You're familiar with Book of Mormon, the hit musical from South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, which won nine Tonys and a Grammy. The production has broken plenty of records already—including 22 at its home Eugene O'Neill Theater—but its newest accomplishment takes the cake: The show's recent stay in Atlanta set the mark for the highest weekly gross ever for a touring show.
Book of Mormon brought in $2,802,606 during eight shows at the Fox Theatre, a 4,678-seat venue in Atlanta. The previous record was held by Wicked, which made $2,755,070 during its week at the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis during 2012. (The hidden message: Plan your musical tour around theaters with the word "fox" in the title).
It's not Book of Mormon's first taste of financial success. The average Broadway production, especially a big-name gig such as Book, requires a healthy amount of capital investment to get off the ground. It took less than nine months for Book of Mormon to recoup that $11.4 million, and things are only looking up. Forbes reported as of January 2013 that the play was bringing in more than $19 million a month, a number that can only have gone up as its taken to touring, as well as showings in London.
Another option that hasn't gotten much discussion yet, surprisingly, is that of a film version of the play. Other adaptations of Broadway musicals, such as Mamma Mia and Les Miserables, brought in huge box office numbers. It's not that they don't have the possibility of a Book of Mormon film in the back of their minds...producer Scott Rubin holds the film rights.
© 2024 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
