Printer Friendly - re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by ray-andallthatjazz86 2008-06-10 18:08:09

It didn't make its investment back, so yes, it's a flop.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by little_sally 2008-06-10 18:37:13

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What was Curtains' production cost? I'm surprised it didn't recoup.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by SirNotAppearing 2008-06-10 18:37:54

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Are you kidding? DHP, Karen and Debra all probably cost a pretty penny.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by CyCoSpAz2 2008-06-10 18:42:44

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"The fact that Is He Dead? was considered a flop kills me a little on the inside..."

I feel the same about The Seafarer

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by SahDu 2008-06-10 18:48:24

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"The Little Mermaid has been making a lot of money, so I would safely call it a hit now"

Can't call it a hit until it officially recoups.

Jeff

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by SNLMedia 2008-06-10 18:51:00

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Still disappointed "Farnsworth" was a flop. It felt to me like it was running for months by the time I saw it in February.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by CurtainPullDowner 2008-06-10 19:09:44

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I don't know how any DISNEY show can be on either list since they never tell anyone how much a show costs in the first place.

I know they claimed that MARY POPPINS made back it's investment, but who really knows?

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2008-06-10 19:23:56

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Disney DOES report teh show costs and weekly grosses to Variety.

There is nothing personmal about shows being declared "flops." It simply means that the lost money.

I don't know why people take it so hard when a show they like loses money for the investors. After all, it's not YOUR money.

This list is merely a collection of stats, like the weekly grosses.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by SheepyFuzz 2008-06-10 20:12:43

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Disney probably makes a killing off merchandise. I haven't seen any of it, but it's Disney. They don't do anything half-assed when it comes to merchandise!

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by christhefish 2008-06-10 23:24:20

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I find it so upseting when no one goes to see amazing shows. The fact that Grey Gardens, The Year of Magical Thinking and Company all closed in the red is very depressing.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by EugLoven 2008-06-10 23:32:17

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Money money money
Must be funny
In a Rich-Man's world

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by CurtainPullDowner 2008-06-10 23:38:58

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frontrowcenter, thanks for your input.
Can you point me to a link stating how much TARZAN or THE LITTLE MERMAID cost to mount on Broadway including out of town costs?

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by KrissySim 2008-06-11 00:12:00

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There is nothing personmal about shows being declared "flops." It simply means that the lost money.
I don't know why people take it so hard when a show they like loses money for the investors. After all, it's not YOUR money.
This list is merely a collection of stats, like the weekly grosses.

It happens not so much anymore but in publishing, a house would often publish a number of commercial things simply to sell, and then take up an obscure or unknown work simply because they thought it had literary value and should be published, even if at a loss.

Even if at a loss. Joyce's Ulysses comes to mind...

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2008-06-11 04:19:55

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You have to go through Variety's pages and look in reviews or articles aroudn the time a show opens and they usually mention the capitalization costs.

It is more upsetting to see people supporting crap shows, though as discussed many of them simply become tourist attractions and the people that attend go because of name recognition. Even if GREY GARDENS had run an extra 6 months I doubt it would have caught on with the tourist trade.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2008-06-13 11:51:37

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It is strange that the Tony nominations have not significantly helped any of the shows at the box office. The win for best musical this year is crucial for the survival and evential "hit" status of any of the nominees.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by Okayfine 2008-06-13 11:57:59

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I don't usually pay much attention to how nominations affect shows, so I can't really comment on the substance of that assertion, but hasn't it become more a matter of who comes across well on the telecast? I've seen some fabulous shows tank after they chose the wrong number or scene to present & some AWFUL shows see an uptick in sales after coming across very well. After all, that's why we see these dogfights every year over airtime. I know that quite a few people are annoyed that The Lion King is getting any time, for example. Like me. :)

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2008-06-13 12:02:21

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I'm not - I have been saying for years that the Tony telecast needs to showcase numbers from long-running shows that most likely are out on the road giving viewers beyond NYC a chance at seeing them.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by SgtDonut 2008-06-13 12:28:28

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Of course, these are only flops financially. Some of the "flops" were actually successes in entertaining audiences. Although I guess that's just naive of me to think that shows are produced for anything more than money.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by Okayfine 2008-06-13 12:35:00

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frontrowcentre2 - fair enough, but I still disagree because I think the Tony presentation is the chance to showcase & honor what's new, not what's been. Also, if a show is going on the road, I think it's up to the producers to pay for advertising & promotions & that's not in any way the responsibility of the Theatre Wing. I would rather see something like The 39 Steps get some air time over The Lion King. (Unless I'm mistaken, which is always possible [!], plays are not getting time on the telecast this year.)

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by musicaltheatrefan3 2008-06-13 13:42:15

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No, it (I'm really superstitious, haven't said or typed the name of "The Scottish Play" in 7 years), just recouped.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by SgtDonut 2008-06-13 14:02:36

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LOL i'm listening to Superstition by Stevie Wonder right now! OMG coincidence because you said superstitious at the same time...

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by Theatreboy49 2008-06-13 14:59:21

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Frontrowcentre I agree this year the win for best musical really matters but I wonder why that award in general matters so much more than revival. All 3 revivals this year (i dont like including grease) are incredible and are equally deserving but in the past shows like La Cage have won the award and then announced closing the next day not not even allowing ticket sales to increase. so if the award matters so much why dont shows wait a little longer to see if the ticket sales increase. For instance passing strange, if it does not win will that mean that right away its going to announce its closing?

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2008-06-14 20:20:52

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The revival of LA CAGE was doing poorly most of the season. The Tony win had a little effect on advance sales so the producers decided to cut their losses and close the production.

This season SOUTH PACIFIC is a smash hit already. A Tony win would only solidify that. But a Tony win for GYPSY might help a show that has been doing good but not sensational business.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2009-06-07 03:22:57

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Update on last season's holdovers:

-The following shows are not yet determined (as of May 31, 2008 )

BOEING-BOEING - HIT
A CATERED AFFAIR - FLOP
THE COUNTRY GIRL - FLOP
CRY BABY - FLOP
GREASE - HIT
GYPSY - FLOP
IN THE HEIGHTS - HIT
THE LITTLE MERMAID - still undecided
NOVEMBER - FLOP
PASSING STRANGE - FLOP
THE 39 STEPS (commercial transfer) - still undecided
THURGOOD - FLOP
XANADU - FLOP
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN - FLOP
- 2 holdovers from last year that are still undecided:
CURTAINS - FLOP
LEGALLY BLONDE - FLOP

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by camncal 2009-06-07 05:55:59

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TLM will be a hit by the time it closes. It made crazy money the first year. It's slowed down a bit in terms of their ticket sale, but like the other poster had mentioned, their merchandise is where they make the most money. When i saw the show, all the kids were buying their stuff and i was surprised parents were willing to shell out that much money for them.

I've always thought Legally Blonde was a hit. it was very popular, but i guess it just never recoup.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by dramamama611 2009-06-07 09:21:05

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LB didn't run all that long really. A year and a half? Hard to re coup a big show in that time. Didn't Spring Awakening break recouping in 8 months?

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by wonkit 2009-06-07 09:27:20

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I had thought HOMECOMING eventually recouped even though it was a limited run.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by little_sally 2009-06-07 13:34:45

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Grease recouped?

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by Phantom of London 2012-07-16 04:02:32

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I was wondering if there were anymore of these reports from Variety always a good read.

Thanks to frontrowcentre for compiling these.

re: Broadway Hits & Flops: 2008
Posted by frontrowcentre2 2012-07-16 12:09:02

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No, Phantom, VAriety stopped publishing these charts a few years ago. Their final few charts were filled with errors too.

I tried collating the info as various shwos announce recouping but many shows that recoup do not issue pres releases saying so.

It also gets tiresome to keep having to explain to some BWW people that they should not take offense if a show they love is classified as a flop.

As I have said repeatedly it no longer matters whether a show makes money on Broadway or not. All that really matters is the kind of lasting life the show continues to have. A show can be a huge Broadway hit (FOLLOW THE GIRLS) and never be revived or heard from again while several notable flops (MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG) continue to get revived.