Wicked Broadway Musical grossed $1,657,584 and had an attendance rate of 95.9%, about 1.6% less than that of the previous week. The 23 shows on the boards grossed $18,315,911, dropping around 4.03% from the previous week’s totals.

Below are the Top 14 Grosses from BroadwayWorld.com for the week ending February 24, 2013.

1. The Lion King – (MINSKOFF) $1,779,324
2. Wicked – (GERSHWIN) $1,657,584
3. The Book Of Mormon – (EUGENE O’NEILL) $1,607,985
4. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark – (FOXWOODS) $1,212,082
5. Cinderella – (BROADWAY) $1,045,064
6. Mary Poppins – (NEW AMSTERDAM) $1,022,585
7. Annie – (PALACE) $972,128
8. Once – (JACOBS) $969,147
9. The Phantom Of The Opera – (MAJESTIC) $950,908
10. Newsies – (NEDERLANDER) $926,915
11. Jersey Boys – (AUGUST WILSON) $844,357
12. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof – (RICHARD RODGERS) $725,106
13. Nice Work If You Can Get It – (IMPERIAL) $699,893
14. Mamma Mia! – (WINTER GARDEN) $680,908

{Via BroadwayWorld.com}

Tony winner Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot: The Musical, is now the frontrunner to direct Universal’s big screen adaptation of the blockbuster musical Wicked, according to Deadline.com. Directors previously rumored to helm the project include Ryan Murphy, Rob Marshall, J.J. Abrams and James Mangold. No casting or start date for the project have been announced.

Stephen Daldry in Talks to Direct Wicked Film

Wicked musical opened on October 30, 2003 and won three Tony Awards. A reimagining of the classic The Wizard of Oz, Wicked spotlights the untold stories of two of Oz’s most famous characters, the Wicked Witch of the West and her unlikely friend, Glinda the Good.

The Broadway production of Wicked currently stars Jackie Burns as Elphaba, Chandra Lee Schwartz as Glinda, Richard H. Blake as Fiyero, Randy Danson as Madame Morrible and Adam Grupper as The Wizard. Wicked is currently touring in San Diego, CA and Ottawa, ON Canada.

Box offices returns improved once again this past week with ticket sales reporting $22,207,681. Ticket sales of the previous reporting period ending March 13 were $18,553,510, a difference of 3,654,171, Ticket sales are 2.7 percent ahead.

Five of the 31 current productions reported box office receipts in excess of $1 million including Wicked at the Gershwin, leading again at $1,670,779.

The other Broadway shows in the Million club are :
The Lion King at the Minskoff, $1,612,549,
Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark at the Foxwoods, at $1,405,868,
Jersey Boys at the August Wilson, $1,064,222
“Mary Poppins” at the New Amsterdam, $1,057,164

Attendance reported for the week overall was 88.27 percent, with 14 shows reporting 95 percent or better. The leading four were the musical “The Book of Mormon” at 101.76 percent, “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” at 100.42 percent, “The Lion King” at 100.04 percent and “Wicked” reporting 100 percent. “Million Dollar Quartet” at the Nederlander reported the lowest percentage of capacity at 55.51 percent.

The greatest musical Wicked ranked highest in achieving its Gross Gross Potential at 106.66 percent this week.

{Via TicketNews.com}