NEW YORK -- Will Ferrell proved one of the few bright spots in Week 35 (Jan. 19-25) at the Broadway box office, which saw sales at almost every production fall in the January chill.
The first week of Ferrell's "You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush" pulled in a robust $837,353 -- more, in fact, than its gross potential, thanks to premium-priced tickets -- and played to full houses. So far, at least, the show is proving that even in the current economic climate, a movie star can still draw ticket buyers, even if he is portraying a president who got the boot the day the show started previews.
"You're Welcome America" landed at No. 6 in the top 10, which, despite general dips, was still led by habitual headliners "Wicked" ($1,236,816), "Billy Elliot" ($1,096,021) and "Jersey Boys" ($990,622).
Drops of more than $100,000 each were not uncommon, with "The Lion King" ($861,468) sinking by more than $160,000 thanks in part to Disney Theatricals' Kids Go Free! initiative. Disney stablemates "Mary Poppins" ($608,046) and "The Little Mermaid" ($602,761) were similarly down.
Largest slide of the week, however, was posted by "Shrek the Musical" ($603,820), down more than $180,000, or around 23% vs. the prior frame. "Speed-the-Plow" ($315,745) also took a hefty hit, off 25% in the second week for new star William H. Macy.
On the upswing, on the other hand, was Chinese acrobatics offering "The Soul of Shaolin" ($424,886), gaining about $65,000 in sales over its first week on the boards.
Meanwhile, "The 39 Steps" ($187,902) rejoined the fray, playing its first frame in the Helen Hayes Theater after it moved out of the Cort earlier this month.
Streetwide cume fell $1.2 million to $12.7 million for 22 shows on the boards. That's lower than the $14.5 million or so logged during the same weeks in 2008 and 2007, although there were 30 shows playing at this time last year and 26 in 2007.
The 15 musicals grossed $10,286,594 for 81.1% of the Broadway total, with an attendance of 143,500 at 80.1% capacity and average paid admission of $71.68.
The seven plays grossed $2,398,319 for 18.9% of the Broadway total, with an attendance of 34,322 at 76% capacity and average paid admission of $69.88.
Average paid admission was $71.33 for all shows.
Contact Gordon Cox at
gordon.cox@variety.com