25 of the Highest-Grossing Broadway Shows Ever

New York City is home to many amazing landmarks, but for theater fans, nothing compares to Broadway. The 41 active Broadway theaters — i.e., Studio 54, the Hirschfeld Theater, the Ambassador Theatre — have put this part of town on the map as an international performing arts destination.

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Many of the most talented artists of all time have graced Broadway stages, starring in shows like “The Lion King,” “Wicked” and “Jersey Boys.” Of course, as with all shows, some are much more successful than others.

GOBankingRates conducted a study to find out which Broadway shows of past and present have been the most profitable. Many are still active, so next time you’re in the Big Apple — when theaters reopen post-pandemic — you’ll want to add at least one to your itinerary.

Think you can guess which shows made the cut? Drumroll, please — here’s a look at the 25 highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time.

25. ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Part One and Two’

• Total Gross: $174.10 million
• Average Ticket Price: $132
• Seats Sold: 1.32 million
• Total Performances: 821
• Original Broadway Run: April 22, 2018–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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24. ‘Come From Away’

• Total Gross: $174.94 million
• Average Ticket Price: $129
• Seats Sold: 1.35 million
• Total Performances: 1,276
• Original Broadway Run: March 12, 2017–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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23. ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’

• Total Gross: $183.51 million
• Average Ticket Price: $102
• Seats Sold: 1.80 million
• Total Performances: 1,352
• Original Broadway Run: Nov. 13, 2008–Jan. 8, 2012
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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22. ‘Matilda the Musical’

• Total Gross: $198.20 million
• Average Ticket Price: $94
• Seats Sold: 2.10 million
• Total Performances: 1,591
• Original Broadway Run: April 11, 2013–Jan. 1, 2017
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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21. 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’

• Total Gross: $212.41 million
• Average Ticket Price: $101
• Seats Sold: 2.10 million
• Total Performances: 1,248
• Original Broadway Run: June 14, 2011–Jan. 4, 2014
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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20. ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

• Total Gross: $241.10 million
• Average Ticket Price: $175
• Seats Sold: 1.40 million
• Total Performances: 1,384
• Original Broadway Run: Dec. 4, 2016–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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19. 'Hairspray’

• Total Gross: $252.20 million
• Average Ticket Price: $73
• Seats Sold: 3.42 million
• Total Performances: 2,673
• Original Broadway Run: Aug. 15, 2002–Jan. 4, 2009
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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18. ‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’

• Total Gross: $270 million
• Average Ticket Price: $117
• Seats Sold: 2.30 million
• Total Performances: 2,476
• Original Broadway Run: Jan. 12, 2014–Oct. 27, 2019
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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17. ‘Rent’

• Total Gross: $274.25 million
• Average Ticket Price: $54
• Seats Sold: 5.03 million
• Total Performances: 5,139
• Original Broadway Run: April 29, 1996–Sept. 7, 2008
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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16. ‘The Producers’

• Total Gross: $288.40 million
• Average Ticket Price: $78
• Seats Sold: 3.70 million
• Total Performances: 2,535
• Original Broadway Run: April 19, 2001–April 22, 2007
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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15. ‘Mary Poppins’

• Total Gross: $294.56 million
• Average Ticket Price: $75
• Seats Sold: 3.90 million
• Total Performances: 2,649
• Original Broadway Run: Nov. 16, 2006–March 3, 2013
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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14. ‘Kinky Boots’

• Total Gross: $319 million
• Average Ticket Price: $105
• Seats Sold: 3 million
• Total Performances: 2,539
• Original Broadway Run: April 4, 2013–April 7, 2019
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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13. ‘Miss Saigon’

• Total Gross: $322.10 million
• Average Ticket Price: $28
• Seats Sold: 6.60 million
• Total Performances: 4,475
• Original Broadway Run: April 11, 1991–Jan. 28, 2001
• Revival Run(s): March 23, 2017–Jan. 14, 2018

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12. ‘Les Misérables’

• Total Gross: $406.30 million
• Average Ticket Price: $23
• Seats Sold: 8.93 million
• Total Performances: 8,217
• Original Broadway Run: March 12, 1987–May 18, 2003
• Revival Run(s): Nov. 9, 2006–Jan. 6, 2008 & March 23, 2014–Sept. 4, 2016

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11. ‘Beauty and the Beast’

• Total Gross: $429.16 million
• Average Ticket Price: $50
• Seats Sold: 7.61 million
• Total Performances: 5,508
• Original Broadway Run: April 18, 1994–July 29, 2007
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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10. ‘Cats’

• Total Gross: $432 million
• Average Ticket Price: $20
• Seats Sold: 9.33 million
• Total Performances: 8,109
• Original Broadway Run: Oct. 7, 1982–Sept. 10, 2000
• Revival Run(s): July 31, 2016–Dec. 30, 2017

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9. ‘Aladdin’

• Total Gross: $461.91 million
• Average Ticket Price: $108
• Seats Sold: 4.27 million
• Total Performances: 2,527
• Original Broadway Run: March 20, 2014-present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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8. ‘Jersey Boys’

• Total Gross: $558.42 million
• Average Ticket Price: $107
• Seats Sold: 5.20 million
• Total Performances: 4,680
• Original Broadway Run: Nov. 6, 2005–Jan. 15, 2017
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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7. ‘Mamma Mia!’

• Total Gross: $624.40 million
• Average Ticket Price: $82
• Seats Sold: 7.60 million
• Total Performances: 5,772
• Original Broadway Run: Oct. 18, 2001–Sept. 15, 2015
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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6. ‘Hamilton’

• Total Gross: $649.90 million
• Average Ticket Price: $249
• Seats Sold: 2.61 million
• Total Performances: 1,945
• Original Broadway Run: Aug. 6, 2015–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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5. ‘The Book of Mormon’

• Total Gross: $659.60 million
• Average Ticket Price: $160
• Seats Sold: 4.10 million
• Total Performances: 3,776
• Original Broadway Run: March 24, 2011–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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4. ‘Chicago’

• Total Gross: $681.10 million
• Average Ticket Price: $73
• Seats Sold: 9.50 million
• Total Performances: 10,676
• Original Broadway Run: June 3, 1975–Aug. 27, 1977
• Revival Run(s): Nov. 14, 1996–present

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3. ‘The Phantom of the Opera’

• Total Gross: $1.30 billion
• Average Ticket Price: $54
• Seats Sold: 19.33 million
• Total Performances: 13,386
• Original Broadway Run: Jan. 26, 1988–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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2. ‘Wicked’

• Total Gross: $1.40 billion
• Average Ticket Price: $112
• Seats Sold: 12.20 million
• Total Performances: 6,861
• Original Broadway Run: Oct. 20, 2003–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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1. ‘The Lion King’

• Total Gross: $1.68 billion
• Average Ticket Price: $107
• Seats Sold: 15.71 million
• Total Performances: 9,335
• Original Broadway Run: Nov. 13, 1997–present
• Revival Run(s): N/A

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Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates used BroadwayWorld.com and the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) — which both source their data from The Broadway League — to find the top 25 highest-grossing Broadway productions of all time. For each production, GOBankingRates found: (1) show name; (2) total gross for original runs and revivals as of March 15, 2020; (3) average ticket price; (4) seats sold; (5) total performances including previews; as well as (6) the dates of the original run of the productions and any revivals. All data is up to date as of Feb. 17, 2021, and only includes data for the Broadway productions of each show — national tours and other such runs were not included in final data.

About the Author

Laura Woods

Laura Woods is a freelance writer with more than 10 years of experience. She specializes in a variety of topics, including marketing, personal finance, entertainment and lifestyle. Her work has been featured on dozens of sites, including HuffPost, CNBC, Business Insider, Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo, Fortune, Inc., Entrepreneur and POPSUGAR. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Robert Morris University.

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