A Fast Start for ‘Lucky Guy’ on Broadway

The new Tom Hanks play “Lucky Guy” posted some big box office numbers by Broadway standards in its first weekend, as did the long-running musical “Mary Poppins” during its final week of performances, according to ticket sales data released on Monday by the Broadway League of theater owners and producers.

“Lucky Guy,” a biodrama by Nora Ephron starring Mr. Hanks as the New York City tabloid columnist Mike McAlary, benefited from strong sales of premium-priced $348 tickets to audience members eager to see the two-time Academy Award winner make his Broadway debut. “Lucky Guy” had the second highest average paid admission of any Broadway show last week â€" $153.17 - only outdone by the hit musical “Book of Mormon” at $181.92. By comparison, the Scarlett Johansson-led revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” had the next highest paid admission for a Broadway play, at $92.56.

or its first two performances last weekend, “Lucky Guy” grossed a total of $367,156 - or 125 percent of the maximum possible gross if all tickets were sold at the play’s standard price range of $85-$135. The show was sold out, and about 20 standing-room spots were also sold for each performance. With those numbers, “Lucky Guy” is easily on track to gross more than $1 million a week - fairly rare for a straight play - once full weeks of performances are underway.

Disney’s “Mary Poppins,” meanwhile, ended its six-and-a-half year run on Sunday on a high note. The show grossed $1,006,157 for its eight performances last week - a number made even stronger by the fact that many seats were provided complimentary at the final performance for friends and relatives of the “Poppins” cast and crew! as well as to production alumni, a spokesman for the show said.

The top-five hottest sellers on Broadway last week were the musicals “Mormon,” “Wicked,” “The Lion King,” “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” and “Mary Poppins.”

Overall, Broadway musicals and plays grossed $17.2 million last week, compared with $18.3 million the previous week and $16.9 million for the comparable week last season.