List of highest-grossing concert tours

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The 360° Tour by U2 is the highest-grossing concert tour of all time

This is an incomplete list of the highest-grossing concert tours. Only tours using reliable references and having grossed over $100 million (adjusted for inflation) have been added to the list. Some of the gross may be higher than reported on this list because not all concerts are reported. Billboard and Pollstar regularly provide the official figure of concerts' gross revenue worldwide.

Tours that span multiple decades are included in the decade that they concluded.

In bold, the tours which, when completed, became the highest-grossing of all time.

Highest-grossing tours of all time

This list represents the top 20 grossing tours (by actual gross, not adjusted for inflation) of all time.

Rank Actual gross Inflation
(adjusted 2017 gross)		 Artist Tour name Year(s) Shows Attendance Average
gross (millions)		 Average
attendance		 Ref.
1 $736,421,584 $784,027,536 U2 U2 360° Tour 2009–11 110 7,272,046 6.7 66,110 [1]
2 $558,255,524 $644,802,601 The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour 2005–07 144 4,680,000 3.8 32,500 [1]
3 $458,673,798 $471,582,189 Roger Waters The Wall Live 2010–13 219 4,129,863 2.09 18,858 [2]
4 $441,121,000 $484,472,430 AC/DC Black Ice World Tour 2008–10 167 4,846,965 2.6 29,023 [3][4][5]
5 $413,637,518 $413,673,518 Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Tour 2016–17 88 4,370,956 4.02 44,607 [6]
6 $408,000,000 $455,463,937 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008–09 85 3,545,899 4.79 41,716 [7]
7 $389,047,636 $462,194,757 U2 Vertigo Tour 2005–06 131 4,619,021 2.96 35,259 [8]
8 $362,000,000 $402,676,043 The Police The Police Reunion Tour 2007–08 156 3,300,912 2.3 21,160 [9]
9 $355,600,000 $396,968,078 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Wrecking Ball World Tour 2012–13 136 3,650,535 2.8 18,744 [10][11]
10 $339,900,000 $339,900,000 Guns N' Roses Not in This Lifetime... Tour 2016–17 74 3,087,560 4.59 41,723 [12][13]
11 $320,000,000 $502,956,978 The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Tour 1994–95 124 6,336,776 2.6 51,103 [14]
12 $311,000,000 $404,896,346 The Rolling Stones Licks Tour 2002–03 115 3,470,945 2.6 30,182 [15]
13 $310,900,000 $310,900,000 Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood 2014–17 333 4,743,727 0.96 14,669 [16][17][18][13]
14 $306,500,000 $306,500,000 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The River Tour 2016 2016–17 89 2,667,775 4.0 29,020 [12][13]
15 $305,158,363 $318,339,577 Madonna The MDNA Tour 2012 88 2,212,345 3.47 25,140 [15]
16 $290,178,452 $293,564,003 One Direction Where We Are Tour 2014 69 3,439,560 4.2 49,848 [19]
17 $279,200,000 $416,542,786 Celine Dion Taking Chances World Tour 2008–09 132 2,200,000 2.1 21,667 [20][21]
[22]
18 $275,700,000 $278,564,215 Paul McCartney Out There! Tour 2013–15 84 1,958,754 3.28 23,319 [11][16]
[17]
19 $274,000,000 $402,608,820 The Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997–98 108 [15]
20 $259,500,000 $266,803,071 Bon Jovi Because We Can 2013 102 2,657,502 2.67 27,397 [11]

Highest-grossing tours by decade

1980s

Rank Actual gross Inflation
(adjusted 2017 gross)		 Artist Tour name Year(s) Shows Attendance Average
gross (millions)		 Average
attendance		 Ref.
1 $135,000,000 $260,830,872 Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour 1987–90 199 4,250,000 0.68 21,250 [23][24]
2 $125,738,964 $254,626,709 Michael Jackson Bad 1987–89 123 4,498,300 1.02 36,571 [25][26]
3 $98,000,000 $189,343,893 The Rolling Stones Steel Wheels Tour 1989–90 115 3,253,563 0.85 28,291 [27][28]
4 $86,000,000 $181,295,255 David Bowie Glass Spider Tour 1987 86 3,000,000 1.0 34,884 [29][30]
5 $85,000,000 $189,277,537 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Born in the U.S.A. Tour 1984–85 156 0.55 [31]
6 $75,000,000 $172,893,978 The Jacksons Victory Tour 1984 55 2,750,000 1.36 50,000 [32]
7 $56,278,095 $118,638,972 U2 The Joshua Tree Tour 1987 109 3,176,952 0.5 29,146 [33]

1990s

Rank Actual gross Inflation
(adjusted 2017 gross)		 Artist Tour name Year(s) Shows Attendance Average
gross (millions)		 Average
attendance		 Ref.
1 $320,000,000 $502,956,978 The Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge Tour 1994–95 124 6,336,776 2.6 51,103 [14]
2 $274,000,000 $402,608,820 The Rolling Stones Bridges to Babylon Tour 1997–98 108 [15]
3 $250,000,000 $403,962,730 Pink Floyd The Division Bell Tour 1994 120 6,000,000 2.3 45,000 [34]
4 $171,677,027 $256,127,604 U2 PopMart Tour 1997–98 93 3,936,841 1.8 42,332 [33]
5 $165,000,000 $246,166,045 Michael Jackson HIStory World Tour 1996–97 83 4,500,000 2.01 54,878 [35]
6 $151,000,000 $250,344,851 U2 Zoo TV Tour 1992–93 157 5,350,554 0.96 34,080 [33][36]
7 $142,700,000[lower-alpha 1] $224,287,377 Eagles Hell Freezes Over Tour 1994–95 [37][38]
8 $105,000,000 $154,284,402 Garth Brooks The Garth Brooks World Tour 1996–98 220 5,500,000 0.49 25,346 [39][40]
9 $74,000,000 $135,654,101 New Kids on the Block The Magic Summer Tour 1990 3,291,987 [28]
10 $70,000,000 $116,053,905 Madonna The Girlie Show 1993 39 1.79 [41]
11 $65,000,000 $119,155,629 Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation World Tour 1990 1990 117 2,000,000 [42][43]
12 $62,700,000 $114,939,353 Madonna Blond Ambition World Tour 1990 57 1.1 [44]

2000s

Rank Actual gross Inflation
(adjusted
2017 gross)		 Artist Tour name Year(s) Shows Attendance Average
gross (millions)		 Average
attendance		 Ref.
1 $558,255,524 $644,802,601 The Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang Tour 2005–07 144 4,680,000 3.8 32,500 [1]
2 $408,000,000 $455,463,937 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 2008–09 85 3,545,899 4.79 41,716 [7]
3 $389,047,636 $462,194,757 U2 Vertigo Tour 2005–06 131 4,619,021 2.96 35,259 [8]
4 $362,000,000 $402,676,043 The Police The Police Reunion Tour 2007–08 156 3,300,912 2.3 21,160 [9]
5 $311,000,000 $404,896,346 The Rolling Stones Licks Tour 2002–03 115 3,470,945 2.6 30,182 [15]
6 $279,200,000 $310,572,241 Celine Dion Taking Chances Tour 2008–09 132 2,600,000 2.1 19,697 [3][4][22]
7 $250,000,000 $306,568,410 Cher Living Proof: The Farewell Tour 2002–05 326 3,500,000 0.6 10,800 [45]
8 $235,000,000 $261,405,719 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Magic Tour 2007–08 100 2,198,353 2.4 21,983 [46]
9 $221,500,000 $288,374,729 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The Rising Tour 2002–03 120 3,232,384 1.8 31,081 [47]
10 $210,650,974 $234,320,720 Bon Jovi Lost Highway Tour 2007–08 99 2,157,675 2.1 21,794 [46]
11 $194,754,447 $231,371,369 Madonna Confessions Tour 2006 60 1,210,294 3.2 20,171 [48]
12 $167,000,000 $186,427,641 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Working on a Dream Tour 2009 80 1,831,770 2.1 22,897 [4]
13 $142,844,463 $193,206,465 U2 Elevation Tour 2001 112 2,162,282 1.3 19,306 [49]
14 $141,000,000 $162,859,413 Tim McGraw and Faith Hill Soul2Soul II Tour 2006–07 117 1,673,667 1.2 14,304 [50]
15 $132,500,000 $147,914,146 Tina Turner Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour 2008–09 90 1,176,199 1.47 13,068 [3][4]
16 $131,800,000 $147,132,713 Britney Spears The Circus Starring Britney Spears 2009 97 1,500,000 1.4 15,488 [4]
17 $131,388,461 $156,091,574 Bon Jovi Have a Nice Day Tour 2005–06 89 1,823,834 1.7 23,382 [51]
18 $129,059,653 $149,067,938 Genesis Turn It On Again: The Tour 2007 46 1,262,393 2.8 27,443 [52][53]
19 $126,800,000 $146,457,968 Justin Timberlake FutureSex/LoveShow 2007 119 1,600,000 1 13,445 [54]
20 $126,165,542 $167,995,080 Paul McCartney Driving World Tour 2002 58 988,077 2.2 17,036 [55][56]

2010s

Rank Actual gross Inflation
(adjusted 2017 gross)		 Artist Tour name Year(s) Shows Attendance Average
gross (millions)		 Average
attendance		 Ref.
1 $736,421,584 $784,027,536 U2 U2 360° Tour 2009–11 110 7,272,046 6.7 66,110 [1]
2 $458,673,798 $471,582,189 Roger Waters The Wall 2010–13 219 4,129,863 2.09 18,858 [2]
3 $441,121,000 $484,472,430 AC/DC Black Ice World Tour 2008–10 167 4,846,965 2.6 29,023 [3][4][5]
4 $413,637,518 $413,673,518 Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Tour 2016–17 88 4,370,956 4.02 44,607 [57]
5 $355,600,000 $365,607,600 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Wrecking Ball World Tour 2012–13 127 3,650,535 2.8 28,744 [10][11]
6 $339,900,000 $339,900,000 Guns N' Roses Not in This Lifetime... Tour 2016–17 74 3,087,560 4.59 41,723 [12][13]
7 $310,900,000 $310,900,000 Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood 2014–17 333 4,743,727 0.96 14,669 [16][17][18][13]
8 $306,500,000 $306,500,000 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band The River Tour 2016 2016–17 89 2,667,775 4.0 29,020 [17][18]
9 $305,158,363 $318,339,577 Madonna The MDNA Tour 2012 88 2,212,345 3.47 25,140 [15]
10 $290,178,452 $293,564,003 One Direction Where We Are Tour 2014 69 3,449,560 4.2 49,848 [19]
11 $275,700,000 $278,564,215 Paul McCartney Out There! Tour 2013–15 84 1,958,754 3.28 23,319 [11][16][17]
12 $259,500,000 $266,803,071 Bon Jovi Because We Can 2013 102 2,657,502 2.67 27,397 [11]
13 $256,500,000 $256,500,000 Justin Bieber Purpose World Tour 2016–17 149 2,757,368 1.8 20,484 [12][13]
14 $256,084,556 $256,084,556 Beyoncé The Formation World Tour 2016 49 2,242,099 5.2 45,757 [58]
15 $251,112,882 $275,791,151 Eagles Long Road Out of Eden Tour 2008–11 155 2,001,773 1.6 12,915 [3][4][5][59]
16 $250,733,097 $253,337,933 Taylor Swift The 1989 World Tour 2015 85 2,278,647 3.02 33,477 [60]
17 $243,100,000 $243,100,000 Billy Joel Billy Joel in Concert 2014–17 105 2,065,755 2.2 22,205 [16][17][12][13]
18 $231,700,000 $234,403,275 Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience World Tour 2013–15 134 1,986,386 1.81 15,765 [61][62]
19 $229,727,960 $232,408,227 Beyoncé The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour 2013–14 132 2,082,848 1.7 15,779 [11][16]
20 $227,400,000 $242,100,266 Lady Gaga The Monster Ball Tour 2009–11 201 2,500,000 1.13 12,438 [5][59][63]

Notes

  1. ↑ Figure for Hell Freezes Over Tour only includes North American dates. Official data for the rest of the world tour is unavailable.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pietrolungo, Silvio (April 9, 2007). "Rolling Stones Tour Grosses More Than Half A Billion". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Allen, Bob (October 4, 2013). "Roger Waters Passes Madonna for Solo Boxscore Record with $459M Wall Live Tour". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 http://www.pollstarpro.com/SpecialFeatures2008/2008YearEndTop100NorthAmericanTours.pdf
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 http://www.pollstarpro.com/SpecialFeatures2009/2009YearEndTop50WorldwideConcertTours.pdf
  5. 1 2 3 4 http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/Charts2010/2010YearEndTop50WorldwideConcertTours.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7881187/coldplay-passes-madonna-no-5-highest-grossing-tour
  7. 1 2 Pietrolungo, Silvio (September 2, 2009). "Madonna Closes Tour In Tel Aviv; Second Highest Grossing Trek Of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  8. 1 2 Cossar, Neil (March 28, 2009). "This Day in Music — March 28th". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
  9. 1 2 "Reggatta De Banc — Blockbuster Police Tour 'Played Out Perfectly'..". Billboard. August 20, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  10. 1 2 http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2012/2012YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2013/2013YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "2016 Year End Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). pollstar.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "2017 Mid Year Top 100 Worldwide Tours" (PDF). pollstar.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Update: Stones Roll By U2 For Top Grossing Tour Ever". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Waddell, Ray (January 24, 2013). "Madonna's 'MDNA' Tour Makes Billboard Boxscore's All-Time Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2014/2014YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2015/2015YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
  18. 1 2 3 http://pollstarpro.com/files/charts2016/011617top10.pdf
  19. 1 2 Allen, Bob (October 10, 2014). "One Direction's Where We Are Tour Attended by 3.4 Million Fans". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
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  21. ↑
  22. 1 2 Goodman, Dean (December 31, 2008). "Madonna, Celine Dion top worldwide tours in 2008". Reuters. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
  23. ↑ Stories Done: Writings on the 1960s and Its Discontents. Mikal Gilmore. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  24. ↑ Icons of Rock. Scott Schinder,Andy Schwartz. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  25. ↑ Campbell 1993, p. 236.
  26. ↑ "Michael's Last Tour". Ebony. April 1989. pp. 142–153. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
  27. ↑ Grossweiner, Bob (June 1992). "We Take a Hard Look at the Financial Side of Being the World's Favorite Band". Hit Parader.
  28. 1 2 "New Kids Set a Couple of 1990 Records". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1991.
  29. ↑ Currie, David (1987). David Bowie: Glass Idol (1st ed.). London and Margate, England: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-1182-7
  30. ↑ "The Man Who Fell to Earth". Retrieved January 8, 2013
  31. ↑ Fricke, David (February 27, 1986). "The Long and Winding Road". Rolling Stone.
  32. ↑ Skorneck, Carolyn (December 10, 1984). "Controversial Jacksons tour closes as top-grossing rock caravan". The Gainesville Sun. Associated Press. p. 9A.
  33. 1 2 3 "U2 Statistiken — U2 Alben — U2 Singles — U2 Tourneen". U2tour.de. July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  34. ↑ "The Illustrated History of the Band's Last Days and Bittersweet Reunions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  35. ↑ Murphy, Keith (August 29, 2012). "Redemption Songs: Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits". Vibe. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  36. ↑ "Amusement Business Charts 1992–1993". Billboard.
  37. ↑ Eagles Announce Big European Tour | Pollstar
  38. ↑ Bangor Daily News - Google News Archive Search
  39. ↑ Waddell, Ray (8 October 2007). "Brooks Set For Nine-Show Kansas City Run". Billboard. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  40. ↑ Graham, Adam (18 February 2015). "Breaking down Brooks: Garth by the numbers". Detroit News. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  41. ↑ Hadden, Brian (September 10, 1993). "Madonna: She's back again". Time. New York. 142 (24). ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  42. ↑ Jaynes, Gerald David (2005). Encyclopedia of African American Society. SAGE Publications. p. 565. ISBN 0-7619-2764-6
  43. ↑ Her 1990 tour was the most successful first-time road effort by any artist, attracting more than two million fans. Jarvey, Paul (December 9, 1993). "janet ; Another Jackson steams up the charts". Telegram & Gazette. p. C.1. ISSN 1050-4184
  44. ↑ Beck, John (August 24, 2003). "Sticker Shock Astronomically Outpacing Inflation, Concert Ticket Costs Continue Upward, But Fans Continue To Pay The Price". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  45. ↑ Lawrence, Jesse (March 23, 2014). "With Strong Demand For Tickets, Will Cher's Dressed To Kill Tour Really Be Farewell?". Forbes. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  46. 1 2 Total gross for the Magic Tour
  47. ↑ Total gross for The Rising Tour
    • Waddell, Ray (October 18, 2003). "As History World Tour". Billboard. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
    • Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 27, 2003). 2003 Top 25 Tours. Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
    • Nielsen Business Media, Inc (December 28, 2002). 2002 Top 25 Tours. Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
  48. ↑ Pietrolungo, Silvio (October 23, 2006). "Madonna's 'Confessions' Tour Sets Record". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  49. ↑ "Billboard Boxscore Charts 2001". Billboard.
  50. ↑ "News : Headlines : Tim & Faith Break Country Tour Records : Great American Country". Gactv.com. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  51. ↑ "Top 25 Tours 2008". Billboard.
  52. ↑ "Billboard Boxscore Charts 2007". Billboard.
  53. ↑ "2007 Year End Top 100 Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
  54. ↑ Waddell, Ray (2007-31-20). "The Police Score Top-Grossing Tour Of '07". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2008. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  55. ↑ Waddell, Ray (2002). The Top Tours of 2002. Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  56. ↑ "McCartney Notches Year's Highest-Grossing Tour". Billboard. 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  57. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/7881187/coldplay-passes-madonna-no-5-highest-grossing-tour
  58. ↑ Weddell, Ray. "Beyoncé's Formation Tour Sold Over 2 Million Tickets and Made Over $250 Million". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  59. 1 2 http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2011/2011YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
  60. ↑ "Live Music's $20 Billion Year: The Grateful Dead's Fare Thee Well Reunion, Taylor Swift, One Direction Top Boxscore's Year-End". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  61. ↑ Bob, Allen (October 4, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Tour Earned $232 Million in Ticket Sales". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  62. ↑ Billboard boxscore:
  63. ↑ Waddell, Ray (May 5, 2011). "Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour Breaks Record for Debut Headlining Artist". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
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