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| Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! | |
| Posted by: Naughty_Rob 06:59 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| NEW YORK POST: Speaking of losses, investors in “Comet” are baffled that their show, which was grossing more than $1 million a week, will return only 20 percent of its $14 million costs. They’re demanding an audit. Every Broadway show gets audited at some point, but it’s unusual for investors to agitate for one so soon. The producers of “Comet” declined to comment. But sources say that what the investors will discover is that the running cost of the show — put at about $545,000 in offering papers — soared to more than $700,000. |
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| Link | New York Post |
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| I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 07:09 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 07:02 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! - Naughty_Rob 06:59 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| Rather than reveling in a show's shortcomings, it's nice to see someone give ''Groundhog Day'' some credit. Riedel: ''The demise of 'Groundhog Day' isn’t nearly as dramatic [as 'The Great Comet'], but it is heartbreaking. This is not an embarrassing flop that deserves to close. It’s an ambitious, well-crafted, entertaining musical that, for various reasons, never gained traction. The team that put it together is first-rate: composer Tim Minchin, director Matthew Warchus and writer Danny Rubin. The show also had a star-making performance by Andy Karl.'' Sometimes, good shows don't find their audience. Maybe, as Chazwaza suggests, this season was just too crowded. Maybe its sensibility was a better fit for London, where it won the Olivier Award for Best Musical, and Andy Karl won for Best Actor (over even celebrated hometown Brits). Meantime, two other new Broadway musicals were widely panned; one was skunked at Tony nomination time, the other got just 2 Tony noms. Neither performed at the Tonys. But both still gross over $1 million a week because they found their family-friendly audiences. That's showbiz! |
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| re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments | |
| Posted by: ryhog 08:54 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments - WaymanWong 07:02 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| I am delighted you and Michael think it is a good show, worked on by good people. But I am sure you recognize that quite a few people don't agree. In the context of his article and your post, I don't think it is reasonable to make statements based on the premise everyone agrees with you two. | |
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| re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments | |
| Last Edit: WaymanWong 09:52 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 09:50 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments - ryhog 08:54 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| Geez, ryhog, I usually read your posts because you're so bright, but please spare me the condescension. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. Of course, I realize there are ''quite a few people'' who don't agree. A number of them already have posted their negative reactions. (And if you are ''sure'' I recognize there's a difference of opinion on the show, why state the obvious?) If everyone LOVED it, ''Groundhog Day'' wouldn't be announcing its closing. Often, Riedel gets ripped for knocking shows; I was giving him credit on this rare occasion where he extols one that's closing early. Nowhere in my post do I assume everyone agrees with me. I'm speaking for only myself ... and possibly for a few others who enjoyed it, too. | |
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| re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:25 am EDT 08/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments - WaymanWong 09:50 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| I haven't heard anyone loving Charlie and the Chocolate Factory yet it hasn't closed yet. | |
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| Why are picking on people that fall off turnip trucks | |
| Last Edit: dramedy 04:10 am EDT 08/17/17 | |
| Posted by: dramedy 04:02 am EDT 08/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments - WaymanWong 09:50 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| Our opinions matter just as much as you fancy and sophisticated new york city dwellers. Id like to see you hang onto a turnip truck with your manicured hands. | |
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| re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments | |
| Posted by: ryhog 10:50 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: I don't care about the 'Comet' audit, but thanks to Riedel for his gracious 'Groundhog' comments - WaymanWong 09:50 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| I think (or thought and hope I'm not wrong) you know that I respect you and what you post. This one hit me wrong, and I jumped on it. I don't think it was condescension but we can disagree about that. I saw a merger of Riedel (none of whose opinions I consider uncorrupted) and you (none of whose opinions I consider corrupted) on this topic, and if that was not your intention, then I am sorry. I think the fair reporting is that this show had a mixed reception, and failed because of that, rather than that it was roundly considered a good show that inexplicably failed to find an audience. I love turnips so if any fell off with you, bring them over and I'll cook up a batch. :-) | |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! | |
| Posted by: pitslre 04:38 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! - Naughty_Rob 06:59 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| My understanding from an investor who has actually seen some financial reports (all the investors get these, so if there's anything off I'd hope they'd have noticed well before The Post) is that show was running in the mid to upper $800ks pre-Royalty Pool. So assume on a given week it was returning +/- $120k towards a $14M capitalization...then assume some overruns on production, spending for Tony's, etc...easy to see how you'd end up somewhere 20-30% return. I also assume the 20% figure is cash returned to date. | |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! | |
| Posted by: ryhog 05:11 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! - pitslre 04:38 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| that sounds ballpark reasonable to me. it bears repeating that expenses are not static and that what's in offering papers is really a (hopefully) best guess. $120k a week divided into $14mil is over 2 years to recoup. | |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... | |
| Posted by: NewtonUK 07:42 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! - Naughty_Rob 06:59 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| If the Post is even close to accurate, the show's running costs balooned from $545,000 to $700,000. OK. Lets assume the running costs were that high from day one. Their average adjusted gross (not the reported gross gross) for 43 weeks of the run was $980,000 a week. So the show should have averaged a return of around $250,000 a week, conservatively - for 43 weeks. Do the math - weekly surplus of $250K, 43 weeks = $10,750,000. A 76% return. Not 20%. A 20% return means that the show has only earned back $2,800,000. That would mean that the average weekly net operating profit was only $65,000. There is no way that is true - unless the show was actually spending around $900,000 a week. Investors certainly have the right to say WTF - especially after the recent mismanagement of casting, and inability of producers to find a way to keep a show grossing around $1 million or more a week from simply dissolving overnight. |
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| Only 60% of that above weekly cost goes to investors | |
| Posted by: dramedy 04:22 am EDT 08/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... - NewtonUK 07:42 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| 40% goes to royalties ( creative team, director set designier, sound designer, costume designer all get a weekly percentage), plus lease percentage, etc. And if grobin got 10% of gross like many stars, it is easily calculated at 20% return. The problem is that the show was selling well, but really not exceptional where it should have been averaging $1.5m with groban. | |
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| re: Only 60% of that above weekly cost goes to investors | |
| Posted by: mikem 05:16 pm EDT 08/17/17 | |
| In reply to: Only 60% of that above weekly cost goes to investors - dramedy 04:22 am EDT 08/17/17 | |
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| Shouldn't Groban's salary (or at least most of it) be considered to be part of the weekly nut? If the show's finances were set up that the investors only got a tiny bit of the profits each week (which sounds like was the case), I can understand why they're upset if that wasn't clear up front. | |
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| Most likely it would show up as a separate line item | |
| Posted by: dramedy 05:49 pm EDT 08/17/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Only 60% of that above weekly cost goes to investors - mikem 05:16 pm EDT 08/17/17 | |
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| If i recall correctly, groban extended his original run. So it would make sense to show costs for no star and add percentage for star. It can be even more complicated where star gets base salary and then percentage when above base. I even saw one that percentage kicked in for weeks above,weekly nut. $-550 to 700 is big jump, but $550k was most likely unrealistic for medium size musical at large imperial. | |
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| I'm eagerly awaiting Ryhog's perspective on this | |
| Posted by: broadwaybacker 11:01 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... - NewtonUK 07:42 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| He or she seems to have a great understanding of this type of issue. | |
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| Jesse21 also seems very knowledgeable with the numbers | |
| Posted by: Naughty_Rob 12:02 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: I'm eagerly awaiting Ryhog's perspective on this - broadwaybacker 11:01 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| He knows a huge amount about all this stuff. Rob |
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| re: Jesse21 also seems very knowledgeable with the numbers | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 01:36 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: Jesse21 also seems very knowledgeable with the numbers - Naughty_Rob 12:02 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| Jesse has shown an ability to keep track of and tabulate reported grosses, much like a baseball fan might track a player's stats, but Jesse has not shown professional knowledge as to what the numbers mean or how they operate. | |
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| re: I'm eagerly awaiting Ryhog's perspective on this | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:42 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: I'm eagerly awaiting Ryhog's perspective on this - broadwaybacker 11:01 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| Harvey Boy is closer to accurate, except that the royalties and rent are off the net gross, but none of these numbers add up. I'm not at my desk so I can't easily check what's amiss but something is. If this hasn't been clarified by tonight, I'll gring the numbers and reply. Dramedy also has a handle on all this, but my sense is that we don't have the right capitalization, nut or much of anything else. And also remember that for the Groban weeks, that royalty amount was likely skewed (much) higher. | |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... | |
| Posted by: AnnieBlack 10:00 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... - NewtonUK 07:42 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| As a local New Yorker, I was always surprised during the run about the lack of TV ads for this show. There were a bunch in the beginning of the run but that is all that I noticed- compared to the usual blanketing of Wicked, Bronx Tale and Dolls House TV ads this season. I could see the increased expense for advertising, but it seemed to even have a muted print presence. This going to end up being a very interesting story of mismanagement (especially after reading NewtonUK's post) | |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... | |
| Posted by: TheHarveyBoy 08:18 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... - NewtonUK 07:42 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| If those running costs don't include rent or royalties, those expenses could eat up 50% or more of any overage there is, reducing your $250K to $125K a week or less. | |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 08:57 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... - TheHarveyBoy 08:18 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| I found these two accounting books. This one says "Show to the IRS." And what's the other one say? "Never show to the IRS." |
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| re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... | |
| Posted by: PurpleMoney 12:07 pm EDT 08/16/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Post reporting Comet investors are demanding an audit! They are right ... - JereNYC 08:57 am EDT 08/16/17 | |
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| Thank you for making me laugh today. I've had a painful 24 hours and could use a few more lighthearted moments. | |
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