What are the basic economics of a Broadway show?

Movies actually have LESS of a chance of recouping their investment (this shocked me!) You can't forget to factor in all the backstage talent too. Many earn more that the equity minimum. Some bring in $250,000 a year (department heads). read more

It can cost a lot to run a show each week (Wicked, Lion King cost around $800,000 a week to run- this includes salaries, royalties, theatre rental, marketing and so on) These shows can also pull in $1- $1.5 million a week. read more

Broadway is a risky business—just one in five shows make money, and far less academic research has been conducted on theatre's economics than on Hollywood's. Fortunately, there are rich data available on the industry. read more

Broadway show “The Lion King” was the top-grossing show on Broadway in 2013 – despite being 16 years old. Patrick Healy took a look at how this was managed: While top Broadway shows have tickets that are as expensive as $477, Disney made the decision to limit prices for The Lion King to $227. read more