Broadway Sets Revenue Records Despite New Musical Losses

The 2024-2025 season grossed nearly $2 billion from 14.7 million attendees, yet only three of 46 new musicals since the pandemic have turned a profit amid rising weekly costs.

Derek Holloway

22 May 2026, 00:26 2 min read

Broadway theaters shattered attendance and revenue records during the 2024-2025 season. The industry welcomed 14.7 million attendees and generated nearly $2 billion in grosses, marking the highest totals in recorded history. For the week ending May 17, 2026, total grosses reached $38,166,527 across 40 active shows that drew 316,920 attendees. These aggregate figures mask deeper financial pressures facing individual productions.

2024-2025 Season Gross	$2 billion
Season Attendance	14.7 million
New Musicals Since Pandemic	46
Profitable New Musicals	3
Week Ending May 17, 2026 Gross	$38,166,527
Week Ending May 17, 2026 Attendance	316,920

Since the pandemic, 46 new musicals have opened on Broadway at a combined production cost of roughly $800 million. Only three have recouped their investments and reached profitability. Andrew Lloyd Webber, the composer and producer, voiced alarm over the current economics. "Broadway is not a business anymore. The statistics are terrible. I am very worried. I look at the economics of this, and I just don’t see how it can sustain," he told The New York Times. Jason Laks, president of The Broadway League, confirmed the low success rate. "Only about 10 percent of musicals are now profitable, around half of the historical average," Laks said. Weekly operating costs for many shows now climb as high as $800,000, covering salaries, marketing, theater rental, and production maintenance. Reports on BroadwayWorld detail these weekly numbers and season-to-date totals for producers and investors. Coverage in The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline has highlighted individual successes, including Maya Rudolph’s run in Oh, Mary!, that helped drive recent box office spikes. Industry observers note that strong overall attendance has not translated into sustainable returns for most new work. Rising talent fees, union agreements, and marketing expenses contribute to the gap between record grosses and persistent losses. Producers continue to examine revised capitalization models and touring strategies to improve odds for future productions. The ongoing challenges require careful planning and new financial approaches to ensure long-term viability for Broadway shows.