Broadway grosses over $1B annually

Broadway is the epicenter of the American theater world

Broadway is shorthand for the Broadway theater district, an area in New York City's Manhattan borough that occupies a segment of Broadway, a 13-mile road. Although the Broadway theater district has a relatively small geographic footprint, its 41 theaters stage some of the world's most popular productions of plays and musicals.

Broadway employs tens of thousands of people in various roles

While we often just think of the actors and directors who take top billing, Broadway productions operate as distinct businesses employing numerous people in various roles: stage managers, sound designers, house managers, ushers and more.

Broadway is a theater district in New York

There are 41 official Broadway theaters in New York City, all within a few blocks of Times Square, a key contributor to the area's prestige and economic success. These theaters host the productions eligible for Tony Awards.

The 'Wicked' movies turned an already-successful Broadway show into a behemoth

The production was already one of the most successful in Broadway history, but the release of the first movie kicked it into overdrive: It grossed 15% more in 2024, the year "Wicked: Part I" was released, than the previous year, bringing in more than $112M.

Plenty of excellent shows take place far outside the Big Apple

Regional theaters like the La Jolla Playhouse often act as testing grounds for Broadway, allowing audiences to witness groundbreaking world premieres before they hit the Great White Way.

Broadway's nickname is 'the Great White Way'

Thanks to the advent of electricity, by the middle of the 19th century, theaters in the Broadway area were illuminated by lampposts and marquees. The nickname “the Great White Way” describes how it looked at night. The term is still used today.

Many shows close without earning a profit

Broadway is a tough market, and a show closing early is relatively common, especially in the winter: Between December 2024 and February 2025, 17 shows closed. It's more than just low ticket sales: Broadway shows face a number of hurdles to success, including stop clauses and bad reviews.

Taylor Swift's Eras tour was the first tour ever to gross over $1B, and caused the Federal Reserve to acknowledge its impact on regional economies.

Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway are about more than location

A Broadway theater is located in Manhattan and seats more than 500 people. Off-Broadway theaters have 100 to 499 seats, while off-off-Broadway theaters house up to 100.

Broadway's superfans unite at BroadwayCon

Like ComicCon for theater lovers, BroadwayCon convenes annually in New York and offers panels, meet-and-greets, and, of course, singalongs. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

The Eras Tour generated $2B in ticket sales, but $5B in consumer spending

Taylor Swift has achieved such high-profile status, her music and tours influence a broad swath of industries, communities, and economies. “Swiftonomics” is the term used to describe how Taylor’s tours, merchandise sales, and brand boost everything from local business receipts to tourism in a community.

Brooks' Broadway adaptation of 'The Producers' was a massive hit when it debuted in 2001, and broke a record for most Tony wins.

Broadway's 10 biggest flops

For every "Carousel" or "Cabaret," there's a "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark"—a show that never found its footing, sometimes in a public and disastrous way. Here are 10 Broadway musicals the producers and stars would probably rather we forget. Some, like "The Rocky Horror Show" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's," were eventually revived and relatively well received. Others, like "Into the Light"—which involved mimes, metaphysics, and the legend of the Shroud of Turin—have rightfully stayed buried.

Tony Awards are given only to shows playing in theaters with more than 500 seats

That means only shows playing in Broadway theaters are eligible for Tonys. Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theaters have fewer seats.

Nonprofit theaters are incubators for new theater

Unlike commercial Broadway theaters, ticket sales account for only a fraction of nonprofit theaters' income. This lets them take chances on new playwrights and innovative shows, including Lin Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" and Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George."

Regional theaters help develop shows for Broadway

Theaters like the La Jolla Playhouse often act as testing grounds for Broadway, allowing audiences to witness groundbreaking world premieres before they hit the Great White Way.

Oktoberfest generates over $1B every year

As one of the largest festivals in the world, Oktoberfest is an economic mainstay for Munich. Analysts estimate the annual beer fest contributes at least $1.4B in revenue to the city alone, accounting for roughly 2% of the city's gross domestic product.

The best Broadway oral histories

What do you get when you combine elite performers, spectacular sets, and tons of rehearsal time? Maybe an award-winning show, but definitely drama. This list of Broadway-based oral histories spans from RENT’s groundbreaking depiction of the AIDS crisis to the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on live theater. There’s even a retelling of how TikTok helped bring a musical version of Ratatouille to the stage for a one-night-only streaming exclusive.

Americans spent nearly $150B in sports-related bets in 2024

These bets ranged from who would win the World Series to what color clothes famous celebrities would wear to the Super Bowl. Experts believe the industry will continue to grow.

The longest-running Broadway musical is 'The Phantom of the Opera'

Andrew Lloyd Webber's legendary show holds the record for the longest-running musical on Broadway, with an astounding 13,981 performances. When it was announced the show would close, its dedicated "phans" rushed to buy tickets, leading to an unexpected extension.

Explore a breakdown of the US gross domestic product, including GDP's growth over time, the GDP of individual states, and which industries contribute the most to US GDP.

The US restaurant industry generates over $1T in sales

In 2024, the industry brought in $1.1T, and the National Restaurant Association anticipated reaching $1.5T in 2025, numbers that are considered a return to normal after the tumultuous years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The industry also employs a large workforce, with over 13 million employees. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

BTS makes big profits, and spends just as big

While the band has been on hiatus since 2022, there are remarkable insights into the band’s success, like a $44M profit from a six-show tour. Their profits allow them massive spending, with investments like a shared mansion in addition to owning their own multimillion-dollar apartments.

Why one highly anticipated Broadway musical flopped

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” had all the makings of a Broadway blockbuster, with acclaimed director Julie Taymour and music from U2’s Bono and the Edge, but technical mishaps and bad reviews plagued the musical, which closed with $60M in losses.

Comic-Con generates over $165M for the San Diego economy each year

San Diego’s community gets a significant boost from Comic‑Con, which draws around 135,000 attendees annually. It generates over $165M in regional spending—with more than $90M coming directly from visitors—and adds approximately $3.2M in city tax revenue.

Opera faces many economic problems today

Opera is a notably expensive art form, and therefore currently struggling to survive economically. Pandemic losses, reduced government funding, and dwindling ticket sales all pose a threat to its continuation. According to a recent survey, about half of the UK wouldn't feel impacted if all opera houses were shut down.

The New York MTA is North America's largest transit system

The MTA's FY2026 budget is $21.3B, and the system carried 1.6 billion riders on buses and subways in 2024, making it by far the largest transit network in the country.

Global box office revenues hit $33.5B in 2025

The number was a marked improvement from 2024, up 12% from a particularly sluggish year. Disney films—including "Lilo & Stitch" and "Zootopia 2"—were some of the year's biggest earners.

Nearly 3 million people fly in and out of US airports every day—but not all of those passengers generate revenue for the airlines they purchase their tickets from.

The film industry is responsible for more than 200K jobs in California

Hollywood films generate roughly $49B for the US economy each year. In California, the film industry provides more than 200,000 jobs. Industry employees were paid more than $42B in wages in 2022.

100 of Broadway's best songs

From the pathos of "One Day More" from "Les Misérables," to the soaring "Defying Gravity" from "Wicked," this video showcasing 100 of Broadway's best songs will keep any musical theater lover quite busy. While the list trends toward modern pieces, there are still plenty of selections from classics and Tony Award winners like "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Miss Saigon."

The complicated economics of horse racing

The Triple Crown commands big ratings (and enormous amounts of money in betting) but the sport as a whole is in a precarious position, thanks to limited tracks and an overreliance on subsidies. This special from Freakonomics unpacks what all that means for the future of the sport.

See a breakdown of every state's portion of the entire US gross domestic product.

Horror grossed more than $1B at the box office for the first time in 2017

It was the first time the genre broke the barrier for domestic box offices, powered by hits like "Get Out," "IT" and "Split." Since then, horror movies have remained commercial juggernauts: In 2025, the genre surpassed the $1B mark by September.

From 'Oh, Mary!' to 'Hamilton,' revisit 50 Broadway shows about a major American historical event or person.

US state economies compared to entire countries

This map compares US state economies by their gross domestic product to that of a similarly sized country. For instance, California has the largest state economy in the US, with a GDP nearly equal to that of India, the fifth-largest economy in the world. Click here to see how the rest of the states compare.

A Spider-Man musical became one of Broadway's biggest flops

Once hyped as a revolutionary stage production with music by U2's Bono and The Edge, and direction from Julie Taymor of "The Lion King," "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" became one of Broadway's most expensive flops.

Global eclipse tourism is a multibillion-dollar industry, with the 2024 total solar eclipse across North America estimated to have generated $6B in economic activity across regions along its path.

Broadway theaters reopened 48 hours after the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the request of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

In 2024, US airports generated over $1B of revenue—partly due to overpriced airport food

Some in the airport industry argue that charging street prices in airport restaurants isn't sustainable because it's more expensive to run a business inside an airport.

The economics of ski resorts

More than 480 ski resorts pack in nearly 65 million visitors each year in the US for historically high prices. Daily lift tickets may cost three figures at many locations. Amid industry consolidation and more stringent land use regulations, ski resorts are upping their prices—a factor that does not appear to be dampening the sport's popularity. Learn more here.

Hal Prince holds the record for most Tonys, with 21

As the producer and director of iconic shows like "West Side Story," "Sweeney Todd," and "Evita," Hal Prince made a huge impression on Broadway history. This episode of the "Anything Goes" podcast is part of a three-part series that highlights the songs that defined Prince's career.

Show business is increasingly leaving Hollywood

Using tax incentives, states like Georgia, New Jersey, and New Mexico are luring studios to produce their films and television shows outside of California. Changing business models after COVID-19 largely influenced this change.

Broadway's songwriters began experimenting in the 1920s

Broadway’s early decades were heavily influenced by opera and vaudeville, but songwriters in the 1920s began exploring more narrative-based songwriting and psychologically complex characters. That trend would continue in the following decades, though it would evolve in even more nuanced ways.

Ranking the world’s economies: 1980 vs. 2025

The US remains the world’s largest economy, having increased its annual gross domestic product from $2.9T in 1980 to $30.6T in 2025. In 1980, China ranked seventh globally with a GDP of $304B. In 2025, China ranked second with a GDP of $19.4T.

In 2024, 332 million visitors to America's national parks spent an estimated $29B in local surrounding economies.

10 books that get the theatre world right

The theatre world is filled with drama—both on and offstage—thanks to big egos, imagined slights, and tense interpersonal dynamics. Despite that reality, it's not easy to portray what goes on behind the scenes on the page. This list breaks down some of the exceptions, featuring 10 novels that accurately capture the insular world and fascinating personalities who populate it.

College football generates over $13B annually—but many programs run at a loss.

Mardi Gras has an annual economic impact of nearly $900M

Tulane University's Toni Weiss studies Mardi Gras' effect on New Orleans. Her study of the 2023 parade found that the event generated approximately $891M for the local economy. Weiss also found that the money that the city spent about $10M on the parade (for security, sanitation, and more) but earned a net fiscal benefit of $28M.

Netflix is the dominant streaming service

As of 2025, Netflix had amassed more than 300 million subscribers globally and saw quarterly revenue over $11B.