Once Upon A One More Time, the revisionist fairy tale Broadway musical set to the hits of Britney Spears, continued its downward slide at the box office last week, with the latest figures suggesting the producers’ decision to close Sept. 3 was a smart one.
For the week ending Aug. 20, the musical filled just 45% of seats at the Marquis, grossing $442,404 (a $69,604 drop from the previous week). Producers announced the early close yesterday, just a few months after the show began previews.
On a more upbeat note, El Mago Pop, the limited engagement solo show by European illusionist Antonio Diaz, began previews and opened last week to very solid numbers, filling 87% of seats at the Barrymore and taking in $624,826. The figures should bounce even more as the well-reviewed production nears its August 27 closing night.
Also having a fine week was Good Night, Oscar starring Sean Hayes, which had its best-yet week at the Belasco with gross of $1,061,789 and 99% of seats filled. The limited engagement ends August 27, with no tour planned.
Playing its final performance last week was Just For Us, the acclaimed solo show of Alex Edelman. At 99% of the Hudson’s capacity, the limited engagement’s closing week grossed a hefty $812,208, up by $131,857 from the previous week.
At the Lunt-Fontanne, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street took a noticeable slip as star Josh Groban missed weekend performances after testing positive for Covid. About 20% of seats went unfilled, as compared to the usual 1% or 2%. Still, the hit musical grossed $1,325,483.
In addition to Sweeney and Good Night, Oscar, other top earners of the week included & Juliet ($1,079,231); Aladdin ($1,381,822); Back To The Future ($1,258,463); Funny Girl ($1,216,459); Hamilton ($1,904,853); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($1,282,130); MJ ($1,451,903); Moulin Rouge! ($1,071,571); The Lion King ($2,226,635); and Wicked ($1,559,480).
Besides Once Upon A One More Time, only A Beautiful Noise, The Neil Diamond Musical was below the 60% capacity mark, with 58% of seats filled at the Broadhurst.
In all, the 26 Broadway shows grossed a total $25,806,601, with attendance at 213,292.
Season to date, Broadway has grossed $401,636,728 with total attendance of 3,262,970 at 88% of capacity.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.