LPA Ticket Attendance and Revenue Report 2018

Photo: The Book of Mormon, The Gordon Frost Organisation, Jeff Busby

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Comedy infographic (PDF)

Comedy witnessed the second highest y-o-y growth in revenue and the highest growth in attendance amongst all categories, generating 72.5% growth in revenue from $72.3m in 2017 to $124.7m in 2018 and 98.5% growth in attendance from 1.2m in 2017 to 2.4m in 2018. Additional ticketing providers submitted data in the reporting period, helping to explain the growth in Comedy revenue and attendance. Additionally, a significant y-o-y increase of the average ticket price by 83.3% (from $62.32 in 2017 to $114.20 in 2018) contributed to the increase in revenue. This is the highest recorded revenue and attendance for Comedy since the introduction of this category in the Report in 2009.

The growth in Comedy in 2018 was primarily driven by the success of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Perth Comedy Festival, major high-profile comedians that headlined tours in 2018 such as Kevin Hart, Jim Jefferies, Trevor Noah and Russell Peters, and events such as For the Love of Mrs. Brown.

In 2018, all states and territories experienced y-o-y growth in revenue, while all states and territories except NT witnessed y-o-y growth in attendance. Victoria is the highest contributor to Comedy, both in revenue and in attendance, representing 34.7% of the market share in revenue and 44.1% of the total attendance in 2018. VIC and NSW together contributed 61.1% of the total market share of revenue and 66.0% of total attendance in 2018.

TAS witnessed the highest y-o-y growth in revenue (484.5%) and in attendance (342.1%) in 2018. The major events were performances by the renowned comedians Lano & Woodley and Carl Barron. However, its impact is minimal as it represented only 1.1% in revenue and 1.0% in attendance of the overall market share in the Comedy category.

Close Table

Comedy - Revenue and Attendance (2009–2018)

Revenue ($) Growth (%) Total Attendance* Growth (%) Average Ticket Price ($)** Growth (%)
2009 $39,570,117 769,058 $54.06
2010 $39,048,164 -1.3% 792,713 3.1% $51.53 -4.7%
2011 $51,999,602 33.2% 1,011,342 27.6% $55.07 6.9%
2012 $48,694,665 -6.4% 981,035 -3.0% $53.55 -2.8%
2013 $41,473,321 -14.8% 912,609 -7.0% $48.82 -8.8%
2014 $45,154,726 8.9% 963,108 5.5% $50.55 3.5%
2015 $54,924,280 21.6% 992,399 3.0% $60.11 18.9%
2016 $86,382,773 57.3% 1,409,299 42.0% $65.54 9.0%
2017 $72,306,243 -16.3% 1,238,460 -12.1% $62.32 -4.9%
2018 $124,742,437 72.5% 2,458,198 98.5% $114.20 83.3%

*Based on both paid and unpaid tickets

** Average Ticket Prices are calculated based only on paid tickets

State/Territory Breakdown Close Table

Close Table

Comedy - by State/Territory (2018)

State/Territory Revenue ($) Market Share Proportion Market Share Change from 2017 Attendance Market Share Proportion Market Share Change from 2017
NSW $32,917,904 26.4% 46.7% 537,662 21.9% 78.5%
VIC $43,339,714 34.7% 58.7% 1,084,856 44.1% 85.4%
QLD $22,356,424 17.9% 154.1% 439,544 17.9% 177.3%
WA $15,810,158 12.7% 64.0% 246,547 10.0% 85.9%
SA $5,610,840 4.5% 142.0% 72,112 2.9% 246.3%
ACT $2,906,314 2.3% 158.1% 44,865 1.8% 76.2%
TAS $1,338,125 1.1% 484.5% 23,631 1.0% 342.1%
NT $462,958 0.4% 1.8% 8,981 0.4% -4.0%

Photo: DeAnne Smith, Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018, Jim Lee

Individual Category Results