Industry News

Broadway’s record revenue thanks to premium tickets rise

Broadway achieved record revenue during the 2017-18 season due to premium tickets, rather than an increase in attendance, according to the Hollywood reporter.

Springsteen on Broadway helped boost the famed New York theatre district’s ticket revenue by 14.4 per cent to $1.65bn in the past year.

Since its launch in October 2017, Bruce Springsteen’s concert memoir has reportedly grossed close to $61m. It is scheduled to run through to mid-December and is the top-grossing new production of the 2017-18 season.

The 2016-17 box office saw total revenue hit $1.45bn, with 13.27 million total admission. The current attendance numbers from this past season sit just under 13.48 million.

These figures indicate that the it is not the 1.6 per cent rise in admissions that has driven revenues up, but rather a hike in the number of premium tickets available and their price tags.

Other Broadway hits this season include Hamilton, which surpassed $3m, and The Lion King, which exceeded $2m.

With audience growth not keeping pace with the box office, it could be argued that Broadway is increasingly pricing people out of the theatre and becoming an attraction for high-income consumers.

Image: EJ Hersom