Could Reece Weaver, breakout star of the Netflix series America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, be following in Whitney Leavitt’s tap-dancing shoes in bringing crowds to Broadway‘s Chicago?
The box office figures from last week suggest yes.
Weaver’s first week as Roxie Hart – and her Broadway debut – saw attendance for Chicago jump to 100% of capacity at the Ambassador Theatre, up from 88% the previous week. Receipts were up $184,882 to $997,133.
The long-running musical revival has seen dwindling attendance since the record setting highs that greeted Leavitt last winter and spring (she left the show in May). Leavitt, best known for Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, proved to be a surprisingly powerful Broadway draw. (She returns to the boards in December for a limited run in Just in Time.)
It’s too soon to say whether Weaver will rival Leavitt’s performance in the weeks ahead, but she’s off to a promising start. Her six-week limited engagement, which began September 7, continues through Sunday, October 18. (Also joining the cast September 7 were Natasha Yvette Williams as Mama Morton and Red Concepción as Amos Hart.)
Overall, the 26 Broadway productions held fairly steady for the week ending September 13, with the annual Broadway Week two-for-one ticket promotion likely cutting into grosses while keep attendance on a fairly even keel. The total gross of $25,019,859 was down about 5% from the previous week (and 17% from last season at this time), with total attendance of 223,921 up a small 1% over the previous week and down 7% year-to-year.
New to the grosses roster was School Girls; Or The African Mean Girls Play, non-prof Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of the Jocelyn Bioh play (directed by Whitney White). Bioh and White are the duo behind MTC’s hit Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, and the new play got off to a good start last week. Attendance was at 98% of capacity at the Friedman, with the seven previews grossing $270,461.
In addition to Chicago, other sell-outs last week were Just in Time ($693,931) and Paranormal Activity ($816,648). Coming close, with 95% or more of seats filled, were Hadestown, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Oh, Mary!, School Girls, The Lion King, The Rocky Horror Show and Wicked.
Seeing a $17,040 bump was Six, which grossed $594,896 for the week following its January 3 closing date announcement. Attendance went from 68% of capacity to 75%.
Top earners for the week were Hamilton ($2,541,403): The Lion King ($1,659,567); Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($1,541,014); MJ ($1,514,184); and Wicked ($1,202,747). Top average ticket price was, as usual, Hamilton, with an average of $245.93 that was more than double the overall $111.74 average. No doubt the return of original Hamilton cast member Chris Jackson was a big box office boon.
In the 16th week of the 2026-27 season, Broadway has grossed season-to-date $514,316,840, down about 6% from last year at this time, with total attendance of 4,235,260 down just 1% year-to-year.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For more box office information visit the League’s website.