Guns N' Roses Wrap 'Not in This Lifetime… Tour': $584 Million; 5.4 Million Tickets

From 2016 to 2019, GNR maintained a busy schedule, maximizing their global potential with trips around the world. The tour was rooted in North America, with 87 of 158 shows (55%) taking place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. But there were also multiple visits to Europe (31 shows), Asia (16) and South America (15), plus eight dates in Australia and one in Johannesburg, South Africa.

With more time in North America, the band was able to play a more even mix of stadiums and arenas, as opposed to quicker runs of only stadiums internationally. Their home-continent touring amounted to $258.5 million and 2.3 million tickets sold, still far ahead of Europe’s $166.1 million.

The tour’s top performing engagements are representative of the band’s global approach. They broke $10 million on five separate engagements throughout the run (London; East Rutherford, N.J.; Tallinn, Estonia; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Sao Paulo, Brazil). Similarly, they eclipsed 100,000 tickets on four occasions (London; Mexico City; Buenos Aires; East Rutherford). The London Stadium shows on June 16-17, 2017 were the highlights of the tour on both accounts, with a $17.7 million gross and a paid attendance tally of 140,877.

The Not in This Lifetime… Tour marked the first time that Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan played together since the 1993 Use Your Illusion Tour and their reunion proved the power of the band’s classic lineup.  On a per-show basis, the band leveled up from an average gross of $617,000 on the 2012-14 Appetite for Democracy Tour to $3.7 million each night on the Not in This Lifetime… Tour.

Fans may have thought a reunion (much less a reunion that has lasted three years so far) was impossible but at the close of the decade, here we are: Guns N’ Roses mounted the third most successful tour of all time, closing with a string of sold-out shows in the trek’s fourth and final year.