Wicked London stage show soars to record revenue
The West End production of Wicked, prequel to MGM classic The Wizard of Oz, reported its revenue rose 4.5 per cent to a record £27.8m last year.
The rise was thanks to hype for the movie based on it, which yesterday became the highest-earning musical adaptation of all time.
Mega stars Ariana Grande and Jeff Goldblum headline the film which has grossed $634.4m since it was released in November according to industry analyst Box Office Mojo.
Adapted from a book by American novelist Gregory Maguire, Wicked tells the story of the unlikely friendship between the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch who meet at university in the land of Oz and travel to the Emerald City to meet the wizard.
The show debuted to rave reviews at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre in 2003 and three years later opened in Westminster’s Apollo Victoria Theatre where it plays to this day.
It has cast a spell on audiences with more than 12m people watching it in London since its debut.
Last year its operating company, Wicked London Production, bucked the trend of declining revenues for many West End shows which were boosted by a strong surge in post-pandemic demand in 2022.
The company behind the renowned Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage play recently reported that its revenue fell 8.6 per cent to £41.3m in the year to 31 March, 2024 leaving it with a £876,003 pre-tax loss.
In contrast, over the almost-12 month period to 31 December, 2023, Wicked made a £1.1m pre-tax profit on its revenue which is generated from ticket sales and merchandise.
However, its profit was down 37.5 per cent on the previous period as costs increased 7.9 per cent to £26.8m with pay to the 151 staff alone rising by £412,639.
In nearly two decades Wicked has only made a loss twice in London with the first coming in its debut year when it was running for just three months and incurred considerable pre-opening costs. The second time was in 2020 when the pandemic temporarily brought the curtain down on the show.
Its accounts state that “the directors of the company are committed to keeping the production of Wicked on the London stage for as long as the show remains profitable.”
However, they caution that “the company faces competitive pressures from other producers in London to stage a successful production which will appeal to a large audience on an ongoing basis. The company carefully manages this risk by using its expertise to produce a quality show to a continually high standard which it hopes will continue to be popular with audiences.”
The show’s operating company is owned by media giant Comcast which also owns Universal Pictures, the studio behind the Wicked movie which has taken the box office by storm. It is set to work its magic on West End audiences all over again next year when the sequel to the movie is released in November.