List of highest-grossing musical theatre productions

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The following is a list of highest-grossing musical theatre productions of all time, the highest-grossing musical theatre franchises, and the highest theatre admissions at the box office.

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Highest-grossing musical theatre productions

The following is a list of the top 25 highest-grossing Broadway musicals since 1982, based on data collected by the Broadway League. These grosses do not take into account the effects of inflation and as such the list is heavily skewed in favor of more recent Broadway shows. Moreover, the Broadway League did not begin collecting gross data until June 1984. [1] Hence, accurate pre-1984 gross data is not available and this list should not be considered accurate for musicals that premiered on Broadway before that year.

The Lion King sits at the top, with a Broadway gross of $1.9 billion.

Dates refer to original Broadway productions, with notes added for future productions that outran the Broadway run.

  † Background shading indicates shows running in the week commencing 10 May 2024 in Broadway theatres.
Broadway revenue (since 1982)
RankMusicalOriginal productionRevivalsNumber of performancesGross revenue (US$)Ref.
Debut yearClosing yearNo. of performances
1 The Lion King †1997Present10,360—TBD$1,957,380,113 [2] [3]
2 Wicked †2003Present7,888—TBD$1,616,910,066 [4]
3 The Phantom of the Opera 1988202313,981—13,981$1,364,632,622 [5]
4 Hamilton †2015Present2,965—TBD$931,943,538 [6]
5 The Book of Mormon †2011Present4,751—TBD$790,759,154 [7]
6 Chicago †1975197710,7371996–PresentTBD$773,932,786 [8] [9]
7 Aladdin †2014Present3,522—TBD$635,694,612 [10]
8 Mamma Mia! 200120155,758—5,758$624,391,693 [11]
9 Jersey Boys 200520174,642—4,462$558,416,092 [12]
10 Les Misérables 198720036,6802006; 2014–20168,167$514,794,489 [lower-alpha 1]
11 Cats 198220007,4852016–20178,078$453,624,091 [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3]
12 Beauty and the Beast 199420075,461—5,461$429,158,458 [17]
13 Miss Saigon 199120014,09220174,475$322,103,948 [18]
14 Kinky Boots 201320192,505—2,505$318,990,092 [19]
15 Mary Poppins 200620132,619—2,619$294,558,648 [20]
16 The Producers 200120072,502—2,502$288,361,724 [9]
17 Rent 199620085,123—5,123$274,248,128
18 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 201420192,418—2,418$270,623,922 [21]
19 Dear Evan Hansen 201620221,669—1,669$270,272,357
20 Hairspray 200220092,642—2,642$252,181,270
21 Moulin Rouge! The Musical †2019Present1,289—TBD$242,301,534 [22]
22 Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark 201120141,066—1,066$212,406,040 [9]
23 The Music Man 195719611,3752000-2001; 2021-20232,447$206,161,177 [23]
24 Matilda the Musical 20132017 5 1,554—1,554$198,165,852
25 MJ the Musical †2022Present949—TBD$193,046,377 [24]

Highest-grossing musical theatre franchises

The following is a list of the top 10 highest-grossing musical theatre franchises worldwide based on limited available data. The following figures include revenue grossed from ticket sales in theatres across the world. [25] [26]

Note that the following gross figures are nominal, not adjusted for inflation, and do not take into account rising ticket prices. As such, the list gives far more weight to more recent musicals.

The Lion King sits at the top, with a gross of $8.2 billion worldwide.

Worldwide revenue
RankMusicalDebut yearGross revenue (US$)Ref.
1 The Lion King 1997$8,251,556,700 [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5]
2 The Phantom of the Opera 1986$6,060,000,000 [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 6]
3 Mamma Mia! 1999$4,000,000,000 [27]
4 Cats 1981$3,565,624,091 [lower-alpha 7] [lower-alpha 8]
5 Wicked 2003$3,530,000,000 [lower-alpha 9] [lower-alpha 10]
6 Les Misérables 1980$2,708,535,588 [lower-alpha 9] [lower-alpha 11]
7 Miss Saigon 1989$1,636,259,976 [lower-alpha 9] [lower-alpha 12]
8 Jersey Boys 2004$1,644,848,098 [lower-alpha 9] [lower-alpha 13]
9 Beauty and the Beast 1993$1,600,000,000 [lower-alpha 9] [25]
10 Starlight Express 1984$1,200,000,000 [lower-alpha 9]

Box office admissions (ticket sales)

The following is a list of the musical theatre franchises with the highest theatre admissions. The list includes worldwide ticket sales as well as Broadway ticket sales since 1984. Shows must have sold more than 1 million tickets.

The Broadway League did not begin collecting admissions data until June 1984. [1] Hence, pre-1984 Broadway admissions data is not available and the Broadway figures should not be considered accurate for musicals that premiered on Broadway before that year.

  † Background shading indicates shows running in the week commencing 10 May 2024 in Broadway theatres.
MusicalDebut yearWorldwide ticket salesBroadway ticket sales [30] [lower-alpha 14]
The Phantom of the Opera 1988130,000,000 [31] 18,000,000
The Lion King †1997100,000,000 [32] 15,000,000
Cats 198273,000,000 [33] 9,333,667 [lower-alpha 14]
Les Misérables 198770,000,000 [34] 10,600,947
Mamma Mia! 200165,000,000 [35] 7,566,124
Wicked †200355,000,000 [36] 11,000,000
Beauty and the Beast 199435,000,000 [37] 7,609,397
Miss Saigon 199135,000,000 [38] 6,584,913
Chicago †197531,000,000 [39] 9,000,000 [lower-alpha 14]
Jersey Boys 200525,000,000 [40] 5,150,298
Starlight Express 198425,000,000 [41] 1,153,702

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Les Misérables Broadway revenue:
    • 1987 to 2003 – $406,258,901 [13]
    • 2006, 2014 to 2016 – $108,535,588 [14]
  2. ↑ Accurate pre-1984 grosses not available
  3. ↑ Cats Broadway revenue:
    • 1982 to 2000 – estimated at around $388,000,000 [15]
    • 2016 to 2017 – $65,624,091 [16]
  4. 1 2 Post-December 2017 non-Broadway grosses not included
  5. ↑ The Lion King musical theatre revenue:
    • Up until December 2017 – $8.1 billion [26]
    • January 2018 to June 23, 2019 – $151,556,700 [3]
  6. ↑ The Phantom of the Opera musical theatre revenue:
    • Up until December 18, 2017 – $6 billion [26]
    • December 25, 2017, to January 20, 2019 – $61,015,427 [5]
  7. ↑ Post-2012 non-Broadway grosses not included
  8. ↑ Cats worldwide revenue:
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Post-May-2013 non-Broadway grosses not included
  10. ↑ Wicked revenue:
    • Up until May 3, 2013 – $3 billion [25]
    • May 6, 2013, to January 20, 2019 – $533,663,507 [4]
  11. ↑ Les Misérables musical theatre revenue:
    • Up until 2013 – $2.6 billion [25]
    • 2014–2016 – $108,535,588 [14]
  12. ↑ Miss Saigon revenue:
    • Up until 2013 – $1.6 billion [25]
    • 2017–2018 – $36,259,976 [29]
  13. ↑ Jersey Boys revenue:
    • Up until May 3, 2013 – $1.5 billion [25]
    • May 6, 2013, to January 2017 – $144,848,098 [12]
  14. 1 2 3 Pre-1984 admissions not available

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References

  1. 1 2 "Research & Statistics: GROSSES – BROADWAY IN NYC". The Broadway League . Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  2. ↑ "THE LION KING Broadway Grosses". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  3. 1 2 "THE LION KING Broadway Grosses". Broadway World . Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "WICKED Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Broadway Grosses". Broadway World . Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  6. ↑ "HAMILTON Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  7. ↑ "THE BOOK OF MORMON Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  8. ↑ "CHICAGO Broadway Grosses". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "Cumulative Broadway Grosses by Show". Broadway World . Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  10. ↑ "ALADDIN Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  11. ↑ "MAMMA MIA Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  12. 1 2 "JERSEY BOYS Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  13. ↑ "LES MISÉRABLES (ORIGINAL) Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "LES MISÉRABLES Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  15. ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (April 6, 2018). "The Top 10 Highest-Grossing Broadway Shows of All Time". Playbill . Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  16. 1 2 "CATS Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  17. ↑ "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  18. ↑ "MISS SAIGON Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  19. ↑ "KINKY BOOTS Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  20. ↑ "MARY POPPINS Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  21. ↑ "'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical'". playbill.com. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  22. ↑ "'Moulin Rouge! The Musical (Broadway)'". Playbill.com. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  23. ↑ "'The Music Man Broadway Gross'". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  24. ↑ "MJ THE MUSICAL Broadway Grosses". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Money, money, money" . The Economist . May 3, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 4, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  26. 1 2 3 Seymour, Lee (December 18, 2017). "Over The Last 20 Years, Broadway's 'Lion King' Has Made More Money For Disney Than 'Star Wars'". Forbes .
  27. ↑ "Press Centre: Facts & Figures". Judy Craymer. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  28. ↑ Riedel, Michael (November 21, 2012). "How 'Cats' was purrfected". New York Post . Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  29. ↑ "MISS SAIGON Broadway Grosses". Broadway World. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  30. ↑ "Cumulative Broadway Grosses by Show (Seats Sold)". Broadway World . Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Phantom of the Opera Screening Earns Over £500,000 in the UK", BroadwayWorld.com, October 5, 2011
  32. ↑ "Disney's THE LION KING Announces Casting For UK And Ireland Tour". Broadway World . June 3, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  33. ↑ "About The Show". Cats the Musical • Official Website. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  34. ↑ "About The Show". Les Misérables Official Website. Cameron Mackintosh Limited . Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  35. ↑ "MAJOR NEW CAST CHANGES IN MAMMA MIA! FROM MONDAY 10 JUNE 2019 AT LONDON'S NOVELLO THEATRE". Delfont Mackintosh Theatres . May 1, 2019. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  36. ↑ "Wicked celebrates turning 12!". Official London Theatre. September 28, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Disney's Beauty & the Beast". Fox Theatre . Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  38. ↑ "MISS SAIGON: UK Tour". RawPR. Feast Creative. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  39. ↑ "CHICAGO THE MUSICAL set to razzle dazzle even longer in the West End". West End Wilma. March 20, 2018. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  40. ↑ Waters, Roz (March 25, 2019). "Award-winning Jersey Boys at Mayflower Theatre". The New Milton Advertiser and Lymington Times. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  41. ↑ "Starlight Express". Lunchbox Theatrical Productions . June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
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