Winter Storm Chills Broadway While Weather-Proof Jonathan Groff Warms Up ‘Just In Time’ – Box Office
Ten inches of snow and freeze-your-assets-off temperatures stung Broadway last weekend, forcing cancelations and box office drops for some shows by the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
In all, 10 of the 31 Broadway productions canceled at least one weekend performance due to the weather, but even shows that didn’t loose performances saw ticket receipts and attendance drop along with the mercury. And, as the Broadway League reminds, weekly grosses and attendance numbers reflect tickets sold, not tickets scanned or actual behinds in seats. In other words, even folks who bought tickets in advance might have decided to stay home.
In all, box office for the complete roster of productions grossed a total $29,950,531 for the week ending January 25, a significant 14% drop from the previous week. Attendance was at 250,682, down about 9%.
Most of the productions that canceled dropped only a single Sunday performance, with only The Book of Mormon and Disney’s Aladdin and The Lion King scratching Saturday shows as well.
Here’s the list of shows that canceled and what it cost them (all shows listed lost one performance unless otherwise noted):
- & Juliet grossed $560,038, a drop of $207,198 from the previous week; attendance was 82% of capacity compared to the previous week’s 87%
- Aladdin, down two performances, took in $704,758, down $334,841; attendance was at 89% from 91%;
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, $2,124,053, down $528,620; 96%, barely down from the previous week’s 98%;
- Mamma Mia!, $1,429,269, a $512,576 drop; 93% compared to previous 100%; closes February 1;
- MJ, $880,326, down $304,326; 83% attendance compared to previous 93%;
- Ragtime, $991,635, down $187,884; attendance held strong at a virtual sell-out, but average ticket price of $134.88 took a hit from the previous week’s $140.34;
- Stranger Things: The First Shadow, $1,314,326, down $429,657; attendance steady at 96% of capacity for the available performances;
- The Book of Mormon, with two performances scrubbed, grossed $585,506, down $295,742; attendance steady at 89%;
- The Lion King, with two performances canceled, took in $1,158,218, a drop of $509,980; attendance at the available performances was a steady 94%.
Only one production that lost a weekend performance actually gained receipts for the week: All Out: Comedy About Ambition, the Simon Rich story readings, was up $607,175 to $658,551, no doubt reflecting the arrival of new big-name performers in the rotating cast: Sarah Silverman, Heidi Gardner, Jason Mantzouka and Craig Robinson.
Other productions that bucked the downward trend were Liberation, closing February 1, posting a gross of $539,557; and Oedipus, closing February 8, taking $890,294.
Most impressive was Just In Time, welcoming back star Jonathan Groff from his one-week vacation. The Bobby Darin jukebox musical grossed a temperature-defying $1,393,464, jumping $849,086 over the previous non-Groff week and getting back to standing-room-only attendance and $248.12 average ticket price.
Season to date, Broadway, in the 35th week of the 2025-26 season, has grossed $1,298,608,603 up about 8% over last year at this time, with total attendance of 9,643,085 up 3%.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For more box office information visit the League’s website.
