\'Bring It On\' Starts Modestly at Sis-Boom-Box Office

By PATRICK HEALY

The only new Broadway musical of the summer, “Bring It On,” grossed $472,810 in its first full week after opening on Aug. 1, a modest showing at the box office that was still promising enough for the producers to announce a three-month extension of performances. “Bring It On,” inspired by the 2000 movie about a high school cheerleading rivalry, took in only 39 percent of its maximum possible gross last week â€" in part because many choice seats were not on sale at three performances because those tickets went complimentary to late-coming critics and other media.

The gross was the lowest of the 18 musicals running on Broadway last week. Still, the “Bring It On” producers said last week that the show, originally scheduled to close on Oct. 7, will now continue through Jan. 20, 2013; the extension had been widely anticipated as long as critics' reviews were good (which they generally were). Many Broadway shows strug gle at the box office when tourism slows after Labor Day, but they like to stick around because business picks up considerably in November and December for the holidays.

Broadway musicals and plays grossed a total of $21.8 million last week; by contrast, shows grossed $23.5 million the previous week and $20.9 million for the comparable August week in 2011. The biggest decline at the box office was for “Evita,” due to the vacation of star Ricky Martin â€" though the drop of $282,524 was smaller than the last time Mr. Martin was away. The top-grossing shows, in order, were “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” “The Book of Mormon,” and “Once.”