In just its second week of previews, the Broadway revival of Othello—starring Denzel Washington as Othello and Jake Gyllenhaal as Iago—has made history. The Kenny Leon-directed production, produced by Brian Anthony Moreland, has officially set the record for the highest-grossing week for a play in Broadway history, surpassing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’s previous record.
During its first week of previews, Othello topped Broadway’s box office charts, despite playing only seven performances instead of the usual eight. Last week, the show added an eighth performance, which helped it rake in an astonishing $2.82 million, overtaking Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’s holiday week record of $2.72 million set in 2023.
With premium ticket prices soaring as high as $897, Othello has become Broadway’s hottest ticket. While the average ticket price slightly dipped from $362 to $338, the additional performance easily helped propel the show to its record-breaking status.
With its massive earnings, Othello has dethroned Wicked, which has been experiencing a resurgence in ticket sales following the overwhelming success of its upcoming film adaptation.
With Washington and Gyllenhaal leading the cast, Othello was bound to be a success. But another power couple is also behind the scenes, helping to bring the production to Broadway: Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker. The Grammy-winning singer, actress, and entrepreneur and her husband are part of the producing team, further cementing their growing influence on Broadway following their successful runs as producers on The Piano Lesson and Thoughts of a Colored Man.
With this record-breaking success, Othello has solidified itself as Broadway’s biggest play of the year. Whether it can maintain this momentum remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: audiences are willing to pay top dollar to see Washington and Gyllenhaal bring Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy to life.
Broadway history has been made, and Othello is just getting started.
