2013 - 2014 Box Office: 1st Half Summary Report

The first half of the 2013 - 2014 Broadway Season is over, and here's how the box office turned out - the winners and the losers.

Here are some interesting statistics for the first 26 weeks (May 27 - November 24, 2013).

Number of Shows: 47
Total Number of Playing Weeks: 683
Show Breakdown: 21 Musicals, 4 Musical Revivals, 6 Plays, 10 Play Revivals, 3 Solo Shows, 3 Specials

82.58% = The Average Attendance of all Broadway Shows
66.11% = The Average Percentage of Gross Potential of all Broadway Shows
$92.65 = The Average Paid Ticket Price of all Broadway Shows

The to date ranking was determined by averaging the two quarter averages of Attendance Attendance, Average Percentage of Gross Potential and Average Paid Ticket Price for each show.  Shows are ranked by each category.  Each ranking number is added together, and the shows are ranked in order from lowest to highest to make the final list. For example: The Book of Mormon ranked the highest in all three categories, so three number 1's equals 3, the lowest total of all Broadway shows so far this season.  Forever Tango ranked 44/47 in Attendance, 46/47 in Average Paid Ticket Price, and 45/47 in Average Percentage of Gross Potential, for a total of 135 points, the highest total of all Broadway shows so far this season.

Of note: Star power does seem to drive box office, with three of the top 5 shows are limited run, star-driven vehicles featuring Daniel Craig, Tom Hanks and Bette Midler, respectively.  Look for more such vehicles for seasons to come. Special event shows prove to be either a huge draw (Il Divo kicked ass in its one week run, so good that it made the top 10!  However, Let It Be  and Forever Tango ended at the bottom of the list).  Still, Broadway musicals continue to drive the bottom line, with mega hit The Book of Mormon out pacing all shows by a wide margin, and perennial mega musicals The Lion King and Wicked both making the top 10.  And who says that Tony wins don't boost the B.O.?  Both the past season's winners for Best Musical and Best Musical Revival, Kinky Boots and Pippin  made the top 10.  Motown, a critical flop, but audience-pleaser, rounds out the top 10, supporting those who subscribe to the theory that critics have lost their power.  The bottom line (so far this season, at least) seems to be that producers and Broadway spin doctors can weave any tale they need to to justify investments in their shows.

The Broadway Box Office for the First Half of the 2013 - 2014 Season*

1	The Book of Mormon
2	Betrayal
3	Lucky Guy
4	I'll Eat You Last
5	Kinky Boots
6	The Lion King
7	Il Divo
8	Wicked
9	Pippin
10	Motown
11	700 Sundays
12	Matilda
13	Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
14	The Glass Menagerie
15	Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
16	Newsies
17	Twelfth Night/Richard III
18	Once
19	Rock of Ages
20	The Phantom of the Opera
21	Jersey Boys
22	No Man's Land/Waiting for Godot
23	Chicago
24	After Midnight
24	Mamma Mia!
26	Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
27	A Night with Janis Joplin
28	The Trip to Bountiful
29	Annie
29	Cinderella
31	Big Fish
32	The Nance
33	Nice Work If You Can Get It
34	The Snow Geese
35	A Gentleman's Guide…
36	Macbeth (Lincoln Center)
37	First Date
38	The Assembled Parties
39	Macbeth (Solo)
40	The Big Knife
41	A Time to Kill
42	Romeo and Juliet
43	Soul Doctor
44	The Winslow Boy
45	Ann
46	Let It Be
47	Forever Tango

* - NOTE: After Midnight and Mamma Mia! tied after all averages were ranked and totaled.  Mamma Mia! played at total of 25 weeks, with 1 week off for moving theatres.