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First Posted: 10/15/2013
(AP) Two Broadway shows with very different audiences broke box office records last week the kid-friendly “Matilda, the Musical” and the very adult revival of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal.”
Data released Tuesday from The Broadway League shows that the sold-out revival of the Harold Pinter play starring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz took in $1,112,027 over seven performances ending Sunday, breaking the Barrymore Theater’s weekly box office record. It had set the record the week before with $1,100,818.
On the other end of the entertainment spectrum, “Matilda” had its best week ever, pulling in $1,430,085 and creating a new record at the Shubert Theatre. The English hit opened April 11 and has been an instant draw, regularly grossing over $1 million a week.
Not to be outdone, “The Book of Mormon,” broke the Eugene O’Neill Theatre’s box office record for the 45th time. The show’s grosses were $1,844,549 for the week ending Sunday with a top premium ticket going for $477. Unsurprisingly, the musical also had the highest average paid admission at $210.
Overall, Broadway box offices are ahead of where they were last season at this time. Last week’s 28 shows grossed $24,614,027, ahead of the same week in 2012 in which 26 shows pulled in $20,614,956. Four shows are still in previews, including a play based on John Grisham’s “A Time To Kill.”
“Soul Doctor,” the musical about the life and music of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, bowed out Sunday after playing 32 previews and 66 regular performances. It was critically savaged and was earning less than 20 percent of its box office potential. The week also bid farewell to “The Trip to Bountiful.”
Associated Press