Broadway grosses, box office increased

NEW YORK (AP) — An industry trade association says overall Broadway grosses and attendance in 2008 were a bit higher than the box-office take and attendance of the previous year.

The 2008 gross was more than $940 million, according to figures released Monday by the Broadway League. Attendance topped 12.32 million.

In 2007, the box-office take was $938 million and attendance 12.29 million, both figures affected by a 19-day stagehands strike during the lucrative Thanksgiving holiday period.

The two-week Christmas-New Year’s holiday grosses were also up, jumping from more than $49 million in 2007 to nearly $51 million a year later.