Harry Potter and the Cursed Child becomes Broadway’s most expensive play
By Callum Gunn
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has broken a number of West End and Broadway records and that trend doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has broken a variety of records, both in Britain and the U.S., It continues to hold the title of most Olivier Awards (fitting for the fandom) and currently holds Broadway’s title for most money made. That record-breaking trend continues with the latest Broadway record broken.
The Harry Potter continuation story has become Broadway’s most expensive play. Fortunately, the risk of such an expense has paid off with the ticket sales. Not only that, but the British company Ambassador Theater Group spent about $23 million to end Cirque du Soleil to make room for the play. Despite many in the wizardry fandom not viewing the play as canon, flocks of fans have gone to see it.
(Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
More from Harry Potter
- Tom Felton is the star of the new Harry Potter x CASETiFY collection
- Create a magical event worthy of Hogwarts with this new Harry Potter-themed party planning book
- Can Fantastic Beasts hold up to the Harry Potter franchise?
- Show off your Wizard’s Chess skills with this Harry Potter set that’s now over half off
- Harry Potter continues to inspire generations – including Jack Harlow
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
The play, which opens at the Lyric Theatre, New York at the weekend, cost about $68.5 million. However, the play has already brought in $2.1 million within the first week of April, when it was running previews.
The majority of plays (everything told through words) on Broadway will only have a budget of $5 million. It’s the musicals (most told through song) that get away with the higher budgets. For example, the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark cost around $75 million and holds the record for the most expensive musical on Broadway.
Most Broadway plays cost less than $5 million to create. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which officially opens this month, costs $68 million. https://t.co/S3VkifFeTO
— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 15, 2018
Watch your favorite shows on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!
It doesn’t look like anyone on Broadway is worried about the high investment. The production has already performed extremely well on London’s West End and the main cast has moved over to New York to continue the story. This is a production expected to run for years to come. If it can gather back $2 million in the first week in previews, think of what it can do for the next few years! Plus the script is available in stores and has already sold 4.5 million copies so far in the U.S. alone.
Next: Hermione Granger is still one of the best female characters out there
Are you planning on seeing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? Are you surprised by the Broadway record broken again? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Don’t forget to follow Wizards and Whatnot on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest Wizarding World news and opinions.