SMU DataArts has released its 2025 Arts Vibrancy Index and announced the most art-vibrant communities in the United States. The top three communities were Jackson, WY-ID, San Francisco/San Mateo/Redwood City, and New York/Jersey City/White Plains. The only Florida city to rank in the top 100 was Miami/Miami Beach/Kendall, at number 90.
The Broadway box office had a solid first full week of January. Receipts for the 31 productions totaled $34 million, and attendance was at 92 percent of capacity. Eight productions sold out, including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton, and Wicked.
Chuck Redd has cancelled his Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center. His performance has been a holiday tradition for more that 20 years. He called off the performance after President Trump’s name was added to the Center, and the Kennedy Center has announced that it intends to sue Redd for $1 million over the cancellation.
The American College Theatre Festival is suspending its 60 year partnership with the Kennedy Center. The festival holds a weeklong national festival for collegiate theater students, as well as regional competitions. As reason for the break, it stated that the festival’s values no longer align with the Center.
Bela Fleck has cancelled his upcoming performance at the Kennedy Center. Fleck stated that the Center has shifted its focus away from music and has become charged and political. He was scheduled to perform with the National Symphony Orchestra.
The Martha Graham Dance Company has cancelled its scheduled performance at the Kennedy Center, joining a long list of artists and organizations. The Company was supposed to perform in April as part of its centennial nationwide tour.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed allocating an additional $150 million to Empire State Development, which provides tax credits for New York City musical and theatrical production. The program’s fund, which provides up to $3 million in credits per Broadway show, has been depleted and is no longer available to shows whose first performance was after December 1, 2025.
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Disney Studios brought in over $6 billion in 2025. This was the sixth time they have had revenue over $6 billion, with the last time being in 2019. Revenue was led by Zootopia 2 and Lilo & Stitch. Warner Bros was a distant second at $4.3 billion in revenue.
Universal Music Group is investing $80 million Excel Entertainment Pvt., India’s biggest Bollywood production company. Universal will acquire a 30% stake in the company, as well as global distribution rights.
Cinema United has announced its opposition to Netflix acquiring Warner Bros. The organization, which represents movie theater chains, claims that the merger will further consolidate control over production. They also appose a merger of Warner Bros with Paramount, which would also increase market consolidation.
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Irwin Jacobs has pledged $4.5 million to continue collaborations between the San Diego Opera and the San Diego Symphony. The Joan and Irwin Jacobs San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera Collaboration Fund will be established to maintain the partnership that has existed for more than 20 years. over the past 25 years, Jacobs has donated over $100 million to the San Diego Symphony.
La Scala has ended 2025 with record ticket sales, an increase of 7.3 percent over 2024. Box office receipts were the highest ever recorded, and attendance averaged over 90 percent.
The Dallas Opera has matched a $25 million challenge grant from the O’Donnell Foundation. with the challenge grant, the campaign has brought in a record $54.5 million for the Opera. The funds will be divided between the endowment fund and general operating expenses.
The Washington National Opera is moving out of the Kennedy Center. It will reduce its spring season and hold performances at other venues. The Opera cited financial constraints imposed by President Trump as the reason for moving. The Center now requires productions to be fully funded in advance, and opera companies traditionally use revenue from popular productions to subsidize costs of lesser-known works.