Does a Smash Hit Like ‘Lion King’ Deserve a $3 Million Tax Break?

There is no greater success story on Broadway than “The Lion King.” It is reliably among the top-grossing stage shows in New York, where it has brought in nearly $2 billion over its 26-year run; its global total is five times that amount.

The musical’s producer is the theatrical division of the Walt Disney Company, an entertainment industry behemoth that earned $89 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year.

And yet, the show was one of roughly four dozen productions that have received millions of dollars in assistance from New York State under a program designed to help a pandemic-hobbled theater industry in New York City.

Over the three years since the program was established, New York State has bestowed over $100 million on commercial Broadway productions.

“The Lion King,” along with other juggernauts like “Aladdin,” “The Book of Mormon” and “Wicked,” each got the maximum $3 million subsidy.

The program was initiated by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as theaters were nervously preparing to reopen after being shut for a year and a half. It was later tripled to $300 million by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is now considering whether to seek an extension when it expires next year.