performances. Sixabout the wives of Henry VIII, raised $1.66 million in nine performances.

Gutenberg! The musical!starring Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, also set a new box office record at the James Earl Jones Theatre, grossing $1.28 million over eight performances.