Hugh Jackman, Bradley Cooper brings up Broadway ticket sales

Broadway’s overall box offices are doing great business these days, and it’s mainly because of the two leading men - Hugh Jackman and Bradley Cooper. Hugh’s The River and Bradley’s The Elephant Man are still in previews but have become some of the most demanding tickets in town.

Jackman with his Tony-winning role in the musical The Boy From Oz, cop drama A Steady Rain, in which he starred opposite Daniel Craig, and with his 2011 concert vehicle, Hugh Jackman, back on Broadway, has proven to be a powerhouse draw in the past. No doubt Jackman’s name on a marquee alone is box-office gold but The River is considered a far more challenging work.

If we look at the figures, Jackman pulled in $917,000 with the average ticket going for $160 over eight shows last week. On the other hand, the average ticket for Cooper’s show sold for $163 and collected $520,000 from just four shows. As per the Broadway League figures, from its 35 shows last week’s total was $27.6 million, $2 million more than the last season’s same week and about $4 million than last week.

It’s rare for plays on Broadway to bring up the kind of numbers usually exclusive to hit musicals; well this clearly shows that Cooper, Jackman and others or we can say star wattage matters a lot.