Broadway’s Resilient Return to the Spotlight
Five years ago, on March 12, 2020, the coronavirus pandemic brought the vibrant world of live performances to a grinding halt. Broadway theaters, once bustling with energy, fell silent. Museums closed their doors, concert halls echoed with emptiness, and stadiums stood idle. The initial hope was that these closures would last only a month, but the reality was far more prolonged. It took many venues over a year and a half to reopen their doors and welcome back audiences.
Today, Broadway is leading the charge in the recovery of live entertainment. Attendance this season has reached 95% of pre-pandemic levels, a testament to the resilience of the industry. Hits like “Oh, Mary!” have proven that original storytelling can thrive without relying on familiar intellectual property or big-name stars. Meanwhile, “Wicked” has experienced a resurgence in popularity, thanks in part to renewed interest from the release of its film adaptation. For the first time since 2018, all 41 Broadway theaters are operational, and many shows are regularly grossing over $1 million a week.
However, the road to recovery has not been without its challenges. Rising production costs have eaten into profitability, even as ticket sales remain strong. Beyond the bright lights of Broadway, the picture for smaller, nonprofit theaters is more mixed. Many regional theaters, which relied heavily on government assistance during the pandemic, are now struggling with budget deficits. These theaters are programming fewer shows and attracting smaller audiences than they did before the pandemic, raising concerns about their long-term sustainability.
The Pop Touring Industry’s Record-Breaking Boom
While Broadway and regional theaters navigate their recovery, the pop touring industry is flourishing. In 2024, the multibillion-dollar business of pop music tours reached unprecedented heights, with fans spending $9.5 billion on tickets to the top 100 tours. This represents a staggering 71% increase from 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. Superstars like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Coldplay have been major drivers of this growth, drawing in millions of fans.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour alone sold a record-breaking $2.1 billion in tickets over 149 shows in 2023 and 2024. Merchandise sales and fan enthusiasm have added to the tour’s success, with fans spending small fortunes on everything from T-shirts to friendship bracelet beads. However, the industry is not without its challenges. The pace of growth slowed in 2024, and consumers continue to voice frustration over rising ticket prices and exorbitant markups by scalpers.
The touring landscape has also become increasingly difficult for lesser-known artists. Rising costs and stagnant performance fees have squeezed already-thin margins, making it harder for unsigned artists to embark on tours. Despite these challenges, the demand for live music remains strong, as fans like those of Oasis and Kendrick Lamar scoop up every available ticket for their shows.
Hollywood’s Post-Pandemic Struggles
The film industry, like live theater and music, has faced significant challenges in its recovery. When Sean Baker accepted his Oscar for Best Director for “Anora,” he issued a impassioned plea to filmmakers: “Keep making films for the big screen.” Yet, the number of big screens in the U.S. has declined since the pandemic. According to the London-based research firm Omdia, there are now 35,481 screens, down from 41,172 in 2019.
The domestic box office last year totaled $8.7 billion, down from $11.3 billion in 2019. Movie admissions have also plummeted, falling from 1.3 billion to 800 million. To make matters worse, 2024 marked the first year since the pandemic that the domestic box office did not improve upon the prior year. This downturn has been attributed in part to the film production strikes in 2023, which halted filmmaking for half the year and led to a shortage of new releases.
In response, some studios have shifted their distribution strategies. Films initially intended for streaming platforms, such as Disney’s “Moana 2” and Paramount’s “Mean Girls,” were released in theaters instead. While this has helped fill the void left by fewer wide releases, it remains unclear whether the industry can fully regain its pre-pandemic momentum.
Opera’s Efforts to Reconnect with Audiences
The opera world, too, has undergone significant changes in its recovery efforts. Even before the pandemic, many American opera companies were grappling with aging and dwindling audiences, as well as rising costs. Since reopening, some companies have sought to reinvent themselves to attract new audiences.
The Metropolitan Opera, for instance, has shifted its focus to contemporary works. It reopened in 2021 with Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” its first opera by a Black composer, which sold out. While this strategy has shown promise, it has not been universally successful. Jeanine Tesori’s “Grounded,” which opened the current season, saw attendance drop to 50%. Despite these mixed results, the Met is on track to hit 75% of pre-pandemic attendance levels this season.
Other opera companies are experimenting with innovative approaches to draw in audiences. Opera Philadelphia has introduced a $11 ticket initiative, offering affordable access to its performances. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Opera was forced to cancel plans for two world premieres due to rising expenses. Many companies have scaled back their productions and performances to conserve resources, signaling a challenging road ahead for the art form.
The Roaring Return of Major Sports Leagues
While many sectors of the entertainment industry continue to recover, major sports leagues are thriving once again. The haunting images of empty arenas and stadiums during pandemic-era games—some filled with cardboard cutouts of fans—seem like a distant memory. Today, fans are flocking back to live events, and leagues are seizing the opportunity to capitalize on their return.
The four major North American professional sports leagues—the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL—have all reported attendance increases compared to their pre-pandemic levels. The NFL saw the sharpest rise, with 18.7 million fans attending games in 2024, a 10% increase from 2019. This growth was partly driven by the addition of an extra game to the regular season schedule in 2021. Major League Baseball followed closely, with attendance up 4.1% to 71.3 million fans last season.
To further enhance the fan experience, new state-of-the-art venues are being built, and many existing stadiums are being renovated. Premium luxury suites, club areas, and upgraded hospitality packages are becoming a focus for leagues, catering to high-paying customers. These efforts to improve the live experience have helped sports leagues not only recover but also exceed pre-pandemic levels of engagement and revenue.
Orchestras and Museums: A Mixed Recovery
Orchestras, like regional theaters, have faced their own set of challenges in the post-pandemic era. Many feared that older patrons, who are a key demographic for classical music, would remain wary of returning to in-person performances. However, according to a study by TRG Arts and the League of American Orchestras, ticket sales last year were roughly back to pre-pandemic levels.
While single-ticket sales decreased slightly, the number of tickets sold through subscription packages increased, reversing a years-long decline. This suggests that existing subscribers are attendees who are not only returnees but also spending more on larger and more expensive subscriptions. However, financial struggles persist for many orchestras, as box office revenue covers only a small portion of their expenses. Fund-raising has also proven challenging, as seen in the case of the San Francisco Symphony, where music director Esa-Pekka Salonen stepped down amid budget disputes.
Museums are another cultural institution still struggling to recover. According to the American Alliance of Museums, only half of the country’s museums have seen their attendance fully rebound since the pandemic. Some institutions, like the Guggenheim and the Brooklyn Museum, have resorted to layoffs due to lower attendance and higher costs. To attract visitors, museums have introduced initiatives such as free or discounted admissions and extended hours.
Despite these efforts, the road to recovery remains uneven. Regional museums and those that once relied on international tourism have been particularly hard-hit. For example, the Guggenheim saw a 31% decline in visitors compared to 2019, while the Metropolitan Museum of Art saw a 13% drop. For these institutions, the pandemic has left a lasting impact, requiring them to adapt and find new ways to engage audiences in a post-pandemic world.