Broadway Takes 36% Hit in Weekly Box Office Amid Hurricane Irene Show Cancellations

NEW YORK - Broadway took a major box office hit with the gross for the week ended Sunday down 36 percent amid show cancellations due to Hurricane Irene, according to the latest data from The Broadway League.

The box office for the week ended Sunday amounted to $11.62 million, down from $18.15 million during the same week of last season, according to the Broadway League.

Attendance for what was the 13th week of the season fell from 204,265 to 130,853, while average paid admission stayed about the same.

All 66 performances scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were cancelled "as a result of suspension of public transportation, evacuations of many areas, closures of some highways and potential bridge closures by government authorities in preparation for Hurricane Irene," the Broadway League highlighted.

Some shows though continued to do brisk business despite Irene. The Book of Mormon, for example, grossed $786,459, or 106 percent of its weekly potential gross calculated based on potential attendance, according to the League's data. Still, the show slipped $487,785 from the previous week.

Billy Elliot: The Musical had only four performances last week, grossing $358,485, down from $731,895 in the prior week when it had twice as many shows.

Season-to-date, the Broadway box office stands at $268.4 million, up 1.1 percent compared with $265.5 million in the year-ago period. Attendance is down 0.9 percent at 2.97 million.

Email: Georg.Szalai@thr.com

Twitter: @georgszalai