NEW YORK -- Broadway box office continued its late-January decline in Week 36 (Jan. 26-Feb. 1), with total sales slipping more than $750,000 to $11.9 million.
Nearly every production on the boards experienced dips, although a few managed to buck the trend. In the wake of strong reviews, "The American Plan" ($183,515) posted the biggest gain of the week -- 27%.
Also on the rise were "Equus" ($427,319), the Daniel Radcliffe starrer in the second-to-last week of its limited run; "Hedda Gabler" ($230,678), the Roundabout revival that had come off a week of press perfs; and the final sesh for Chinese offering "Soul of Shaolin" ($439,438).
Will Ferrell's "You're Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush" ($771,869) was off from its first week of previews but still managed to pull in more than its posted gross potential thanks to in-demand ducats selling for elevated prices.
Overall, box office dips ranged from a drop of around $100,000 -- for "Shrek the Musical," which sank to $502,478 and played to 52% capacity -- to negligible slips including those at high rollers including "Wicked" ($1,212,812) and "Billy Elliot" ($1,066,492), the only two offerings to hold on to membership in the millionaires' club last week.
The late January and early February weeks can often prove particularly rough along the Rialto. Tally for last year at this time came to $13.2 million, but that was for 30 shows vs. the 22 on the boards this year.
The 15 musicals grossed $9,554,858 for 80.1% of the Broadway total, with an attendance of 126,387 at 74.6% capacity and average paid admission of $75.60.
The seven plays grossed $2,369,508 for 19.9% of the Broadway total, with an attendance of 34,759 at 69.7% capacity and average paid admission of $68.17.
Average paid admission was $74.00 for all shows.
Contact Gordon Cox at
gordon.cox@variety.com