List of highest-grossing concert tours

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

• 

  The Rolling Stones had claimed the highest-grossing tour for multiple times, with the latest being A Bigger Bang Tour (currently the second).

• 

  Roger Waters completed The Wall Live as the highest-grossing tour of all time by a solo artist.

• 

  Madonna scored the top-two highest-grossing concert tours of all time by a female artist with Sticky & Sweet Tour and The MDNA Tour.

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

Rank	Actual gross	Inflation (adjusted 2016 gross)	Artist	Tour name	Year(s)	Shows	Attendance	Average gross (millions)	Average attendance	Ref.
1	$736,421,584	$775,966,116	U2	U2 360° Tour	2009–11	110	7,272,046	6.7	66,110	[1]
2	$558,255,524	$638,172,701	The Rolling Stones	A Bigger Bang Tour	2005–07	144	4,680,000	3.8	32,500	[1]
3	$458,673,798	$466,733,352	Roger Waters	The Wall Live	2010–13	219	4,129,863	2.09	18,858	[2]
4	$441,121,000	$479,491,055	AC/DC	Black Ice World Tour	2008–10	167	4,846,965	2.6	29,023	[3][4][5]
5	$408,000,000	$450,780,828	Madonna	Sticky & Sweet Tour	2008–09	85	3,545,899	4.79	41,716	[6]
6	$389,047,636	$457,442,442	U2	Vertigo Tour	2005–06	131	4,619,021	2.96	35,259	[7]
7	$362,000,000	$398,535,703	The Police	The Police Reunion Tour	2007–08	156	3,300,912	2.3	21,160	[8]
8	$355,600,000	$361,848,400	Bruce Springsteen	Wrecking Ball World Tour	2012–13	127	3,650,535	2.8	28,744	[9][10]
9	$320,000,000	$497,785,543	The Rolling Stones	Voodoo Lounge Tour	1994–95	124	6,336,776	2.6	51,103	[11]
10	$311,000,000	$400,733,177	The Rolling Stones	Licks Tour	2002–03	115	3,470,945	2.6	30,182	[12]
11	$305,158,363	$315,066,389	Madonna	The MDNA Tour	2012	88	2,212,345	3.47	25,140	[12]
12	$290,178,452	$290,545,560	One Direction	Where We Are Tour	2014	69	3,439,560	4.2	49,848	[13]
13	$279,200,000	$307,378,918	Celine Dion	Taking Chances World Tour	2008–09	132	2,200,000	2.1	16,667	[3][4][14]
14	$275,700,000	$275,700,000	Paul McCartney	Out There! Tour	2013–15	84	1,958,754	3.28	23,319	[10][15][16]
15	$274,000,000	$398,469,171	The Rolling Stones	Bridges to Babylon Tour	1997–98	108				[12]
16	$259,500,000	$264,059,786	Bon Jovi	Because We Can	2013	102	2,657,502	2.67	27,397	[10]
17	$256,084,556	$256,084,556	Beyoncé	The Formation World Tour	2016	49	2,242,099	5.2	45,757	[17]
18	$251,112,882	$272,955,449	Eagles	Long Road out of Eden Tour	2008–11	155	2,001,773	1.6	12,915	[3][4][5][18]
19	$250,733,097	$250,733,097	Taylor Swift	The 1989 World Tour	2015	85	2,278,647	3.02	33,477	[19]
20	$250,000,000	$399,809,160	Pink Floyd	The Division Bell Tour	1994	120	6,000,000	2.3	45,000	[20]

Highest-grossing tours by decade

1980s

Rank	Actual gross	Inflation (adjusted 2016 gross)	Artist	Tour name	Year(s)	Shows	Attendance	Average gross (millions)	Average attendance	Ref.
1	$135,000,000	$258,148,993	Pink Floyd	A Momentary Lapse of Reason Tour	1987–89	199	4,250,000	0.68	21,250	[21][22]
2	$125,738,964	$252,008,621	Michael Jackson	Bad	1987–89	123	4,498,300	1.02	36,571	[23][24]
3	$98,000,000	$187,397,047	The Rolling Stones	Steel Wheels Tour	1989–90	115	3,253,563	0.85	28,291	[25][26]
4	$86,000,000	$179,431,166	David Bowie	Glass Spider Tour	1987	86	3,000,000	1.0	34,884	[27][28]
5	$85,000,000	$187,331,374	Bruce Springsteen	Born in the U.S.A. Tour	1984–85	156		0.55		[29]
6	$75,000,000	$171,116,272	The Jacksons	Victory Tour	1984	55	2,750,000	1.36	50,000	[30]
7	$56,278,095	$117,419,119	U2	The Joshua Tree Tour	1987	109	3,176,952	0.5	29,146	[31]
8	$52,000,000	$135,576,867	The Rolling Stones	The Rolling Stones American Tour 1981	1981	50	3,000,000	1.04	60,000	[30]

1990s

Rank	Actual gross	Inflation (adjusted 2016 gross)	Artist	Tour name	Year(s)	Shows	Attendance	Average gross (millions)	Average attendance	Ref.
1	$320,000,000	$497,785,543	The Rolling Stones	Voodoo Lounge Tour	1994–95	124	6,336,776	2.6	51,103	[11]
2	$274,000,000	$398,469,171	The Rolling Stones	Bridges to Babylon Tour	1997–98	108				[12]
3	$250,000,000	$399,809,160	Pink Floyd	The Division Bell Tour	1994	120	6,000,000	2.3	45,000	[20]
4	$171,677,027	$253,494,084	U2	PopMart Tour	1997–98	93	3,936,841	1.8	42,332	[31]
5	$165,000,000	$243,634,950	Michael Jackson	HIStory World Tour	1996–97	83	4,500,000	2.01	54,878	[32]
6	$151,000,000	$247,770,790	U2	Zoo TV Tour	1992–93	157	5,350,554	0.96	34,080	[31][33]
7	$142,700,000[lower-alpha 1]	$221,981,240	Eagles	Hell Freezes Over Tour	1994–95					[34][35]
8	$105,000,000	$152,698,040	Garth Brooks	The Garth Brooks World Tour	1996–98	220	5,500,000	0.49	25,346	[36][37]
9	$74,000,000	$134,259,297	New Kids on the Block	The Magic Summer Tour	1990		3,291,987			[26]
10	$70,000,000	$114,860,631	Madonna	The Girlie Show	1993	39		1.79		[38]
11	$65,000,000	$117,930,464	Janet Jackson	Rhythm Nation 1814	1990	117	2,000,000			[39][40]
12	$62,700,000	$113,757,539	Madonna	Blond Ambition World Tour	1990	57		1.1		[41]

2000s

Rank	Actual gross	Inflation (adjusted 2016 gross)	Artist	Tour name	Year(s)	Shows	Attendance	Average gross (millions)	Average attendance	Ref.
1	$558,255,524	$638,172,701	The Rolling Stones	A Bigger Bang Tour	2005–07	144	4,680,000	3.8	32,500	[1]
2	$408,000,000	$450,780,828	Madonna	Sticky & Sweet Tour	2008–09	85	3,545,899	4.79	41,716	[6]
3	$389,047,636	$457,442,442	U2	Vertigo Tour	2005–06	131	4,619,021	2.96	35,259	[7]
4	$362,000,000	$398,535,703	The Police	The Police Reunion Tour	2007–08	156	3,300,912	2.3	21,160	[8]
5	$311,000,000	$400,733,177	The Rolling Stones	Licks Tour	2002–03	115	3,470,945	2.6	30,182	[12]
6	$279,200,000	$307,378,918	Celine Dion	Taking Chances Tour	2008–09	132	2,600,000	2.1	19,697	[3][4][14]
7	$250,000,000	$303,416,255	Cher	Living Proof: The Farewell Tour	2002–05	326	3,500,000	0.6	10,800	[42]
8	$235,000,000	$258,717,929	Bruce Springsteen	Magic Tour	2007–08	100	2,198,353	2.4	21,983	[43]
9	$221,500,000	$285,409,642	Bruce Springsteen	The Rising Tour	2002–03	120	3,232,384	1.8	31,081	[44]
10	$210,650,974	$231,911,420	Bon Jovi	Lost Highway Tour	2007–08	99	2,157,675	2.1	21,794	[43]
11	$194,754,447	$228,992,395	Madonna	Confessions Tour	2006	60	1,210,294	3.2	20,171	[45]
12	$167,000,000	$184,510,780	Bruce Springsteen	Working on a Dream Tour	2009	80	1,831,770	2.1	22,897	[4]
13	$142,844,463	$191,219,904	U2	Elevation Tour	2001	112	2,162,282	1.3	19,306	[46]
14	$141,000,000	$161,184,882	Tim McGraw and Faith Hill	Soul2Soul II Tour	2006–07	117	1,673,667	1.2	14,304	[47]
15	$132,500,000	$146,393,284	Tina Turner	Tina!: 50th Anniversary Tour	2008–09	90	1,176,199	1.47	13,068	[3][4]
16	$131,800,000	$145,619,885	Britney Spears	The Circus Starring Britney Spears	2009	97	1,500,000	1.4	15,488	[4]
17	$131,388,461	$154,486,631	Bon Jovi	Have a Nice Day Tour	2005–06	89	1,823,834	1.7	23,382	[48]
18	$129,059,653	$147,535,212	Genesis	Turn It On Again: The Tour	2007	46	1,262,393	2.8	27,443	[49][50]
19	$126,800,000	$144,952,078	Justin Timberlake	FutureSex/LoveShow	2007	119	1,600,000	1	13,445	[51]
20	$126,165,542	$166,267,744	Paul McCartney	Driving World Tour	2002	58	988,077	2.2	17,036	[52][53]

2010s

Rank	Actual gross	Inflation (adjusted 2016 gross)	Artist	Tour name	Year(s)	Shows	Attendance	Average gross (millions)	Average attendance	Ref.
1	$736,421,584	$775,966,116	U2	U2 360° Tour	2009–11	110	7,272,046	6.7	66,110	[1]
2	$458,673,798	$466,733,352	Roger Waters	The Wall	2010–13	219	4,129,863	2.09	18,858	[2]
3	$441,121,000	$479,491,055	AC/DC	Black Ice World Tour	2008–10	167	4,846,965	2.6	29,023	[3][4][5]
4	$355,600,000	$361,848,400	Bruce Springsteen	Wrecking Ball World Tour	2012–13	127	3,650,535	2.8	28,744	[9][10]
5	$305,158,363	$315,066,389	Madonna	The MDNA Tour	2012	88	2,212,345	3.47	25,140	[12]
6	$290,178,452	$290,545,560	One Direction	Where We Are Tour	2014	69	3,449,560	4.2	49,848	[13]
7	$275,700,000	$275,700,000	Paul McCartney	Out There	2013–15	84	1,958,754	3.28	23,319	[10][15][16]
8	$259,500,000	$264,059,786	Bon Jovi	Because We Can	2013	102	2,657,502	2.67	27,397	[10]
9	$256,084,556	$256,084,556	Beyoncé	The Formation World Tour	2016	49	2,242,099	5.2	45,757	[17]
10	$251,112,882	$272,955,449	Eagles	Long Road Out of Eden Tour	2008–11	155	2,001,773	1.6	12,915	[3][4][5][18]
11	$250,733,097	$250,733,097	Taylor Swift	The 1989 World Tour	2015	85	2,278,647	3.02	33,477	[19]
12	$231,700,000	$231,993,126	Justin Timberlake	The 20/20 Experience World Tour	2013–15	134	1,986,386	1.81	15,765	[54][55]
13	$229,727,960	$230,018,591	Beyoncé	The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour	2013–14	132	2,082,848	1.7	15,779	[10][15]
14	$227,400,000	$239,610,976	Lady Gaga	The Monster Ball Tour	2009–11	201	2,500,000	1.13	12,438	[5][18][56]
15	$224,000,000	$236,028,402^†	Take That	Progress Live	2011	35	2,144,977	6.4	61,285	[18]
16	$221,600,000	$221,600,000	Garth Brooks	The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood	2014–16	236	3,344,699	0.94	14,172	[15][16][57]
17	$219,900,000	$236,142,319	Metallica	World Magnetic Tour	2008–10	164	2,744,413	1.34	16,734	[3][4][5]
19	$209,200,000	$212,875,943	Justin Bieber	Believe Tour	2012–13	133	2,398,514	1.57	18,033	[9][10]
20	$208,200,000	$208,200,000	AC/DC	Rock or Bust World Tour	2015-16	76	2,552,266	2.74	33,582	[16][57]

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. Pietrolungo, Silvio (April 9, 2007). "Rolling Stones Tour Grosses More Than Half A Billion". Billboard. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
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. http://www.pollstarpro.com/SpecialFeatures2008/2008YearEndTop100NorthAmericanTours.pdf
4. http://www.pollstarpro.com/SpecialFeatures2009/2009YearEndTop50WorldwideConcertTours.pdf
5. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/Charts2010/2010YearEndTop50WorldwideConcertTours.pdf
6. Pietrolungo, Silvio (September 2, 2009). "Madonna Closes Tour In Tel Aviv; Second Highest Grossing Trek Of All Time". Billboard. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
7. Cossar, Neil (March 28, 2009). "This Day in Music — March 28th". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved November 17, 2009.
8. "Reggatta De Banc — Blockbuster Police Tour 'Played Out Perfectly'..". Billboard. August 20, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
9. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2012/2012YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
10. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2013/2013YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
11. "Update: Stones Roll By U2 For Top Grossing Tour Ever". Billboard. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
12. Waddell, Ray (January 24, 2013). "Madonna's 'MDNA' Tour Makes Billboard Boxscore's All-Time Top 10". Billboard. Retrieved January 24, 2013.
13. Allen, Bob (October 10, 2014). "One Direction's Where We Are Tour Attended by 3.4 Million Fans". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
14. Goodman, Dean (December 31, 2008). "Madonna, Celine Dion top worldwide tours in 2008". Reuters. Retrieved December 31, 2008.
15. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2014/2014YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
16. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2015/2015YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
17. Weddell, Ray. "Beyonce's Formation Tour Sold Over 2 Million Tickets and Made Over $250 Million". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
18. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2011/2011YearEndTop100WorldwideTours.pdf
19. "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.
20. "The Illustrated History of the Band's Last Days and Bittersweet Reunions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
21. Stories Done: Writings on the 1960s and Its Discontents. Mikal Gilmore. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
22. Icons of Rock. Scott Schinder,Andy Schwartz. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
23. Campbell 1993, p. 236.
24. "Michael's Last Tour". Ebony. April 1989. pp. 142–153. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
25. Grossweiner, Bob (June 1992). "We Take a Hard Look at the Financial Side of Being the World's Favorite Band". Hit Parader.
26. "New Kids Set a Couple of 1990 Records". Los Angeles Times. January 17, 1991.
27. Currie, David (1987). David Bowie: Glass Idol (1st ed.). London and Margate, England: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-1182-7
28. "The Man Who Fell to Earth". Retrieved January 8, 2013
29. Fricke, David (February 27, 1986). "The Long and Winding Road". Rolling Stone.
30. Skorneck, Carolyn (December 10, 1984). "Controversial Jacksons tour closes as top-grossing rock caravan". The Gainesville Sun. Associated Press. p. 9A.
31. "U2 Statistiken — U2 Alben — U2 Singles — U2 Tourneen". U2tour.de. July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
32. Murphy, Keith (August 29, 2012). "Redemption Songs: Michael Jackson's Greatest Hits". Vibe. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
33. "Amusement Business Charts 1992–1993". Billboard.
34. Eagles Announce Big European Tour | Pollstar
35. Bangor Daily News - Google News Archive Search
36. Waddell, Ray (8 October 2007). "Brooks Set For Nine-Show Kansas City Run". Billboard. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
37. Graham, Adam (18 February 2015). "Breaking down Brooks: Garth by the numbers". Detroit News. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
38. Hadden, Brian (September 10, 1993). "Madonna: She's back again". Time. New York. 142 (24). ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
39. Jaynes, Gerald David (2005). Encyclopedia of African American Society. SAGE Publications. p. 565. ISBN 0-7619-2764-6
40. 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
41. 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.
42. 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.
43. Total gross for the Magic Tour
    • "Top 25 Tours 2008" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
    • Bosso, Joey (December 11, 2008). "Bon Jovi, Springsteen, Spice Girls top 2008's top-grossing tours". Music Radar. Future Publishing. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
44. 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.
45. Pietrolungo, Silvio (October 23, 2006). "Madonna's 'Confessions' Tour Sets Record". Billboard. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
46. "Billboard Boxscore Charts 2001". Billboard.
47. "News : Headlines : Tim & Faith Break Country Tour Records : Great American Country". Gactv.com. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
48. "Top 25 Tours 2008". Billboard.
49. "Billboard Boxscore Charts 2007". Billboard.
50. "2007 Year End Top 100 Tours" (PDF). Pollstar. 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2011.
51. Waddell, Ray (2007-31-20). "The Police Score Top-Grossing Tour Of '07". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2008. Check date values in: |date= (help)
52. Waddell, Ray (2002). The Top Tours of 2002. Billboard. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
53. "McCartney Notches Year's Highest-Grossing Tour". Billboard. 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
54. Bob, Allen (October 4, 2013). "Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Tour Earned $232 Million in Ticket Sales". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
55. Billboard boxscore:
    • "Billboard Biz: Current Boxscore". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. November 27, 2013. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
    • "Billboard Biz: Current Boxscore". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 15, 2014. Archived from the original on January 19, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
    • "Billboard Biz: Current Boxscore". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 29, 2014. Archived from the original on January 30, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
    • "Billboard Biz: Current Boxscore". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. March 19, 2014. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
    • "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
    • "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 8, 2014. Archived from the original on October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
    • "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. October 29, 2014. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
    • "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. December 17, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
    • "Billboard Boxscore :: Current Scores". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. January 14, 2015. Archived from the original on January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
56. Waddell, Ray (May 5, 2011). "Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour Breaks Record for Debut Headlining Artist". Billboard. Retrieved May 6, 2011.
57. http://www.pollstarpro.com/files/charts2016/2016MidYearTop100WorldwideTours.pdf