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Monday, Nov 26, 2012 9:15 PM UTC

Broadway box offices rejoice this Thanksgiving

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Topics: From the Wires,

Broadway box offices rejoice this ThanksgivingFILE - In this file theater publicity image provided by Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Andrew Rannells, center, performs with an ensemble cast in "The Book of Mormon" at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in New York. Most Broadway shows had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving; box offices jumped more than $6 million from the previous week. Some of the biggest winners were “The Book of Mormon” and “Annie,” which both set house records. (AP Photo/Boneau/Bryan-Brown, Joan Marcus, File)(Credit: AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Most Broadway shows had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving — box offices jumped more than $6 million from the previous week.

The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, released data Monday that showed most shows roared back from a post-Superstorm Sandy listlessness, pulling in $27,019,880 for the week ending Sunday, far better than the $20,881,272 it earned during the seven-day period before.

The perennial No. 1 show, “Wicked,” was the biggest winner, generating the highest eight-performance week in Broadway history. It saw its gross rise $692,343 to finish the week at $2,290,819.

“Annie” set a house record at the Palace Theatre, grossing $1,499,197 and slipping past the old record held by the last revival of “West Side Story” set in January 2010.

“The Book of Mormon” continued to top itself, earning a whopping $1,801,627 for the week, the 42nd time it has broken its own house record at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.

Disney also had reason to cheer. Its “Newsies” broke the record at the Nederlander Theatre with $1,106,383 and “The Lion King,” which just celebrated its 15th year on Broadway, took in $2,125,561, a house record for an eight-show week at the Minskoff Theatre. “The Lion King” posted a massive increase of $723,493, more than several shows made all week.

It was welcome news for producers, who had watched helplessly as Superstorm Sandy closed theaters for several days and eventually cost them $8.5 million. But the latest numbers also show that despite the gains, Broadway box offices still lag the $28,086,475 earned during the same week last season.

Two holiday shows, “Elf” and a musical based on the holiday movie “A Christmas Story,” logged nine performances over the week, one more than the average of eight, and both saw revenues jump. “Elf” scored $997,145 and “A Christmas Story” took in $1,104,312.

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