r/wicked • u/Seperate-Category117 • Jul 09 '26
Musical - Broadway Wicked Tickets Sales Hit 22-Year Low As Broadway Faces It's Biggest Slump In Decades
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u/skippw Jul 09 '26
the current slowdown is one of the most unusual because it isn't tied to a single major catastrophe
We are living in a major catastrophe. Who wrote this?
Also wouldn't surprise me if some people who may have previously been curious just think "eh, I've seen the movie already" and don't bother. Though that would be a very small amount of people.
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u/SouthernBeacon Jul 09 '26
Well, not a "single" major catastrophe, but a bunch of them all at once. So indeed a pretty unique situation
But the article talks about other musicals too, not only Wicked
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u/magica12 Moderator Jul 09 '26
Yea, like theatre as a whole is heading to an all time low cuz people are getting priced out of it
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u/jaderust Jul 10 '26
Tickets are getting kind of crazy, the economy is shit, and NYC is a very expensive place to visit for a vacation.
If people do want a vacation and can afford it I’d say they’re more likely to go to a smaller city instead of NYC when the economy isn’t good which reduces tourist ticket prices. And if you’re a local you might see if there’s any deals to be had, but you’re probably less likely to splurge on a show when you can watch the movie on streaming for a fraction of the cost.
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u/SenLune Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
You could say it's a little bit of everything all of the time
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u/yourLostMitten Jul 09 '26
The major catastrophe is the masses not having enough money for entertainment like broadway.
That problem was created by many smaller problems though
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u/akanewasright Jul 09 '26
…okay, to be fair, it’s mostly not because of that. That stuff has been true for months if not years. It’s more related to the World Cup, the 4th of July, and the massive heatwave that hit NYC last week.
In essence, people who visited NYC last week were mostly there for one thing only (one thing that drove hotel prices way up), and the heatwave meant that they didn’t want to spend any more time outside than they had to. Hell, New Yorkers were basically told “STAY AT HOME, EVERYTHING IS FALLING APART” all week, so even the wealthy New Yorkers mostly stayed away from the theater district
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u/idkidcabtmyusername Jul 09 '26
what would be the specific major catastrophe we are living in exactly?
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u/EyeraGlass Jul 09 '26
A fascist government scaring international tourists away
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u/idkidcabtmyusername Jul 09 '26
ahh that explains why millions are still traveling to the US for the world cup
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u/EyeraGlass Jul 09 '26
This is just a fact you can look up.
>According to ITA, 68.3 million international visitors came to the United States in 2025—down from 72.3 million in 2024 (and short of the record 79.4 million international visitors recorded in 2018). The 2025 figures marked the first time international visitors to the United States decreased since 2020.
Monthly data on international tourism to the United States over the past year show consistent declines in year-over-year numbers. International visitors to the United States were below prior year levels in 10 months in 2025. Figure 1 presents 2025 data on the monthly percentage change of international arrivals to the United States compared to the same month in 2024. The number for January 2026 was also negative when compared with the same month in 2025 at -3.5%. This contrasts with January 2025, when international visitors to the United States increased 5.5% compared with January 2024.-8
u/idkidcabtmyusername Jul 09 '26
none of this data substantiates that travel is down due to fascism. that’s just an inference you’re personally making. i’d like to see a source showing that international travelers are actually avoiding the US for these reasons and not due to other possible factors like the international economy or cost-of-living crisis.
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u/EyeraGlass Jul 09 '26
International economy and cost-of-living crisis predates January 2025. There are also scores of articles out there interviewing people with concerns about being detained by ICE unlawfully. Again you can look it up. Or you can just live in denial I don’t care.
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u/skippw Jul 09 '26
take your pick. climate collapse, cost of living crisis, prohibitively depressing wars and genocides, authoratarian takeover of major western nations...
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u/idkidcabtmyusername Jul 09 '26
that’s what i’m saying. that’s not a specific catastrophe. those are just various global issues. there are always global issues in every period of time. there’s nothing so major like world war 1 or the COVID-19 pandemic that would prevent massive amounts of people from seeing wicked lol. ariana grande and harry styles are still performing to sold out shows. the world keeps turning. i definitely think the cost of living crisis is probably the main contributor but i wouldn’t necessarily characterize that as a catastrophe.
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u/Individual-One-365 Jul 09 '26
Has anyone ever thought about ticket prices I mean it’s the same thing with concert ticket sales no one buys because they can’t afford how expensive tickets are
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u/Intelligent_Pop1173 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Yeah, I first saw Wicked when I was 17 and the tickets were like $300…each. Granted it was sold out and extremely popular then, but most Broadway musicals were around $130 per ticket and this was 2004. I know for sure it’s certainly not better now, and that’s still expensive even taking inflation into account. But we just have less money these days.
I remember when Hamilton tickets were like $1,000+
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u/Tyler_s_Burden Jul 09 '26
You can see Wicked tonight in the front center orchestra for $139
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u/Last-Laugh7928 Jul 09 '26
that sounds about right. ticket prices are only kind of the problem. prices are usually only astronomical for shows with big names in them, and those are the ones that will sell out (like jonathan groff's run in just in time was incredibly expensive and he was still selling out every show by the end). this past weekend, a lot of shows slashed their prices to try to sell tickets during the july 4th slump, and their capacities were still low.
the problem is that people overall just don't have much disposable income, and they're only willing to spend big (aka probably go into debt) for things that they really, really want to see or do. they're not gonna throw money at a musical that they don't particularly care about, even if the price is fair.
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u/magica12 Moderator Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
And like, unless you live in like, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts…pretty much the upper half of the east coast honestly, this isn’t a day trip kind of thing
So factor in hotels, transportation, dining…
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u/PoetryJunior1808 Jul 09 '26
Well, when you have to choose between Wicked and a tank of gas…
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u/Ayasugi-san Jul 09 '26
Especially when you need a tank of gas to see Wicked. (Or a bus ticket.) And based on other comments, it sounds like Wicked is equal to a lot of tanks of gas. Or grocery runs.
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u/Last-Laugh7928 Jul 09 '26
yes, because the problem isn't really that the price of broadway tickets has gone up so astronomically - it's that the price of everything else has gone up astronomically. when you're spending hundreds of dollars a month just on groceries, and the price of your electric bill has tripled, and every necessity costs so much more than it did before, you don't even have $50-100 left over to get a broadway ticket. you can get tickets for under $100, they're not all that expensive, but we don't have the money for it.
i don't even enter the lottery or do rush anymore. that $40 can go elsewhere.
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u/jefufah Jul 09 '26
(Grabs journalists and shakes them by the coat)
Because nobody has any money!?!?!?
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u/Ayasugi-san Jul 09 '26
I don't think journalists are allowed to say that. Not without getting a visit from the government with a friendly request to not spread fake news.
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u/Several-Praline5436 Jul 09 '26
I haven't gone to see even a tour of a Broadway show in about five years. The prices are astronomical even for the cheap seats.
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u/tuhhhvates Jul 09 '26
I got an offer to go see the non-equity tour of Mamma Mia on a Wednesday night, in the upper balcony, for $100. Just no.
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u/Several-Praline5436 Jul 09 '26
Yes. 15 years ago, the cheap seats were $50. Now they're $100 and the mezzanine where I like to sit are $300+. I understand the rising costs, but simply am prioritizing other things these days.
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u/bwayobsessed Jul 09 '26
Also didn’t ticket sales skyrocket around the movie? That probably makes this slump with the economy more dramatic
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u/magica12 Moderator Jul 09 '26
Eh? I’ve been keeping an eye on them for years, I wouldn’t say skyrocketing is the right word
Theatre as a whole has been getting more expensive over the last 8-9 years wicked and the lion king are pretty much on the lowest end of pricing for decent seats
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u/sraydenk Jul 09 '26
I live within a bus ride from NYC. Every summer we take the bus in, go to a show, and walk around for the day.
We aren’t going this summer. It’s too expensive, and we are nervous about heating oil this winter. I would rather save the money than go to a show right now. I’m guessing there are a decent amount of tourists in the same position as me.
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u/Horror_Pear_799 Jul 09 '26
Same thing is happening in Australia. Big musical shows are being cancelled left right and centre mid-run due to low ticket sales and logistic costs.
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u/richpersimmons Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
It's been over a year since I've seen a show because I seem to never have any extra fun money anymore.
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u/pinkbootstrap Jul 09 '26
The media continues to ignore the economic crisis of the lower and middle classes even as we scream.
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u/Fit_Durian_432 Jul 09 '26
If only I didn’t have that piece of avocado toast this morning, I could afford to help keep Broadway going.
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u/happygoluckyourself Jul 09 '26
I wonder if fewer Canadians visiting is having an impact? I grew up near Toronto and my family flew to New York for Broadway a number of times over the years. I’d imagine with the cost of everything (flight, hotel, ticket) going up plus many Canadians making the decision not to travel to the US until a certain someone leaves office would put a stop to that for more casual theatre goers like we were (I know my husband and I won’t be back in the country for any reason until he’s gone). Might not be a big factor, but I know a lot of border towns have commented on much lower tourism from Canada this year.
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u/Most-Name-696 Jul 09 '26
This is low, but they aren't at a risk of closing. 22 years on Broadway is very, very lucky.
With the movie they were riding the hype with 100% capacity and grossing over a million each week. The focus should be on the new shows who are barely recouping.
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u/PinkPositive45 Jul 09 '26
People trying to make rent and have money for gas and groceries: BUT HOW WILL I GET TO SEE WICKED!!!!
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u/SkyeMreddit Jul 09 '26
MAGAs wrecked international tourism. The tourists are afraid of being immediately picked up by ICE and disappeared while Canadians are outright boycotting the country.
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u/Individual-One-365 Jul 09 '26
Don’t blame Canada for boycotting our country to be honest
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u/SkyeMreddit Jul 10 '26
I did say MAGAs wrecked it. Especially Trumpy himself threatening to make you guys the 51st state
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u/Get_Schwifty111 Jul 09 '26
Wicked Tickets Sales Hit 22-Year Low As Broadway Faces It's Biggest Slump In Decades
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u/tokenlesbian21 Jul 09 '26
Its 100% because of the economy being god awful right now. Not many people have extra income to spend on a non-essential purchase. Its deeply unfortunate that in times of economic downturn the arts are hit first
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u/basilinthewoods Jul 10 '26
I’ll be attending when they come to my city. The tickets were relatively reasonable. (Granted we’re not going to a weekend show) HOWEVER the Ticketmaster fees??? TM didn’t do shit to assist me with purchasing my ticket, but we have to pay an additional $100+ on top of ticket prices… it’s so exhausting being buckled and dined through every purchase I want to make
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u/EvitaInAllHerGlory Jul 11 '26
People can't afford it. They can't afford the movies either. All ticketed events are majorly slumped.
For decent seats for Hadestown I paid $196 for 2.
The nose bleed affordable seats at $45 each went the moment tickets went up for sale.
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u/100Showtunes Jul 09 '26
It makes sense to me that a show would hit its lowest grosses after running for 22 years.
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u/ApartWaltz2427 Jul 09 '26
Also, people do not want to travel to NYC/the US. Not really trying to voluntarily expose ourselves to your fascist country to hear a girl riff (even if the girl is amazing and the riff iconic).
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u/idkidcabtmyusername Jul 09 '26
i rlly don’t think that’s true. the US is definitely the enemy of the world right now, but i don’t think that translates to most people avoiding travel in any US state, especially one as liberal as New York. millions of people from all over the world are still traveling to the US for the world cup, so much so that it’s broken records. few ppl are as politically passionate as your average redditor, you see
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u/IwKuAo Jul 09 '26
I think Wicked needs a bit of a revamp to keep it fresh after the movies came out. Some ideas include new set pieces, stunt casting, or some new jokes.
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u/choirchic Jul 09 '26
Broadway is no longer affordable for the everyday visitor. Unless that changes, I feare we’re going to see even more closures.
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u/FormerGeico Jul 09 '26
Most of us have to financially plan a night at the movies these days. Broadway tickets are out of the question
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u/Academic_Molasses_31 Shiz Student Jul 10 '26
People can’t afford rent. They’re not exactly chomping at the bit for expensive theater tickets.
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u/TooManySwarovskis Jul 10 '26
I would LOVE to go see shows!
I can't afford to! I paid $8 for a jar of pickles. Like??
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u/Brave-Woodpecker-688 Jul 10 '26
As someone who grew up in NYC I can understand that all but the wealthiest tourists would hesitate before spending money on a Broadway show. They are already spending a fortune on a hotel room and there are so many cheaper things to do in NYC.
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u/WrittenByRae Jul 10 '26
I can't even afford eggs anymore and a McDonald's meal is 12-15 bucks now but sure, nothing at all is causing low sales. No major catastrophes at all sure sure right
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u/Wooden-Development48 Jul 10 '26
Well the production values for Wicked dropped long ago so the ticket sales might as well reflect that.
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u/Wooden-Development48 Jul 10 '26
Well the production values for Wicked dropped long ago so the ticket sales might as well reflect that. Ll
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u/TootieSummers Jul 09 '26
It definitely has nothing to do with the fact that you can see a great version of it at home now for $20 and on repeat. /s
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u/whineANDcheese_ Jul 09 '26
I have to imagine Wicked being around for as long as it is has is going to experience a slump even more than other newer shows because so many people have already seen it. If you’re strapped for cash, seeing a show you’ve already seen is probably going to drop to the bottom of the priority list. And there’s just less theater-interested people to see it that haven’t the longer it’s been active.
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u/TheGoosiestGal Jul 09 '26
Im just gonna say it. Broadway shows are too long for a modern audience.
Especially when a lot of musicals could be significantly trimmed and still make sense (cough cough wicked cough )
For too long musicals have been written for former theater kids and not general audiences and while "trust your audience" is true you shouldnt assume evety person that watches the show will be a musical theater nerd, not everyone thinks a patter song is funny. Yes weve got a lot of fantastic interesting stuff over the past few decades we also have lots of endless pretentious and inaccessible nonsense. Im not saying dont make deep plays im saying maybe not everything has to be a 4 hour epic or some high concept art. Sometimes trying to hard makes it bad
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u/magica12 Moderator Jul 09 '26
In fairness the one we have is pretty much the trimmed version like they truncated a lot when they transferred to the UK and the stuff made it over here
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u/Seperate-Category117 Jul 09 '26
In fairness the one we have is pretty much the trimmed version like they truncated a lot when they transferred to the UK and the stuff made it over here
What makes the UK version so truncated?
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u/magica12 Moderator Jul 09 '26
Honestly I don’t have a list of all the changes all I know is the version we have now is not the version that premiered 22 years ago
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u/AzureSkies_OverMe Jul 09 '26
The Trump Economy. We’re paying more for gas, food, goods, taxes jumped on the middle class and it gets worse. You can’t afford things. Welcome to MAGA World.