Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal break Broadway box office records with ‘Othello’

Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal participate in the curtain call for the Broadway opening night of William Shakespeare's "Othello" on March 23. (CJ Rivera/Invision/AP via CNN Newsource)

An “Othello” revival, starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, has made history.

The production at the Barrymore Theatre is now Broadway’s top-grossing play of all time, generating $2.8 million with eight preview performances. It exceeded a record held by“Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” which pulled in more than $2.7 million in December 2023, according to Deadline.

Washington and Gyllenhaal recently spoke with “CBS News Sunday Morning” about the project.

“It’s the most excited I’ve been this century,” Washington said. “Seriously. I haven’t been this excited about anything I’ve done as I am about this.”

He plays the title role, while Gyllenhaal is cast as Iago. The Shakespearian plot revolves around Othello as a military commander who is convinced that his wife has been unfaithful by his ensign, Iago.

Now 70, Washington first starred as Othello while in college at Fordham University and reflected on how different playing the role is now versus when he was 22.

“I know a lot less now. I thought I knew everything then!” he said. “I didn’t really like the part, ‘cause I wasn’t wise enough to understand it. Now I understand it’s really about a bond, you know, that these characters have. He loves not wisely, but too well.”

Both he and his costar are thrilled about the play’s success.

“You get to a point where you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve worked my whole career for this, for this moment,’” Gyllenhaal said.