Top Five Biggest Broadway Grossers of ’08. Are we like the movies?

As promised, here's the follow up to yesterday's post re: the top 10 grossing domestic films of 2008.

Since the film industry produces so much more product than we do, I thought it best to compare the top 10 grossing films domestically with the top 5 grossing shows (interesting to note that there isn't an off-Broadway in film – pretty much everything gets lumped together – that's a subject for another post).

Before I name the Top 5 Grossers . . . can you guess what they are? 

Go on.  Give a shot.

When you've got them in your head, scroll down.

scroll . . .

scroll . . .

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Almost there . . .

scroll . . .

scroll . . .

scroll . . .

Here we go . . .

1.  Wicked                                    $75,641,794
2.  The Lion King                         $61,014,194
3.  Jersey Boys                            $58,871,925
4.  The Little Mermaid                  $49,184,168
5.  Mamma Mia                            $47,580,493

Well?  Think we have the same trends as the film industry? 

I'm not so sure if the trends are as strong, but there is certainly something there.  3 out of 5 are the same big budget "fantasies" that the film audiences love.  And the other two are jukebox musicals. 

And all based on pre-exisiting material – either a book, a movie, or a songbook.  

Curious about the 2nd set of 5?  Here's where we start to mix it up a bit:

6.  Mary Poppins                           $42,743,618
7.  The Phantom Of The Opera    $39,044,221
8.  South Pacific                            $35,817,950* (partial year)
9.  In The Heights                          $34,001,301* (partial year)
10.  Spamalot                                $32,386,699

Or do we?  Once again . . . all are based on pre-existing material, except for one.

Now which shows do you think will make the Top 5 next year? 

Special thanks to Beverley D. Mac Keen and New World Stages for the research and for allowing me to borrow their cool spreadsheets.

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