Gabbing Geek Box Office Report – Watson Is On Vacation So Ryan Took Over

Your regular Watson box office analysis has been replaced by Ryan’s analysis. You have been warned.

Since Watson is on vacation Ryan has taken over the box office column.  What an amazing week we had for the box office, find out more after the break!
* In terms of total gross the weekly box office is still being dominated by the usual players.  The Lion King continues to rule all that he can see with the highest gross and continues to be a steady $2M+ weekly performer.  Wicked, Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, and An American In Paris continue their run on the top 5 owing to strong word of mouth and large venues to fill.  While American in Paris ($1.339M) dominates the gross for recently opened shows, Fish in the Dark is right behind it with $1.216 although Larry David’s last week in the main role may have given it a boost (Jason Alexander starts the role this week which could bring in repeat viewers).

“MAAAAAAAAAHHHH BOX OFFICE RULES OVER YOU ALL!”

* Something Rotten, The Audience, The King and I, and Finding Neverland round out the top 10 for gross take.  That’s great news for Something Rotten and Finding Neverland–the two shows appear to have found an audience.  This will be incredibly helpful come the long summer months since Something Rotten only won a single Tony Award last night and Finding Neverland was notoriously blanked in the nominations.  Harvey Weinstein will have to settle for commercial success if not artistic riches with the latest version of Peter Pan.

Sure, you won just as many Tony Awards as Harvey Weinstein last night but he has this sitting in the cracks of his couch and you don’t.

* When looking at the top performers in terms of gross percentage many of the same names appear but a few noteworthy standouts appear in the top bunch.  Skylight is still selling over 90% and remains a hot ticket for anyone who didn’t get seats to The Audience.  Fun Home selling over 84% of its total is also impressive for a new musical without stars and covering an adult topic.  Its win for Best Musical last night will push that number higher and we can expect Fun Home to have a decent run into the fall at least.  Similarly, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is still selling over 70% and should get another bump for its Best Play win, also impressive for a show that has been out for almost 10 months.  On the Twentieth Century and An Act of God are performing fine but probably have their end in sight.

“Yes, because I was going to stick around to rake in the big Broadway bucks anyway.”

* Speaking of ends in sight, Hand to God was hoping to cash in on all its late season buzz with some Tony Award wins.  Being blanked last night won’t help and anyone seeking theater covering adult topics is now more likely to check out Fun Home.  Although it continues to sell over 60% of its potential gross and it isn’t an expensive show to produce, the theater may be looking to bring in a show with a bit more cash flow.  See it now if you want to make sure not to miss the show because it might be gone before the weather gets cooler.

“What do you mean they already had a show with puppets win a Tony Award? Avenue what?”

* Closing Watch: Hedwig is turning into that show where a sort-of celebrity takes over the role for a few weeks at a time.  It’s a short show but it’s still only selling around 50% of its potential.  That cannot last.  Also on the clock is The Visit.  Chita Rivera may be Broadway royalty but she doesn’t sell tickets like she used to and the schedule probably won’t be helpful.  She didn’t win a Tony Award last night which was the last possible marketing push for the show, so expect its closing announcement any day.

Expect an announcement later that day of Chita Rivera starring as Hedwig the next week.