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That’s Gross: A Less-than-Warlike War Horse

Remember when War Horse was the toughest straight play ticket in town? Lately, the show has been available on TDF and TKTS, which would have been unfathomable a year ago.

From the time War Horse opened on April 14, 2011 until September, 2011, capacity only slipped from 100% once, and even then it was at 99.8% (the week ending July 10, 2011). In September and October, 2011, capacity was generally between 95% and 100% and grosses were still hovering around $900,000 a week — an impressive take. It wasn’t until April, 2012 that we started seeing regular decreases in capacity and gross. One theory: The DVD of the movie version was released that month. For anyone who could stay awake through it, a trip to the theater might not seem so urgent.

Even in the tourism-saturated months of June and July, 2012, grosses were in the $500,000 and $600,000 range and capacity was often between 60% and 70%. The show had its worst week ever the week ending August 5, grossing $474,389 and only filled 59.7% of its 1,100 seats. Things were looking better last week, when the show grossed $537,676 and filled 84.4% of its seats. Those are respectable numbers for a play, but compare that to the week ending August 21, 2011, when grosses were at $995,750 and capacity was at 100%.

War Horse’s Tony win for Best Play was more than a year ago. With the summer ending, we’re wondering whether War Horse will stay put at the Vivian Beaumont, or gallop off into the sunset. The good news is, if you waited to see the show, you can now see those puppets at a discount.

Grosses are provided courtesy of The Broadway League. Click here to read this week’s complete list of grosses.

More from NineDaves and LovelyLinda can be found on their respective blogs.

{ 1 comment… add one }

  • MikeH August 28, 2012, 11:29 am

    Plus the touring production is out on the road. I live in Seattle and War Horse will be here in February, which makes it less of a “can’t miss” if I visit NYC anytime soon.

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