The Broadway debut of Robert Downey Jr. got off to an excellent start last week, with McNeal selling out all four previews at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater and grossing a whopping $746,230.
Ayad Akhtar’s play, directed by Bartlett Sher, staged its first preview last Thursday, September 5, and stars Downey as a revered but perpetual Pulitzer runner-up author who develops what the synopsis tells us is “an unhealthy fascination” with Artificial Intelligence. The production also stars Brittany Bellizeare, Rafi Gavron, Melora Hardin, Andrea Martin, Ruthie Ann Miles, and Saisha Talwar, and opens Monday, September 30.
The production’s strong box office last week – average ticket price was $170.37, an especially impressive number for the subscription-heavy Lincoln Center Theater – put the new play on the same turf as the week’s other sell-outs: The Roommate, starring Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, at the Booth ($463,880 for 7 previews); Oh, Mary!, Cole Escola’s runaway smash at the Lyceum ($1,105,635, the show’s fifth house record); ; and The Outsiders, the spring’s hit musical at the Jacobs ($1,307,392).
Filling more than 95% of available seats were Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Hadestown, Hamilton, Hell’s Kitchen, MJ, Moulin Rouge!, Stereophonic and Wicked. On the lower end of the roster’s spectrum were Job, with attendance at 75% of capacity at the Hayes, and Water For Elephants, 68% at the Imperial.
In all, Broadway’s 26 productions grossed $25,461,584 for the week ending September 8. That’s nearly a 10% slip from the previous week, although attendance of 220,582 was down just 1%. A $10 drop in the average ticket price, from $125 to $115, could be attributed at least in part to the semi-annual 2-for-1 Broadway Week promotion running from September 3 to 15.
Season to date, Broadway, in the 16th week of the 2024-25 season, has grossed $507,011,808 up about 7% over last year at this time, with total attendance of 4,045,646 up about 4%.
All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.