U2 Remains Atop Hot Tours List, Madonna Takes No. 2

August 7, 2009

U2 has already topped the $100 million mark in tour grosses from the "360Ëš Tour" based on the box office totals reported from the first thirteen shows on the schedule. $41.4 million of that sum comes from the two markets reported during the latest reporting week, Amsterdam and Dublin. Three sellouts at Dublin's Croke Park (July 24-25, 27) totaled $28.8 million, the fourth-highest single gross on record. Heading that list is Bruce Springsteen's $38.6 million at Giants Stadium in 2003, The Spice Girls at O2 Arena in London last year with $33.8 million and the 1999 Woodstock festival which tops U2's Dublin shows by only a few thousand dollars.

Although U2 has jumped up to No. 2 on the overall Top Tour rankings year-to-date, Madonna retains the top spot with five more European stadiums reporting totals this week from her "Sticky & Sweet Tour." One of the stadiums, Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy had a busy two weeks hosting Madonna on July 16th and Bruce Springsteen just one week later. Both tours played to sellout crowds of more than 28,000. In addition to Stadio Friuli, Springsteen also hit five Spanish markets to close out the European leg of his "Working on a Dream Tour". He joins Madonna and U2 as the only touring artists surpassing $100 million in ticket sales so far for the year.



Rank Artist/Event
Total Gross
Show Dates
Show Venue/City (Shows/Sellouts)
Total Attendance (Capacity)

1 U2
$41,399,350
July 20-27
Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam (2/2)
Croke Park, Dublin (3/3)
369,064 (369,064)


2 MADONNA
$20,879,804
July 14-25
Stadio San Siro, Milan (1/1)
Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy (1/1)
Estadio Olímpico, Barcelona (1/1)
Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid (1/1)
Recinto Feria, Zaragoza, Spain (1/1)
191,392 (191,392)


3 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND
$15,862,781
July 23-Aug. 2
Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy (1/1)
Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao, Spain (1/0)
Estadio Olímpico, Sevilla, Spain (1/0)
Estadio Municipal de Foietes, Benidorm, Spain (1/0)
Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid, Spain (1/0)
Auditorio Monte do Gozo, Santiago de Compostela, Spain (1/1)
175,728 (206,667)

4 ELTON JOHN & BILLY JOEL
$11,154,840
July 16-21
Wrigley Field, Chicago (2/2)
77,520 (77,520)

5 JONAS BROTHERS
$10,164,977
June 29-July 15
General Motors Place, Vancouver (2/0)
Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta (1/1)
MTS Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (1/1)
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Ill. (2/2)
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. (1/1)
Izod Center, East Rutherford, N.J. (2/2)
156,299 (161,144)

6 COLDPLAY
$5,153,172
July 18-22
Home Depot Center, Carson, Calif. (1/0)
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, Calif. (1/1)
Superpages.com Center, Dallas (1/0)
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, The Woodlands, Texas (1/1)
77,534 (78,657)

7 DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
$4,655,123
July 18-22
Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, Wis. (2/1)
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, N.Y. (2/2)
90,957 (97,837)

8 KENNY CHESNEY
$3,880,546
June 29-Aug. 1
Harveys Outdoor Arena, Lake Tahoe, Nev. (1/1)
Qwest Field, Seattle (1/0)
49,354 (52,326)

9 NICKELBACK
$3,079,348
July 17-22
Hersheypark Stadium, Hershey, Pa. (1/1)
Post-Gazette Pavilion at Star Lake, Burgettstown, Pa. (1/0)
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J. (1/0)
Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (1/0)
75,379 (84,747)

10 DEF LEPPARD
$2,974,832
July 17-23
First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Ill. (1/0)
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis, Maryland Heights, Mo. (1/0)
Sprint Center, Kansas City (1/0)
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Noblesville, Ind. (1/0)
72,152 (85,225)
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