Robert Downey Jr. Broadway Debut ‘McNeal’ Sells Out Another Week; ‘The Roommate’ Slips $122G With Two Covid-Canceled Performances

Broadway added a couple shows and a 7% bump in receipts last week, with a roster of recent arrivals like McNeal, Yellow Face and The Roommate drawing considerable interest.

Most shows saw an uptick in box office and solid business for the week ending September 15. McNeal, starring Robert Downey Jr. in his Broadway debut, sold out its five previews at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, grossing $954,624, while Yellow Face, the David Henry Hwang play starring Daniel Dae Kim at the Roundabout’s Todd Haimes Theatre, filled 97% of seats at the venue, taking in $148,415 for three previews. (McNeal officially opens September 30, Yellow Face on October 1.)

The Roommate, starring Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone, was a near sell-out at the Booth, with attendance at 97% of capacity for its opening week. The production took a $122,322 hit at the box office though, with both Saturday performances canceled due to Farrow’s Covid absence. Marsha Mason, the Goodbye Girl herself (and an associate director of the play), stepped in for Farrow at the Sunday matinee. In all, The Roommate took in $341,559 for the week’s three previews and three regular performances.

Newcomer The Hills of California, Jez Butterworth’s new play directed by Sam Mendes, sold 76% of seats at the Broadhurst, with the four previews taking in $279,238. Opening night is September 29.

Four shows were at 100% of capacity: Hell’s Kitchen, McNeal, Oh, Mary!, and Stereophonic. At more than 95% were Aladdin, Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, Chicago, Hadestown, Hamilton, MJ, Moulin Rouge!, The Book of Mormon, The Great Gatsby, The Lion King, The Outsiders, The Roommate, Wicked and Yellow Face.

In all, the 28 Broadway productions (up by 2 over the previous week) grossed a total $27,262,406, a jump of 7% over the previous week and an impressive 26% over the same time last year. Total attendance was 234,635, about 6% over the previous week and 16% year-over-year.

Season to date, Broadway, in the 17th week of the 2024-25 season, has grossed $534,274,214, up about 7% over last year at this time, with total attendance of 4,280,281 up about 5%.

All figures courtesy of The Broadway League. For complete box office listings, visit the League’s website.