The Highest Grossing Musicals on Broadway

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Just like Hollywood’s blockbuster movies, the highest grossing musicals on Broadway are famous for telling compelling stories with outstanding stage scenery. However, the main difference between these two industries is the musical talent of the cast, which keeps Broadway fans on their toes and running to the theatres year after year. From the dance choreographies to costume designs and song compositions, the musicals on this list have excelled in all aspects, making them absolute favourites amongst the audience.

While an astounding majority of the 15 highest grossing movies ever were filmed before the 1980’s, most of the musicals featured here earned big bucks in the past decade. The reason for this is unclear, but this could be due to the theatre ticket prices, which have become somewhat more accessible to the general audience over the years, or because Hollywood’s film adaptations of Broadway classics have increased the originals’ popularity. Either way, the highest grossing musicals on Broadway are definitely worth watching.

9. Mary Poppins

Broadway Gross: $294.56 million

Running Date: 11/16/2006 – 03/03/2013

The world famous book by P.L. Travers tells the story of the Banks family that hires the magical nanny Mary Poppins to take care of their children in London. Long after Disney created the classic movie version of this tale, Broadway launched its musical, which gained instant popularity due to its charming cast.

8. Cats

Broadway Gross: $366.38 million

Running Date: 10/07/1982 – 09/10/2000

Directed by Andrew Lloyd Weber, and based on the T.S. Eliot poems, this musical has enjoyed a very successful run on Broadway. For almost two decades, fans have stormed the theatres to watch the performance of a group of cats that rally a junkyard in the hopes of proving their worthiness of entering the Heaviside layer, where they live out another set of nine lives.

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