BroadwayRadio Grosses Report: January 21, 2026 - Summary

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of BroadwayRadio, hosted by Matt Tammanini, delivers a detailed breakdown of Broadway's weekly box office grosses for the period ending January 18, 2026. The report explores overall trends, exceptional performances, notable fluctuations, and potential implications for the industry, focusing on significant show results and their broader meaning for the season.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Broadway’s Overall Numbers

• Stable Growth:

  • Broadway featured 31 shows, identical to the prior week.
  • Total grosses: $34,695,615—an increase of about $375,000 (roughly 1%) from the previous week.
  • Attendance: 274,663, up 1%.
  • Average ticket price: $126.32 (up just $0.54)
    “The grosses more or less stayed the same with just about a 1% increase change.” [00:21]

• Season Progress:

  • Cumulative season gross: $1,268,658,072—up 8% over last year.
  • Season attendance: 9,392,503—up 3%.

2. Top Performing Shows

• Top Grossers of the Week:

  • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: $2,652,673
  • Hamilton: $2,190,000+
  • Wicked: $1,940,000
  • Mamma Mia: Just below $1,940,000
  • Stranger Things: The First Shadow: $1,740,000

  “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child again continues to be the top show on the grosses ladder this week...” [00:54]

• Additional Shows Over $1M: Chess, The Lion King, MJ, Ragtime, Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, Oh Mary, The Outsiders, Aladdin, The Great Gatsby, Hadestown.

3. Biggest Weekly Riser: "Bug"

• Impressive Climb:
  • “Bug” at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater jumped nearly $256,000 to $573,302, attributed largely to positive word of mouth.
  • It’s notable as a not-for-profit subscription house, unlike commercial venues.
  • “The biggest riser of all last week was Bug over at the Samuel J. Friedman Theater with its post opening word of mouth being very very good.” [01:43]
  • Shoutout to Grace Ake for championing the production.

4. Notable Decliner: "Just In Time"

• Substantial Drop Linked to Star’s Absence:
  • Jonathan Groff’s pre-planned vacation at "Just In Time" (Circle in the Square) resulted in grosses dropping $911,970 (a 63% decrease) to $544,378—the third lowest on Broadway.
  • Attendance remained relatively solid at about 92.5%, but ticket prices fell dramatically from $256.58 to $106.72.
  • Matt Magnussen filled in, reportedly "tremendous in the role."
    “The grosses did see a rather sizable decline, dropping 911,970 bucks to come in at $544,378, the third lowest total on Broadway last week.” [03:02]

5. Capacity and Million Dollar Club

• High Occupancy:

  • 21 out of 31 shows played to over 90% capacity.
  • "Wicked" at 100%, "Hadestown" just above, and "Hamilton" leading at 101.03%.

• Sixteen Shows grossed over $1M.

6. Special Focus: "Mamma Mia"’s Strong Run

• Continues to draw impressive grosses—just under $2M—and will close in early February before the tour resumes.
• Since opening in August (2025), seldom has it grossed below $1.5M except once, and exceeded $2M four times.
• Most performances feature the tour cast, not stars, yet box office has flourished.
• Raises questions about a potential future Broadway revival or similar “tour set down” runs for other shows.
  • “I just have to wonder if this makes producers interested in maybe setting up a actual full revival production on Broadway.” [05:35]
  • Comparisons are made to Beetlejuice’s recent return via a similar structure.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On overall business:
  “This is an all out, incredible success for this run on Broadway.” [07:13]
  (On "Mamma Mia")

• On “Just in Time” star absence:
  “Of course we have talked about the fact that Groff will be wrapping up his run in March and that I have heard a certain somebody who loves him some green lights might be heading over to the same building as Wicked fairly soon.” [03:36]

• On shifting trends:
  “This has been the tour cast, which is excellent, but there’s no big names or anything like that. So I’m interested to see what happens with this or if we start to see more of this type of tour, set up shop on Broadway.” [06:00]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:02] - Episode overview and top-line numbers
• [00:54] - Top five shows by grosses
• [01:43] - "Bug" sees major gains
• [03:02] - "Just In Time" declines due to star's vacation
• [04:45] - Overview of year-to-date grosses and attendance
• [05:35] - Analysis of "Mamma Mia," talk of its future
• [07:13] - Closing comments on industry trends

Summary Flow & Tone

Matt Tammanini’s report is factual, brisk, and laced with light industry speculation and enthusiasm for Broadway’s ongoing strength, especially regarding the performance of productions without marquee names. The episode shines in its concise but insightful reading of box office data and what it might signal for the wider Broadway landscape.

For Broadway observers and industry professionals, this episode effectively highlights the biggest hits, sudden changes tied to cast members, and ongoing trends—particularly the robust grosses of non-star-driven productions and the developing pattern of popular tours coming in for limited Broadway stints.