Wicked Winning Dirty Box Office Battle???
Date: 31 October 2006
The box office battle between the new crop of West End musicals continues unabated. Producers of Wicked have just issued a release declaring the “untold story of the witches of Oz” as “London’s top grossing musical”, with the highest weekly gross in West End history. For last week (ending 28 October 2006), more than three quarters of a million pounds (£761,125) was taken at the Apollo Victoria box office. The figure is higher than any other West End show currently running and the highest weekly eight-show gross in the West End ever. Since its first public performance on 7 September 2006 (ahead of its opening night on 27 September, See 1st Night Photos, 28 Sep 2006), Wicked has already been seen by over 130,000 people, averaging just over 95% attendance in the 2,304-seat Apollo Victoria. Just opened last week, Dirty Dancing has staked its own repeated claims as king of the record-breaking hill ever since it became the “fastest-selling” production in West End history by shifting more than £3 million worth of tickets just six weeks after going on sale (See The Goss, 12 Apr 2006). By the night of last week’s star-studded premiere (See 1st Night Photos, 25 Oct 2006), it had broken another record with the biggest-ever box office advance (nearly £12 million). Have the witches cast a strong enough spell, or are there Dirty tricks afoot?
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