Broadway's Hamilton Musical a Big Box Office Winner

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Hamilton Record-Setting Broadway Run

The “hottest Broadway show” tag has been Hamilton’s all year, as the smash hit’s popularity was seemingly unstoppable even before it finally came to the Great White Way. The Lin-Manuel Miranda-penned gem officially opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre just shy of two months ago but has already been confirmed for at least 100 more shows through Sept. 2016.

Based on the whirlwind of box office success for Hamilton, unending praise from critics, a cast album that could potentially become mainstream, and revolving door of celebrities in attendance night after night, it got us thinking about how its remarkable early run stacks up against other prominent Broadway hits.

Study Reveals Hamilton to Be a True Box Office Winner

Taking a look at box office data from Broadway World for major musicals and plays dating as far back as Cats’ debut in Oct. 1982, Hamilton indeed boasts the best six-week opening run of the bunch, accruing $8,978,868 in revenue. The haul is a significant improvement on Manuel’s 2008 debut, In the Heights, which played at the same Richard Rodgers Theatre, but tallied just $3,111,520 during its first six weeks on Broadway.

Of course, venue size can be a major factor in revenue totals, but interestingly enough, Hamilton’s seat count through six weeks was only 64,171, which drops it down to 15th. Meanwhile, Aladdin’s 82,717 seats sold was good for the top spot in the category.

Broadway's Enduring Hits

The full top 25 by six-week box office revenue is featured in the table below, though theater fans may notice that a number of heavy hitters are suspiciously absent.

Among the notable Broadway productions not making the cut were Wicked ($5,635,966), The Book of Mormon ($5,590,677), The Lion King ($4,600,583), Jersey Boys ($4,190,056), and Phantom of the Opera ($2,931,387), though despite modest early earnings, the productions have had little problem standing the test of time.

 

Top 25 Broadway Shows (By Box Office Revenue)

Rank	Show	Six-Week Total	Total Seats Sold	Venue
1	Hamilton (2015)	$8,978,868	64,171	Richard Rodgers Theatre
2	Evita (2012 revival)	$8,843,746	73,483	Marquis Theatre
3	Lucky Guy (2013)	$8,194,921	57,267	Broadhurst Theatre
4	It's Only a Play (2014)	$8,009,465	51,514	Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
5	Elf (2010)	$7,784,467	63,219	Al Hirschfeld Theatre
6	The Addams Family (2010)	$7,778,331	70,856	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
7	Betrayal (2013 revival)	$7,564,693	50,544	Ethel Barrymore Theatre
8	An American in Paris (2015)	$7,533,662	78,476	Palace Theatre
9	Motown the Musical (2013)	$7,390,860	72,866	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
10	Les Miserables (2014 revival)	$7,261,048	63,744	Imperial Theatre
11	West Side Story (2009 revival)	$7,219,645	81,448	Palace Theatre
12	Cinderella (2013)	$6,997,951	73,825	Broadway Theatre
13	Fish in the Dark (2015)	$6,989,848	52,303	Cort Theatre
14	A Raisin in the Sun (2014 revival)	$6,883,760	50,208	Ethel Barrymore Theatre
15	The Audience (2015)	$6,875,537	45,392	Schoenfeld Theatre
16	Aladdin (2014)	$6,809,749	82,717	New Amsterdam Theatre
17	Billy Elliot (2008)	$6,758,700	62,961	Imperial Theatre
18	Mary Poppins (2006)	$6,715,839	80,311	New Amsterdam Theatre
19	Finding Neverland (2015)	$6,456,601	67,513	Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
20	Kinky Boots (2013)	$6,362,800	67,045	Al Hirschfeld Theatre
21	Matilda the Musical (2013)	$6,274,492	67,090	Shubert Theatre
22	Follies (2011 revival)	$6,030,597	65,649	Marquis Theatre
23	The Producers (2001)	$5,909,334	78,713	St. James Theatre
24	The King and I (2015 revival)	$5,766,604	50,256	Vivian Beaumont Theater
25	The Color Purple (2005)	$5,741,235	74,980	Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre