'Losing $1 Million a Month': Broadway's Longest-Running Show Is Closing The Phantom of the Opera will take its final curtain call in February 2023.

By Jonathan Small

After nearly 35 years of delighting audiences on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera is closing. The final performance will take place on February 18, when the masked Phantom and the famed falling chandelier will make their last appearance—at least in New York.

The show opened in New York in 1988 and has had the longest run in Broadway history. It was also the most profitable for decades until The Lion King roared into town and took that crown.

The Phantom of the Opera has earned $1.30 billion during its impressive Broadway run, according to the Broadway League, and has played an astonishing 13,733 performances with over 19 million tickets sold. Three musical theater legends created it: composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, director Hal Prince, and producer Cameron Mackintosh.

As soon as Phantom of the Opera hit the stage in the 1980s, fans and critics couldn't get enough. The usually stuffy New York Times theater critic Frank Rich wrote:

"Only a terminal prig would let the avalanche of pre-opening publicity poison his enjoyment of this show, which usually wants nothing more than to shower the audience with fantasy and fun, and which often succeeds, at any price."

But the show has "struggled to recover since it reopened in October 2021 following the pandemic closure, and is losing some $1 million a month," reports The New York Post. A healthy show grosses around $3 million a week, but Phantom only brought in $800,000.

Twitter has responded with an outpouring of sadness and humor.
Jonathan Small

BIZ Experiences Staff

Founder, Strike Fire Productions

Jonathan Small is a bestselling author, journalist, producer, and podcast host. For 25 years, he has worked as a sought-after storyteller for top media companies such as The New York Times, Hearst, BIZ Experiences, and Condé Nast. He has held executive roles at Glamour, Fitness, and BIZ Experiences and regularly contributes to The New York Times, TV Guide, Cosmo, Details, Maxim, and Good Housekeeping. He is the former “Jake” advice columnist for Glamour magazine and the “Guy Guru” at Cosmo.

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