Ragtime Breaks Lincoln Center Box Office Record

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- Ragtime grossed $1,963,666 across its final eight performances, setting the all-time Lincoln Center Theater box office record and trailing only Hamilton ($2,123,135) among all Broadway shows that week.
- Ragtime, winner of the 2026 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival and directed by Lear deBessonet, closed with Tony winners Joshua Henry, Caissie Levy, and Brandon Uranowitz in its final-night cast.
- Paranormal Activity sold out its first four previews at 100% capacity at the August Wilson Theatre, grossing $422,257 ahead of its official August 25 opening and a limited 20-week run.
- Buena Vista Social Club ($701,983) and Rocky Horror Show ($829,118) also posted upticks in an otherwise soft August week, alongside the Ragtime, Hamilton, and Paranormal Activity sellouts.
- All 27 Broadway productions combined for $27,003,040 in the week ending August 16 — down 20% from the prior week and 9% year-over-year — with attendance falling 12% to 226,229.
- The 2026-27 season has grossed $412,444,622 through week 12, down 5% from the prior season at the same point, though total attendance of 3,347,484 is holding steady, per The Broadway League.
Why it matters: Ragtime's record-setting $1.96 million close cements it as Lincoln Center Theater's highest-grossing production ever, even as the broader Broadway week contracted 20% amid typical August doldrums. For Paranormal Activity, four consecutive preview sellouts before its August 25 official opening provide an unusually strong early demand signal for a new Olivier-nominated import.
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