Records On Broadway

A record breaking 299,090 people saw a Broadway show last week. Among new shows, Disney’s “Aladdin” sold most tickets, worth $1,207,953. The revival of “Les Misérables” did almost as good. The most successful shows were again long-running musicals – “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” and “The Phantom of the Opera” – as well as newer hits like “The Book of Mormon” and “Kinky Boots”. Some big-budget new musicals could not compete: “Rocky” and “Bullets Over Broadway: The Musical” were down slightly compared with the already modest results of previous week. The Broadway League, the trade group for theater owners and producers, also announced the year-end total statistics for the 2013-14 season, which concluded on Sunday. As expected, Broadway grosses overall increased 11.4 percent compared with the previous season, totaling $1.27 billion versus $1.14 billion. Attendance was 12.21 million for the 2013-14 season, compared with 11.57 million for the prior season.