'Spider-Man' Musical Take 2 Box Office Success

NEW YORK -- The retooled "Spider-Man" musical is still managing to spin its web at the box office.

According to data released Monday by The Broadway League, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" pulled in a very respectable $809,000 over five preview performances last week and was at 95 percent capacity.

The show restarted Thursday after a three-week hiatus following the firing of Julie Taymor as director and with rejiggered music and a smoothed-out script. The average paid admission was $88.52.

The show, with songs by U2's Bono and The Edge, managed to beat many other musicals, including "Mamma Mia!" "Rock of Ages," "The Addams Family," "Catch Me If You Can," "Chicago," "Baby It's You!" and "Anything Goes."

Opening night is set for June 14.

Comments

[dorzic]

08:24 PM on 05/20/2011

Not gonna see this...I'm waiting for Star Wars, the musical.

[SeanMartin]

01:32 PM on 05/18/2011

Pity they took out Arachne's song about using high heel shoes as a means of "descending to the human plane". (And no, I'm not making that up.)

[Kevin Phillips]

11:56 PM on 05/17/2011

Box office success?? Box office was $809,000. They have an operating cost per week of $1.2 million. Sure they only did 5 shows instead of 8 but the other days were rehearsal days. Which means they paid overtime for those days. Which means last week had an operating cost of around $1.3 to $1.4 million. That's a LOSS of around $400,000. Success means you MAKE money.

[TGdesign]

06:20 PM on 05/17/2011

I saw this on Saturday and even the revamped one is awful. The song about bullying had me scratching my head and the wrestling match with the blow up toxic avenger was too much. This show will appeal to those without good taste in theater but expensive taste in what can only be a Michael Bay approach to the stage.

I did enjoy the high flying stunts in the second half and the green goblin was comical but it really only got good when the Green Goblin got stuck above me, literally. He was hilarious when just hovering there looking down on the audience. Someone, please make this show go away...or at least send it to disneyland, not broadway.

[sonofsarek]

02:26 PM on 05/17/2011

It will make money b/c you can sell it to kids and families. It's a mainstream project and it'll get mainstream money. Which do you think kids want to see? Cats? Miss Saigon? or Spiderman? And kids pretty much dictate what their parents buy.

[Kevin Phillips]

12:00 AM on 05/18/2011

Not sure how valuable your insight into Broadway is when you think a kid can choose between two shows that have been closed for more than a decade or Spiderman.

[rhdsma]

02:13 PM on 05/17/2011

Updated, green version, of "The Creature from the Black Lagoon".

[Lawrence Bullock]

01:47 PM on 05/17/2011

That's my friend (and former director) Patrick Page as the Green Goblin. (Shameless name drop...)

[VeryGrood]

01:51 PM on 05/17/2011

You should probably have him get that chin and skin condition checked out by a doctor. He's clearly in trouble.

[Witkacy]

12:29 PM on 05/17/2011

Is that the Green Goblin - or else a new GOP super-villain engineered by the Koch Bros. (kind of like Deadpool) to take on President Obama in 2012?

[Wagnerman]

12:38 PM on 05/17/2011

It's Paul Ryan.

[Witkacy]

12:52 PM on 05/17/2011

Makes sense: Ryan's vaunted workouts (of which idiots in the press have told us so much) are in aid of secret super-villainry...

[VaScott]

01:10 PM on 05/17/2011

Why must EVERYTHING be about politics? (sigh)

[Dreamking]

02:04 PM on 05/17/2011

VaScott:

I'll come to the rescue. No Politics here.

$88.50 a ticket!!!??? I forgot how expensive Manhattan is.

Back in the day, I used to do something called Shoes and Shows Weekend with my girlfriend. We did it once, every three months.

These were HER weekends where we'd do whatever she wanted to do. Also, I had to shop with and buy her shoes (6 new pair was the limit for the weekend)

Add in Broadway shows, hotels and restaurants, not to mention the $150 a day parking, I'd drop like $3000 over the weekend. (you have no idea how expensive woman's shoes are in NYC....)

But, as I now recall, she was worth every penny.

So; lesson to all you guys out there: Set aside some time where your lady gets to do whatever she wants with you. It's not as painful as you think and women really appreciate it when you set aside time just for them.

xoxox

DK

[SuperBenFranklin]

11:44 AM on 05/17/2011

It doesn't matter what it is, good or bad, with all this PR, it will sell tickets.

[MahatmaCoat]

11:39 AM on 05/17/2011

It was always a box office success -- they've been charging full price for a show that's been in previews for months and months and selling-out thanks to a curious, spectacle-seeking audience. But, of course, they're still $70+ million in the hole and the jury is out on how decent the play is after these upgrades.

[Kevin Phillips]

12:06 AM on 05/18/2011

It has not actually been selling out. They were making around a mill a week though. But with an operating cost of over a mill, the producers were not making a profit. The retool version might be enough to sell out at full price.

[Justin Werner]

11:18 AM on 05/17/2011

Y'know, I've loved superhero comics all my life, but there are just places they shouldn't go. Just the very -idea- of a Spiderman musical is enough to have me regretting the meal I just ate and have me reaching frantically for the Mylanta.

[Stuzzadelic]

11:35 AM on 05/17/2011

Might as well go to Chuck E. Cheese's

[Adrian31]

10:49 AM on 05/17/2011

I take it Spidey is merely walking on the stage now to avoid catastrophe?

[chesscub]

10:47 AM on 05/17/2011

It'll only have to do that for the next 4-5 years to break even.

I remember years ago there was an ad in the back of Marvel comics to get people to try out for a Captain America musical.

[JoeTroll]

01:23 PM on 05/17/2011

I remember that. I was young enough at the time to think it might be a good idea.

[RuhRoh]

10:17 AM on 05/17/2011

How many opening nights is this thing gonna have?!?! We have had to endure the onslaught of comic book films from Hollywood. Now they are infecting Broadway. Thanks Julie and Bono! Ugh.

[Mr Devil]

10:13 AM on 05/17/2011

My Crapola Sense is tingling!