Broadway Grosses Analysis: Hell’s Kitchen Breaks into Top 5

Hell’s Kitchen, the Alicia Keys musical nominated for Best Musical at the 2024 Tony Awards, has made a notable ascent in the Broadway box-office rankings. This week, it reached its highest-grossing week yet, securing a spot among the top five highest earners. Hell’s Kitchen now stands alongside Broadway staples The Lion King, Wicked, Hamilton, and Cabaret.

This achievement comes amidst a slight dip in overall Broadway grosses, which fell by nearly 5% across the 35 currently running shows. The total gross for the week was $33.7 million, down from $35.3 million the previous week. Attendance also saw a decline, with theaters playing to 86% capacity, a drop from the previous week’s 91%.

One factor contributing to Hell’s Kitchen’s rise could be the reduced performance schedule of Merrily We Roll Along, which saw lower earnings due to the absence of its star, Daniel Radcliffe. Both musicals have been hovering around the $1.5 million mark, making it a close contest for the fifth spot in the top grossers list.

Family-friendly shows continue to dominate Broadway, with Wicked, The Lion King, Aladdin, The Wiz, and Hell’s Kitchen attracting the most theatergoers. As the industry anticipates the Tony Awards on June 16, the performance of these shows could be a harbinger of success at the ceremony.

The $1 Million Club

The following shows earned $1 million or more at the box office this week:

• The Lion King ($2.08 million)
• Wicked
• Hamilton
• Cabaret
• Hell’s Kitchen
• The Wiz
• Aladdin
• MJ The Musical
• Merrily We Roll Along
• The Great Gatsby
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
• An Enemy of the People
• The Outsiders

The 90s Club

These shows played to 90% or higher capacity throughout the week:

• An Enemy of the People (103.05%)
• The Outsiders (100.66%)
• Hell’s Kitchen (100.63%)
• Merrily We Roll Along (100%)
• Cabaret
• Wicked
• Stereophonic
• Hamilton
• Hadestown
• Moulin Rouge The Musical
• The Lion King
• The Wiz
• The Book of Mormon
• Mother Play
• Suffs
• Aladdin
• Appropriate

With the Tony Awards just around the corner, all eyes are on Hell’s Kitchen to see if its box-office momentum will translate into awards success. The full list of nominees and more details can be found here.

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