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How much global revenue did the following titles make in both film and theatre performances from launch to date: The Lion King, Les Miserables, Chicago, Dreamgirls, Grease
Hello! Thank you for your question about the global revenue of The Lion King, Les Miserables, Chicago, Dreamgirls, and Grease. The short version is that while the film gross revenue numbers are readily available, the stage production revenue data are harder to find. Despite an exhaustive search through news items, industry reporting sources, and production sites, comprehensive numbers for the stage productions were not available, nor was it possible to estimate them. An overview of the findings is available in the attached spreadsheet. Below you will find a deep dive of my methodology and findings.
METHODOLOGY
I began with a search for sources that aggregate earnings for films and stage productions. That method proved sufficient for the film versions of the titles provided, presenting a worldwide gross revenue number for each film. While I was able to find some Broadway-specific numbers for the stage productions from a similar source, I did not find numbers for every title or for international performances. I then broadened my search to include news items, other industry sites, and the websites for the productions themselves to find more detailed information. While a typical Wonder request is limited to recent information, I waived that restriction in hopes of finding older but more complete information. Despite that broad range of sources, there was very limited information or detail available about the revenues of the shows. As requested, I have presented my most relevant findings in a spreadsheet, and I will also detail them below.
FINDINGS
The Lion King
Stage—The Lion King is named as "currently the highest-grossing show playing globally," with tours planned in a number of international locations between 2018 and 2020. For Broadway, the show reportedly has a lifetime gross of $1,392,271,325, but overall the most specific number appears to be "over $6.2 billion" worldwide gross income.
Les Miserables
Stage—This show was first produced more than 30 years ago, but specific numbers on revenue are lacking—perhaps due to the difficulties of tabulating revenue over such a long period of time. The 2014 revival reported over $109 million in gross income.
Chicago
Stage—The "longest-running American musical in Broadway history," Chicago has a Broadway lifetime gross of $592,084,243. Despite other press which notes the impact of the musical, and that it has toured internationally, more complete and up-to-date numbers were not available.
Dreamgirls
Stage—As of November 1987, the total gross of the show was $4,492,189 (not adjusted), approximately 9.8 million today per a calculator. A revival was underway as of December 2016, but no revenue numbers seem to have been reported as yet.
Grease
Stage—Between 2007 and 2009 Grease had a Broadway gross revenue of $47,473,854. There are retrospectives on the original 1971 show, but not detailed revenue information.
CONCLUSION
To wrap it up, the lifetime global gross revenue of each film is supplied in the attached spreadsheet, along with relevant information about the stage productions. Despite an extensive search through industry revenue aggregators, news items, industry sites, and production sites, comprehensive information about the gross revenues of the stage productions was not available, nor could it be estimated. Other information which may be helpful has been included above.
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