From the international fame of Broadway, one of the most popular attractions in New York City, to the dense network of not-for-profit organizations across the United States, the theater market is a pillar of the American arts and culture sector. That said, the closures and the emergency measures enacted during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, put a big strain on the industry, especially on smaller organizations. In 2023, the
was estimated at under nine billion U.S. dollars, remaining significantly below the peak in revenue from 2019. On the other hand, the
surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2023, with nearly four thousand companies operating in that industry. Meanwhile, according to a Statista’s consumer survey on
, seven percent of respondents reported purchasing admissions to theater, ballet, or opera shows in December 2023, whereas twice as many booked cinema tickets that month.
Has Broadway recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic?
From among the theaters in the United States,
Broadway’s 41 venues in Manhattan steal the limelight, with capacities of around 600 to nearly two thousand seats. In the season before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater district was at its best, as
attendance at Broadway shows in New York peaked at almost 15 million. After more than halving with the onset of the health crisis, total attendance bounced back to over 12 million in 2022/2023, thus not catching up yet with pre-pandemic figures. As admissions grew significantly compared to the previous season but did not fully recover,
gross revenue of Broadway shows in New York followed a similar trend, reaching approximately 1.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2022/2023.
Not-for-profit theaters in the United States
Not-for-profit theaters are another important segment of the U.S. performing arts market, both in terms of cultural influence and support for local communities, through activities ranging from educational classes to initiatives to preserve heritage sites. In the fiscal year 2022,
attendance at not-for-profit shows in the U.S. exceeded 16 million, the second-highest figure since 2018. By contrast,
financial data for not-for-profit professional theaters in the U.S. indicate that, despite an annual rebound, the earned income of these organizations halved from 2019 to 2022. Over the same period, the
workforce of not-for-profit theaters in the U.S. decreased by more than 60 thousand employees, with the number of employed artists going down by 48 percent.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
