Broadway’s box office had a sharp week. For the seven days ending October 11, 29 productions grossed $35,292,434, up 27% from the previous week, with attendance of 248,496, roughly 10% higher. The driver was a cluster of star-led revivals that sold out and pushed average ticket prices upward.
A Few Good Men, the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Aaron Sorkin’s military courtroom drama, sold out its first three previews and grossed $555,367. Other Desert Cities, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Joe Keery and Lily Rabe, sold out eight previews at the Hudson and grossed $2,157,355.
Billy Crystal’s solo show 860 filled 92% of its seats at the Imperial, up from 83% the previous week, and grossed $1,173,760 across seven previews. Roundabout’s The Imaginary Invalid, starring Bill Irwin, filled 90% at the Haimes and grossed $429,863.
Where the pricing power sat
Hamilton, newly recharged with original cast member Christopher Jackson, led the week with $3,090,634. Its average ticket price was $287.50, the week’s highest. Other Desert Cities followed at $276.87 and Oh, Mary! at $222.73; the overall average across all 29 shows was $142.02.
The gap between those top averages and the overall figure shows how much star casting can compress urgency: audiences pay a meaningful premium for a recognizable name in a limited window.
The week’s top earners
- Hamilton: $3,090,634, and the top average ticket price at $287.50.
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: $2,223,679.
- The Lion King: $2,217,835.
- Other Desert Cities: $2,157,355.
Oh, Mary!, now with Bowen Yang in the title role, grossed $1,592,306 and set another Lyceum house record. According to figures from The Broadway League, the production has broken its own record 15 times. Chicago, with Reece Weaver as Roxie, sold out and grossed $1,163,661; Weaver has extended her run through Sunday, November 15.
Sell-outs for the week were A Few Good Men, Chicago, Hadestown, Hamilton, Just in Time, MJ, Oh, Mary! and Other Desert Cities.
The seasonal caveat
For all the weekly momentum, the 2026-27 season is still behind. In its 20th week, Broadway has grossed $628,508,592 season-to-date, about 8% lower than the same point last year. Total attendance of 5,155,377 is down about 3%.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the signal is fairly clear: star-led revivals are functioning as demand events right now. They create urgency, lift average ticket prices and deliver sell-outs. The test is whether they hold after the opening window and the preview buzz fade.
The Broadway League data is the industry’s standard weekly barometer for live-theater demand, used by producers and advertisers to gauge pricing, capacity and the value of star casting. A weekly jump driven by limited runs is useful marketing intelligence, but it is not the same as a recovered season.
That test arrives quickly. Other Desert Cities opens October 18, 860 on October 21, The Imaginary Invalid on October 22, and A Few Good Men on October 29.
Source: Deadline
