Broadway Box Office Hits New Heights as ‘Wicked’ Dominates and Newcomers Shine

As the highly anticipated Wicked movie release draws closer, the beloved Broadway musical is enjoying an extraordinary boost in ticket sales, marking its best week of the 2024-25 season. The long-running hit grossed $2,486,411 for the week ending October 13, marking a massive increase of $440,313 compared to the previous week. This surge was driven in part by renewed interest sparked by the upcoming film adaptation, which is set to hit theaters in November, as well as the arrival of Broadway legend Donna McKechnie as Madame Morrible.

The impressive total helped Wicked reclaim the top spot on the Broadway box office chart, narrowly surpassing The Lion King, which brought in $2,198,308. Wicked continues to enjoy immense popularity, cementing its place as a box office powerhouse.

Broadway as a whole saw a significant uplift, with total receipts for the week reaching $34,268,132—a 16% increase over the prior week and a 25% jump from this time last year. Total attendance across the 32 shows on Broadway hit 268,081, representing a 6% week-over-week increase and a 23% rise year-over-year. The average ticket price for the week was $127.83, with 91% of all seats filled.

Among the new productions, Sunset Blvd. and Romeo + Juliet emerged as strong contenders. Sunset Blvd., starring Nicole Scherzinger and directed by Jamie Lloyd, grossed $1,291,902 for seven previews at the St. James Theatre, with 93% of seats filled. Meanwhile, Romeo + Juliet, led by Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler, took in $1,036,486 during seven previews at Circle in the Square, with standing room only crowds pushing attendance to 103%. Both shows are set for their official openings, with Sunset Blvd. debuting on October 20 and Romeo + Juliet on October 24.

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club also saw a notable increase, spurred by the addition of Adam Lambert and Auli’i Cravalho to the cast. The production grossed $1,054,456, a jump of $116,270 from the previous week, and filled 93% of seats at the August Wilson Theatre.

In other performances, Our Town, starring Jim Parsons, opened at the Barrymore Theatre with a total of $658,707 in its first week, while Left on Tenth, featuring Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher, earned $545,688 with 65% of seats filled at the James Earl Jones Theatre ahead of its October 23 opening night.

Additionally, Suffs, the Shaina Taub musical that recently announced a January 5 closing, saw its numbers improve by $88,180, grossing $767,769 and filling 90% of seats at the Music Box Theatre.

So far this season, Broadway has grossed $649,921,987, a 9% increase over last year, with total attendance of 5,263,067, up 7% from the same period in 2023.

As Broadway continues its upward trajectory, audiences are flocking to a mix of both long-standing hits and exciting new shows, making the 2024-25 season one of growth and renewed excitement.