Over nearly four decades, Billboard Boxscore has charted the biggest tours in the world. From Whitney Houston and Billy Joel in the ‘80s to SZA and Post Malone in 2023, artists have topped Boxscore charts in Vegas theaters, international stadiums, and everything in between.
In February, road warrior Elton John broke the record for the highest grossing tour of all time with the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, now at $818 million after a brief leg of Australian shows. His tour began in September 2018, was interrupted by COVID for two years, and has returned stronger than ever — and stronger than everyone else.
Most recently, Harry Styles enters the fray with Love on Tour. After a string of record-breaking mini-residencies in North America, a pair of brief runs in Oceania and Asia push him past the $400 million mark, edging out Madonna‘s Sticky & Sweet Tour.
The updated top 10 tours of all-time include previous record-holders by Ed Sheeran and The Rolling Stones, as well as live legends such as Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC.
John’s triumphant farewell tour is one of two in the top 10 with post-pandemic results, but more upheaval could be on the way. Still on the road, Coldplay and previous record-holder Ed Sheeran are marching past the $300 million and $400 million marks with more shows scheduled for this year. And that’s not to mention newly announced 2023 treks by Beyoncé, Metallica, Taylor Swift and more.
An influx of tours by these artists would not just help to modernize the top 10 but would add dashes of diversity, breaking up a current roster that includes nine tours by male acts from the U.K., Ireland and Australia, and seven tours by classic rock acts.
Below are the 10 highest grossing tours in the Boxscore archives, ranked by total earnings, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore. All 10 have grossed more than $400 million. Who will be next to join the club?
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Harry Styles - Love on Tour (2021-present)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for ABA Gross: $418 million
Attendance: 3.2 million
Shows: 138Combining post-pandemic shows in support of 2019’s Fine Line, with ’22-23 dates surrounding Grammy-award winning Harry’s House, Styles has earned more than $400 million across five continents … so far. The tour has one last leg of European stadiums and will likely advance further on this list before wrapping this summer.
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AC/DC - Black Ice World Tour (2008-10)
Image Credit: Joey Foley/FilmMagic Gross: $442 million
Attendance: 2.8 million
Shows: 107The Black Ice World Tour was something of a comeback for the hard rock legends. The tour and its namesake album were the first for the band in eight years. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and the time away worked, pushing AC/DC to an all-time high of $2.4 million and 26,000 tickets per show.
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Roger Waters - The Wall Live (2010-13)
Image Credit: Kevin Nixon/Classic Rock Magazine/Future via GI/Future Gross: $459 million
Attendance: 4.1 million
Shows: 219Having not toured with Pink Floyd in over 15 years, Waters’ throwback to the band’s iconic 1979 album The Wall was met with insatiable demand. Lasting for more than three years, he traveled four continents, peaking with a $38 million nine-show run in Buenos Aires.
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Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams Tour (2016-17)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI for Atlantic Records Gross: $524 million
Attendance: 5.4 million
Shows: 115Coldplay didn’t just score the biggest tour of its career with the A Head Full of Dreams Tour. The 2016-17 trek nearly tripled its previous best, 2011-12’s Mylo Xyloto Tour. The five-year gap, an extra 38 shows, and upgrading to stadiums worldwide turned the pop-rock group into titans of touring. In due time, they could double-up in the top 10, as the Music of the Spheres Tour continues well into 2023, already at $342 million grossed.
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The Rolling Stones - No Filter Tour (2017-19, 21)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/GI Gross: $547 million
Attendance: 2.9 million
Shows: 58The Stones move quickly. By far the shortest of the all-time top 10 tours, the No Filter Tour was comprised of four brief summer runs, two in Europe and two in North America. Among the most powerful touring acts in the world, the rock legends averaged more than $11 million per show on the 2019 U.S. run, managing a $500-million-plus tour in less than 60 concerts.
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The Rolling Stones - A Bigger Bang Tour (2005-07)
Image Credit: STR/AFP via GeI Gross: $558 million
Attendance: 3.5 million
Shows: 111We weren’t lying when we said that The Rolling Stones are among the most powerful touring acts in the world – no other act has two tours in the all-time top 10. Beginning in August 2005, A Bigger Bang Tour is the oldest trek on the ranking, inflation be damned.
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Guns N' Roses - Not in This Lifetime... Tour (2016-19)
Image Credit: Paul Kane/GI Gross: $584 million
Attendance: 5.4 million
Shows: 158The title of GnR’s comeback tour was apt, as the band shocked the world by reuniting most of its classic ‘80s lineup, getting Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan back together. The reinstated lineup paid dividends, first conquering the Americas in 2016, then Australia and Europe in 2017, and then all over again in 2018-19.
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U2 - U2 360° Tour (2009-11)
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage Gross: $736 million
Attendance: 7.3 million
Shows: 110U2 held the all-time touring record from 2011 to 2019, having broken ground commercially as the first $700 million tour ever, and artistically with in-the-round technological advances that cemented the Irish rockers as one of the world’s premier live music experiences. Bono & co. dominated the 2009 year-end Top Tours ranking, slipped to No. 2 for 2010, and returned to the summit for 2011.
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Ed Sheeran - The ÷ (Divide) Tour (2017-19)
Image Credit: Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via GI Gross: $776 million
Attendance: 8.9 million
Shows: 258Ed Sheeran broke U2’s record in August 2019 and held it for more than three years. Across six continents, Sheeran sold nearly nine million tickets, still more than any other run in Boxscore history. Sheeran’s tour is one of just a few in the all-time top 10 that was propelled by new music, launching while “Shape of You” remained atop the Billboard Hot 100, and running through the releases of ÷ (Divide) and No.6 Collaborations Project and lengthy chart runs of “Perfect” and “I Don’t Care,” with Justin Bieber.
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Elton John - Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour (2018-20, 22-present)
Image Credit: Erika Goldring/GI Gross: $853 million
Attendance: 5.5 million
Shows: 293With eight shows in Australia and New Zealand in January 2023, Elton John officially secured the highest grossing tour of all time. And after early reports from his final European leg — including a nine-show sweep at London’s O2 Arena — he further extends the record, passing the $850 million mark. His farewell run launched in 2018 and was scheduled for three years. That plan is still on, though interrupted by two years of COVID lockdown. He began in arenas before the pandemic and graduated to global stadiums after, accelerating the tour’s rise from a top 20 contender to the all-time champ. While on tour, John’s career earnings have grown to $1.898 billion, making him the highest grossing solo artist of all time.