‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Frozen’ break records on Broadway
Stories with a rabid tot and tween fan base are proving their box office might as “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and Disney’s “Frozen” break records on Broadway.
The Harry Potter play, based on a new story by author J.K. Rowling in collaboration with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, announced Monday that it had set a Broadway record for the strongest preview grosses: $2.1 million in ticket sales for the week ending Sunday at the Lyric Theatre.
The record had been held by Robert Schenkkan’s “All the Way” starring Bryan Cranston at the Neil Simon Theatre, which in June 2014 grossed $1.6 million in a week of previews.
The Potter news came on the same day that Disney Theatrical Productions announced that its stage musical adaptation of “Frozen” had broken a house record at the St. James Theatre for the second week in a row. After grossing $2,246,997 for the week ending April 1, “Frozen” went on to gross $2,275,395 the following week.
Before “Frozen” burst on the scene, the St James’ record was held by “The Producers,” which at its peak grossed $1.6 million in eight performances 14 years ago.
“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which dramatizes the hectic lives of a grown Potter and his three young children, will officially open on April 22, at which point we will see if the box office magic of Queen Elsa can beat Potter’s own formidable brand.
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