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.

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 $1.8 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 12 January 2024 in Broadway theatres.
Broadway revenue (since 1982)
Rank Musical Original production Revivals Number of performances Gross revenue (US$) Ref.
Debut year Closing year No. of performances
1 The Lion King † 1997 Present 10,246 — TBD $1,912,780,764 [2]
2 Wicked † 2003 Present 7,774 — TBD $1,572,373,192 [3]
3 The Phantom of the Opera 1988 2023 13,981 — 13,981 $1,332,433,262 [4]
4 Hamilton † 2015 Present 2,853 — TBD $896,264,214[5] [6]
5 The Book of Mormon † 2011 Present 4,639 — TBD $769,019,368 [7]
6 Chicago † 1975 1977 10,624 1996–Present TBD $754,682,427[lower-alpha 1] [8]
7 Mamma Mia! 2001 2015 5,758 — 5,758 $624,391,693 [9]
8 Aladdin † 2014 Present 3,411 — TBD $609,342,588 [10]
9 Jersey Boys 2005 2017 4,642 — 4,462 $558,416,092 [11]
10 Les Misérables 1987 2003 6,680 2006; 2014–2016 8,167 $514,794,489 [lower-alpha 2]
11 Cats 1982 2000 7,485 2016–2017 8,078 $453,624,091[lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 3]
12 Beauty and the Beast 1994 2007 5,461 — 5,461 $429,158,458 [16]
13 Miss Saigon 1991 2001 4,092 2017 4,475 $322,103,948 [17]
14 Kinky Boots 2013 2019 2,505 — 2,505 $318,990,092 [18]
15 Mary Poppins 2006 2013 2,619 — 2,619 $294,558,648 [19]
16 The Producers 2001 2007 2,502 — 2,502 $288,361,724 [8]
17 Rent 1996 2008 5,123 — 5,123 $274,248,128
18 Beautiful: The Carole King Musical 2014 2019 2,418 — 2,418 $270,623,922[20]
19 Dear Evan Hansen 2016 2022 1,669 — 1,669 $270,272,357
20 Hairspray 2002 2009 2,642 — 2,642 $252,181,270
21 Moulin Rouge! The Musical† 2019 Present 1,177 — TBD $223,830,705[21]
22 Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark 2011 2014 1,066 — 1,066 $212,406,040 [8]
23 The Music Man 1957 1961 1,375 2000-2001; 2021-2023 2,447 $206,161,177[22]
24 Matilda the Musical 2013 20175 1,554 — 1,554 $198,165,852
25 Waitress 2016 2020 1,537 2021 1,659 $183,514,398[23]

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.[24][25]

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
Rank Musical Debut year Gross 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 [26]
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] [24]
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 12 January 2024 in Broadway theatres.
Musical Debut year Worldwide ticket sales Broadway ticket sales[29][lower-alpha 14]
The Phantom of the Opera 1988 130,000,000[30] 18,000,000
The Lion King † 1997 100,000,000[31] 15,000,000
Cats 1982 73,000,000[32] 9,333,667[lower-alpha 14]
Les Misérables 1987 70,000,000[33] 10,600,947
Mamma Mia! 2001 65,000,000[34] 7,566,124
Wicked † 2003 55,000,000[35] 11,000,000
Beauty and the Beast 1994 35,000,000[36] 7,609,397
Miss Saigon 1991 35,000,000[37] 6,584,913
Chicago † 1975 31,000,000[38] 9,000,000[lower-alpha 14]
Jersey Boys 2005 25,000,000[39] 5,150,298
Starlight Express 1984 25,000,000[40] 1,153,702

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Accurate pre-1984 grosses not available
  2. ↑ Les Misérables Broadway revenue:
    • 1987 to 2003 – $406,258,901[12]
    • 2006, 2014 to 2016 – $108,535,588[13]
  3. ↑ Cats Broadway revenue:
    • 1982 to 2000 – estimated at around $388,000,000[14]
    • 2016 to 2017 – $65,624,091[15]
  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[25]
    • January 2018 to June 23, 2019 – $151,556,700[2]
  6. ↑ The Phantom of the Opera musical theatre revenue:
    • Up until December 18, 2017 – $6 billion[25]
    • December 25, 2017, to January 20, 2019 – $61,015,427[4]
  7. ↑ Post-2012 non-Broadway grosses not included
  8. ↑ Cats worldwide revenue:
    • As of 2012 – $3.5 billion[27]
    • 2016–2017 – $65,624,091[15]
  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[24]
    • May 6, 2013, to January 20, 2019 – $533,663,507[3]
  11. ↑ Les Misérables musical theatre revenue:
    • Up until 2013 – $2.6 billion[24]
    • 2014–2016 – $108,535,588[13]
  12. ↑ Miss Saigon revenue:
    • Up until 2013 – $1.6 billion[24]
    • 2017–2018 – $36,259,976[28]
  13. ↑ Jersey Boys revenue:
    • Up until May 3, 2013 – $1.5 billion[24]
    • May 6, 2013, to January 2017 – $144,848,098[11]
  14. 1 2 3 Pre-1984 admissions not available

References

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