'The Lion King' had the biggest surge in a relatively strong week.
With no President's Day weekend to give it a boost, Broadway biz fell off about $800,000 for the week ending Sunday. But the $15,701,009 taken in by the 24 shows on the boards still reps a relatively strong showing during the winter doldrums.
"The Lion King" ($1,260,528) saw the biggest surge of the week, climbing more tan $185,000 from the prior sesh. Show ranked second in the top 10, between two more $1 million-plus earners, "Wicked" ($1,411,120) and "Monty Python's Spamalot" ($1,035,342).
Younger entries "The Color Purple" ($957,137), "Jersey Boys" ($928,421) and "The Odd Couple" ($900,531) also posted robust numbers. And "The Producers," rising more than $82,000 to $846,193, experienced the second-highest bump of the frame.
"The Pajama Game" ($301,859) fell more than $90,000 in a heavily comped opening week, but expect biz to pick up again in the wake of generally strong reviews.
Among other recently opened shows, "Barefoot in the Park" ($342,569) gained around $35,000 worth of momentum, and "Rabbit Hole" ($289,326) played to 96% capacity (although it earned about 70% of its nearly $413,000 potential). "Bridge and Tunnel" ($284,135) also saw a slight gain.
And "Ring of Fire" ($221,516) dipped by more than $68,000 in its third week of previews.
Contact Gordon Cox at
gordon.cox@variety.com