Hamilton hit its highest gross ever last week with an eye-popping $4.9 million.
The total comes during the lucrative Thanksgiving week, but also with Leslie Odom Jr., an original cast member, in the company. Theatergoers had been flocking back to the musical since he returned Sept. 9 for a run that concluded Nov. 26. The musical also had a massive $454.81 average ticket price last week, leading to its close to $5 million windfall for eight performances. Wicked still holds the highest weekly gross achieved by a Broadway show, after bringing in just over $5 million across nine performances at the end of last year.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was the next highest grossing in the industry last week, with $3.1 million, a massive tally for a play, and breaking the box office record at the Lyric Theatre. The play has also had a boost from Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy in the films, joining the cast. The average ticket price inched up to $242.95.
Wicked followed with $3 million, followed by The Lion King with $2.8 million and Chess, starring Lea Michele, Aaron Tveit and Nicholas Christopher, with $2 million, also breaking the house record at the Imperial Theatre.
Mamma Mia! and Ragtime also had their best weeks on Broadway, with Mamma Mia! grossing $2 million and Ragtime bringing in close to $1.5 million, which is also Lincoln Center Theater‘s best week since the pandemic. Chicago had its highest-grossing Thanksgiving performance yet, as one of few shows to actually perform Thursday, with $151,362.45.
Overall, the industry gross was up 19 percent from the prior week, with average paid admission up $22.41 and attendance up 2.6 percent as the industry heads into its most lucrative weeks of the year.
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