Top-Grossing Broadway Musicals of All Time

We live in a digital age, but live, non-screen entertainment still matters—musicals, in particular, remain hugely popular. According to the Broadway League, the 2018–2019 Broadway season drew 14,768,254 attendees and grossed $1,829,312,140, making it the best-attended and highest-grossing season on record.

Looking ahead, Broadway offerings to watch included new productions such as Diana, Mrs. Doubtfire and Flying Over Sunset—each with the potential to become the next major hit. Meanwhile, below is a curated list of the 20 highest-grossing Broadway musicals to date, presented with context about their runs and achievements.

20. Dear Evan Hansen

Gross to date: $223,128,511*

*These figures are raw grosses; long-running shows complicate accurate inflation adjustments.

Dear Evan Hansen opened at the Music Box Theatre on December 4, 2016, starring Ben Platt as a socially anxious high school senior. The show won six Tony Awards in 2017, including Best Musical, Best Score and Best Actor. The role of Evan has since been played by actors including Andrew Barth Feldman, the 2018 Jimmy Award winner.

19. Hairspray

Gross to date: $252,181,270

Based on John Waters’s 1988 film, Hairspray premiered at the Neil Simon Theatre on August 15, 2002. The comedic, heartwarming story of Tracy Turnblad won eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran successfully until January 4, 2009.

18. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Gross to date: $270,497,162

Beautiful, which chronicles the early life and career of Carole King, opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on January 12, 2014, with Jessie Mueller in the lead. On its fifth anniversary, Carole King joined the company on stage. The Broadway run concluded on October 27, 2019.

17. Rent

Gross to date: $274,248,128

Jonathan Larson’s rock musical Rent, inspired by Puccini’s La Bohème, opened at the Nederlander Theatre on April 29, 1996. Launching the careers of performers like Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs, Rent also popularized Broadway ticket lotteries that make performances more accessible.

16. The Producers

Gross to date: $288,361,724

Adapted from the 1967 film, The Producers opened at the St. James Theatre on April 19, 2001, and set a record for single-day box-office sales, taking in more than $3 million on opening. The show earned 12 Tony Awards—breaking a long-standing record—and closed on April 22, 2007.

15. Mary Poppins

Gross to date: $294,558,648

Mary Poppins, adapted from P.L. Travers’s books and the 1964 Disney film, opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16, 2006, with Ashley Brown as the magical nanny. The Broadway production ran until March 3, 2013.

14. Kinky Boots

Gross to date: $318,990,092

With music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, Kinky Boots—based on the 2005 British film and inspired by true events—opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013. The show won six Tony Awards and made Lauper the first woman to win a solo Tony for Best Score. It closed on April 7, 2019.

13. Miss Saigon

Gross to date: $332,103,948

Inspired by Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon tells a tragic love story set during the Vietnam War. It opened at the Broadway Theatre on April 11, 1991, and closed January 28, 2001. At its opening, the show broke advance-ticket sales records and set high-price benchmarks for Broadway.

12. Les Misérables

Gross to date: $406,258,901

Adapted from Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, Les Misérables premiered in French in 1980 and opened in English on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre on March 12, 1987. It later transferred to the Imperial Theatre and ran until May 18, 2003, becoming one of Broadway’s longest-running and most celebrated dramas.

11. Beauty and the Beast

Gross to date: $429,158,458

Disney’s stage adaptation of its Oscar-winning animated film opened at the Palace Theatre on April 18, 1994. Despite mixed early reviews, the production enjoyed a 13-year Broadway run, closing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on July 29, 2007.

10. Cats

Gross to date: $432,003,657

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, inspired by T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, became an unexpected phenomenon. Its original Broadway run lasted from October 7, 1982, to September 10, 2000, and a revival played at the Neil Simon Theatre from July 31, 2016, to December 30, 2017.

9. Aladdin

Gross to date: $439,941,236

The stage adaptation of Disney’s Aladdin opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on March 20, 2014. Featuring memorable numbers and a standout turn by James Monroe Iglehart as the Genie—who won a Tony for his performance—the show has toured globally and remains a family favorite.

8. Jersey Boys

Gross to date: $558,416,092

Jersey Boys, the jukebox musical that tells the story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, ran on Broadway from November 6, 2005, to January 15, 2017. The production won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and also claimed the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical in London.

7. Hamilton

Gross to date: $602,726,052

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s revolutionary Hamilton—based on Ron Chernow’s biography of Alexander Hamilton—debuted off-Broadway at The Public in 2015 and opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 6, 2015. The show broke records, won numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and set a single-week Broadway gross record in November 2016.

6. Mamma Mia!

Gross to date: $624,391,693

Built around the songs of ABBA with creative input from Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! opened on Broadway on October 18, 2001, and ran until September 12, 2015. One of the most successful jukebox musicals, it continues to play around the world and remains a crowd-pleaser.

5. The Book of Mormon

Gross to date: $641,359,648

The Book of Mormon, a sharp satire from South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker with composer Robert Lopez, opened at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre on March 24, 2011. The show won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and a Grammy for its cast album. An aggressive pricing strategy for premium seats has contributed to its strong grosses.

4. Chicago

Gross to date: $670,395,781

Chicago—based on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins and famously choreographed by Bob Fosse—has been playing at the Ambassador Theatre since November 14, 1996. The 1996 revival became the longest-running revival and the longest-running American musical in U.S. history. The show also inspired the 2002 film adaptation, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

3. The Phantom of the Opera

Gross to date: $1,238,060,307

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera debuted at the Majestic Theatre on January 26, 1988, and became Broadway’s longest-running musical. Based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, the production marked milestones such as its 10,000th Broadway performance and, for many years, was among the highest-grossing entertainment properties worldwide.

2. Wicked

Gross to date: $1,339,766,828

Wicked, adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel that reimagines the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, opened at the Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003. Starring original leads Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, Wicked joined the billion-dollar club in March 2016 and remains one of Broadway’s most enduring hits.

1. The Lion King

Gross to date: $1,650,928,746

Currently playing at the Minskoff Theatre after transferring there on June 13, 2006, The Lion King premiered at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 13, 1997. The musical—based on Disney’s 1994 animated film and featuring music by Elton John—won six Tony Awards in 1998, including Best Musical and Best Direction, the latter making Julie Taymor the first woman to win that honor. Beyond Broadway, The Lion King has become an unprecedented global box-office success and remains one of the most lucrative entertainment properties ever.