Since its debut last summer, historical rap musical Hamilton has taken Broadway by storm—grossing more than $60 million at the box office, sending ticket prices soaring, and earning creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda a spot on Coins2Day‘s latest list of the World’s Greatest Leaders.
Not surprisingly, that success comes with financial rewards for the people behind the hit show, from producers and investors to Miranda himself. The Hollywood Reporter obtained the show’s financial statements, reporting on Wednesday that Miranda’s weekly royalties include a 7% share of the show’s weekly adjusted box office gross, which comes to roughly $105,000 per week based on the show’s average weekly gross of around $1.5 million. Miranda pays part of that share to the show’s underlying rights owner (Hamilton biographer Ron Chernow), but the show’s creator-star also earns an undisclosed salary for starring as Alexander Hamilton in the musical.
By comparison, the show’s producers at New York’s The Public Theater receive a weekly royalty of 1% of adjusted box office. Roughly 40% of the show’s weekly box office haul goes to paying the rent at the Richard Rodgers Theatre as well as paying salaries and covering expenses, according to THR. (Last fall, members of the Hamilton cast reportedly sent a letter to the show’s producers asking for a 1% share of profits.)
THR also notes that, on top of weekly royalties and salary, Miranda is due another 3% of the show’s net profit after investors recoup their $12.5 million capitalization (a total they reportedly recouped already, though producers have yet to confirm).
While many Broadway shows struggle to get off the ground and return money to their investors, those involved with Hamilton—at least, so far—have seen a windfall that shows no signs of stopping. THR adds that more money is almost certainly available to be made beyond Broadway, including from touring productions across the U.S. And overseas (with a national tour slated to begin in Chicago later this year) along with sales of the show’s popular soundtrack.
With less than a year on Broadway, Hamilton still has a long way to go before it can catch up with some of the most successful musicals of all-time. Earlier this year, the producers of Wicked announced that the show, which debuted in 2003, had crossed the $1 billion-mark in terms of Broadway ticket sales, becoming only the third show to top that tally (after The Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King).
Correction, April 6, 2016: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of “The Phantom Of The Opera.” We regret the error.
