On February's Top Tours list, U2 are in the winner's circle with monthly earnings of $56.5 million from 166,000 tickets sold.
February is U2's first month at No.1, having sat at No.2 in December 2019 and 2023, both behind Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This marks the first Irish act to claim monthly honors.
Since its launch in 2019, Boxscore's monthly recap has detailed discoveries on the tours, particularly country and Latin music — headlined by Morgan Wallen and Bad Bunny, respectively — as well as reporting quirks along the way, including double coastal sets by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. holiday season. The latest oddity: U2's recent dominance makes the band the first act to headline the Top Tours without actually going on tour.
The group's $50 million in revenue comes from 10 shows, all at Las Vegas' Sphere. The rock quartet christened the Sin City arena with the first show since U2:UV Achtung Baby Live in September, and to this day, it's still the only act to play the venue. Concert series by Dead & Company and Phish are scheduled for later in Sphere's 2024 calendar.
Residencies on this scale – 40 arena shows in six months – are unprecedented. Before U2 started, Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars were the only tour guides to crack the top 10 of Top Tours. The traditional Vegas model is for acts like these to play sold-out theaters to about 5,000 fans a night, with the flexibility to charge exorbitant prices for the chance to see an A-list artist in a more intimate setting.
U2 plays by similar rules, with an average ticket of $340 within 5% of Mars (No. 19), but expanded to arena audiences. Showing the same intensity of demand as home theaters but expanded to an audience three times larger, U2's monthly win, ahead of stadium tours at Nos. 2-3, is groundbreaking.
With all that activity from one arena, U2 also crown the Top Boxscores, with the Sphere reigning as the top-grossing venue of the month. Both victories were decisive, with a difference of more than 3:1.
U2's recent run began on January 26 and ran through March 2, earning $84.7 million during that time. Dated from opening night (September 29, 2023 and ending on March 2), the U2: UV Achtung Baby Live residency grossed $244.5 million and sold 663,000 tickets across 40 shows.
This is the lowest number of showings – by far – for any residence with a gross of $100 million or more. Mars and Billy Joel (Madison Square Garden) are the only others with nine-figure grosses and fewer than 100 shows.
Former chart-topper P!nk is No. 2 on Top Tours with a gross of $48.3 million. Shows from the Australian leg of the Carnival summer tour sold 437,000 tickets in February, marking the highest attendance total for the month. This is P!nk's third time at No. 2, following stints in April 2019 and August 2023, adding to her three months at No. 1 (March 2019, July 2019, October 2023).
Oceania grossed more than North America or Europe on P!nk's I'm Not Dead Tour (2006–07), Funhouse Tour (2009) and The Truth About Love Tour (2013–14). Her latest leg, which runs until March 23, marks her first time at venues in Australia and New Zealand, having made the outdoor transition elsewhere on the Beautiful Trauma World Tour (2018-19).
Including her dates in March, P!nk's 20 continental shows grossed $104.3 million and sold 980,000 tickets, bringing her tour total to $361.8 million and 2.8 million tickets. With more dates planned across the US and Canada and Europe through November, Summer Carnival will easily become P!nk's first to top $400 million. The Beautiful Trauma World Tour came close when it ended in 2019 with $397.3 million.
Karol G follows at No. 3, leading a string of Latin stars into the top 10. Luis Miguel is just below at No. 4, and Bad Bunny rounds out the group at No. 10. Across all U.S. shows (Bad Bunny), Mexico (Karol G) and South America (Luis Miguel).
21st-century stars fill out most of the rest of the top 10, with Madonna, Depeche Mode, Blink-182 and the Eagles rounding out Nos. 5 and 7-9, respectively. Ed Sheeran rounds out the top 10 at No. 6 as the last of six $30 million tours since February. Coming off the slow winter months, the last time more acts crossed the $30 million mark was August, when Beyoncé led P!nk, Metallica, Morgan Wallen, The Weeknd, Drake and the Jonas Brothers.
Behind Sphere as the top venue of the month, London's O2 Arena and Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena lead the UK and Australia to the top of the pile at Nos.2-3 respectively, with Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena at No. 6 and Manchester's AO Arena at No. 7.
A version of this story will appear in the March 30, 2024 issue Advertising sign.
