Bold opening: A savage snowstorm didn’t just blank out sidewalks — it paused Broadway, dampening audiences and receipts alike. Yet one star and a fearless show kept the flame alive, turning a stormy week into a notable tale of resilience.
New York City’s winter weather hammered Broadway last week, canceling performances and scaring off potential ticket buyers, which pulled the 27 productions’ gross down by 17% from the prior week.
With Monday night shows wiped out and snow piles keeping foot traffic at bay, total grosses for the week ending March 1 fell to $26,036,589, down from about $32 million the week before. Attendance slid 8% to 221,567. The average Broadway ticket price also cooled, dipping from $130.38 to $117.51.
Shows that typically rely on Monday evenings bore the brunt, as February 23 performances were scrubbed due to the February 22 blizzard. With seven performances instead of eight, heavy hitters like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (down to $2,159,398), Six: The Musical (down to $440,849), and The Great Gatsby (down to $673,576) all suffered notable declines.
Across the board, 24 of the 27 productions posted meaningful week-over-week drops. Three shows bucked the trend: Chess, which benefited from Lea Michele’s return after a short break and climbed by $381,595 to $1,166,962; Hadestown, in its final run with key cast members, up by $160,566 to $1,303,532; and Every Brilliant Thing, featuring Daniel Radcliffe, up to $980,815 — a jump of $676,388 despite losing a Monday performance and adding two preview performances just before opening. The latter opened March 12 at the Hudson and sold 98% of seats during the snowy week.
Chicago, featuring Whitney Leavitt (known from Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives) as Roxie Hart, pulled in $1,181,277, down modestly by $59,706, with about 98% of Ambassador Theatre seats filled across seven performances.
Holdouts for the week included Hadestown, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Just in Time, and Ragtime (the latter two also selling 98% of seats). Moulin Rouge!, Stranger Things: The First Shadow, The Lion King, The Outsiders, and Wicked all reached at least 90% capacity.
Other productions felt the weather’s bite more sharply: & Juliet dropped from 95% to 85% capacity, Aladdin from 97% to 87%, and Buena Vista Social Club from 96% to 85%. Similar dips appeared for Death Becomes Her, Maybe Happy Ending, MJ, Oh, Mary!, Operation Mincemeat, Six, The Book of Mormon, The Great Gatsby, and Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York).
Top weekly earners were Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ($2,159,398); Hamilton ($1,756,444); Just in Time ($1,484,852); The Lion King ($1,326,036); and Wicked ($1,307,242).
Season to date, Broadway’s 2025-26 run has reached $1,451,715,100 in gross, about 7% higher than last year at this point, with total attendance at 10,879,802, up roughly 3%. The Broadway League provides the figures.
What’s your take on how weather risk should influence Broadway planning and ticket strategy? Do cancellations ever create a long-term curiosity about a show, or do they simply deter audiences? Share your thoughts in the comments.
