'The Lion King' has never sold discounted tickets during its West End run, according to Disney.
LONDON -- The week before the show's 10th anniversary gala performance Sunday in London, Disney has released West End box office figures for "The Lion King" for the first time.
Remarkably, statistics show that Julie Taymor's production is now wrapping its most successful year yet, beating the record it set last year -- despite keeping ticket prices flat for three years. The 2008-09 rise is particularly impressive because the drop in U.K. sales tax reduced charges throughout the West End, bringing a potential 2.5% drop in gross sales.
According to its London-based marketing team, the show has never sold discounted tickets outside of group sales and schools. Around 75% of its audience, however, are adults.
Over the 10-year run, "The Lion King" has grossed more than £289 million ($465 million) and played to more than 8 million people. It has averaged 93% capacity at the 2,089-seat Lyceum Theater, the third-largest West End house after the Apollo Victoria and London Palladium, currently home to "Wicked" and "Sister Act," respectively.
Worldwide, "The Lion King" has grossed more than $3.6 billion, according to Disney, playing to more than 50 million people in 13 counties. In addition to Broadway and London, it is running in Paris, Tokyo, Hamburg and Las Vegas and on tours in the U.S. and Japan. A new production opens in Singapore in 2010.
Unlike Broadway, where weekly grosses are regularly reported, no London producer regularly publishes box office figures and, traditionally, the Mouse House remains the most tight-lipped of all.
Commenting upon the breaking of financial silence, a rep said: "We are very proud of the success of 'The Lion King' in London and on the occasion of our 10th anniversary, we felt the timing was right to share the show's decade-long success with a wider audience."
Contact David Benedict at
benedictdavid@mac.com