Nicki Minaj, Shania Twain & AC/DC Lead Latest Highest-Grossing Tours Tally
By Bob Allen
Nicki Minaj tops Billboard’s latest weekly Hot Tours recap based on $13 million in revenue from the world tour supporting her album The Pinkprint, released last December. With 20 performances reported from the tour’s trek through North American markets, the sold ticket count reached 293,036 from seven arenas and 13 outdoor amphitheaters booked during the summer run.
A sold out performance on July 26 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center produced the highest gross on the summer schedule with $1.3 million in ticket sales from 14,186 sold seats. Chicago-area shed Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre logged the largest crowd among the North American venues with 22,700 fans present for an outdoor performance on Aug. 9. Philadelphia native Meek Mill, hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, singer Tinashe and rapper Dej Loaf filled out the bill for the North American run.
Minaj began her tour in Europe on March 16, playing 17 cities in eight countries on the continent during a four-week span. A second European stint followed in July with festival appearances in eight cities, and the North American trek kicked off with a sold out performance in Dallas on July 17. The five-week run wrapped in Canada with a concert on Aug. 19 at Edmonton’s Rexall Place. She followed up her road dates with an appearance at the inaugural Billboard Hot 100 Music Festival on Aug. 23 at New York-area outdoor amphitheater Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on Long Island.
Behind Minaj is Shania Twain’s continuing Rock This Country tour with $7.9 million grossed from a series of shows between Aug. 10-23.
AC/DC appears on the Hot Tours tally at No. 3 with $4 million in sales reported from an outdoor Canadian performance on Aug. 28 at the Plaines d’Abraham in Quebec City. Promoted by Live Nation and Montreal-based event producer evenko, the concert drew 48,588 fans.
The legendary Australian rock group is on the road in North American through the end of September in support of its November 2014 release, Rock or Bust. The band appeared at the Coachella Music Festival in April before playing 24 cities in Europe from May 5 through July 25. A North American leg began on Aug. 22 and will feature performances in 11 stadiums during a five-week run that wraps at the end of September. The Quebec performance was the first of three outdoor events staged in Canadian markets during the trek. Finally, in November and December, the band will return home to wrap the tour with a seven-city swing through Australia and New Zealand.
HOT TOURS - Sept. 1, 2015 | |
Ranked by Gross. Compiled from Boxscores reported Aug. 25-31 | |
Rank | ACT |
Total Gross | |
Show Date Range | |
Show Venue/City (Shows/Sellouts) | |
Total Attendance (Capacity) | |
1 | NICKI MINAJ |
$13,010,440 | |
July 17-Aug. 19 | |
Gexa Energy Pavilion, Dallas (1/1) | |
Toyota Center, Houston (1/0) | |
Klipsch Amphitheatre at Bayfront Park, Miami (1/1) | |
Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, Va. (1/0) | |
PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J. (1/1) | |
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y. (1/1) | |
Molson Canadian Amphitheatre, Toronto (1/1) | |
Bell Centre, Montreal (1/0) | |
DTE Energy Music Center, Clarkston, Mich. (1/1) | |
Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta (1/1) | |
PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte (1/0) | |
Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, N.J. (1/1) | |
First Niagara Pavilion, Burgettstown, Pa. (1/0) | |
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, Ill. (1/0) | |
Pepsi Center, Denver (1/0) | |
Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Chula Vista, Calif. (1/0) | |
Concord Pavilion, Concord, Calif. (1/1) | |
Rogers Arena, Vancouver (1/0) | |
Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta (1/0) | |
Rexall Place, Edmonton, Alberta (1/0) | |
293,036 (321,535) | |
2 | SHANIA TWAIN |
$7,974,263 | |
Aug. 10-23 | |
American Airlines Center, Dallas (1/1) | |
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City (1/0) | |
Pepsi Center, Denver (1/1) | |
EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City (1/1) | |
SAP Center, San Jose (1/0) | |
Honda Center, Anaheim (1/0) | |
Staples Center, Los Angeles (1/0) | |
Valley View Casino Center, San Diego (1/0) | |
Save Mart Center, Fresno, Calif. (1/0) | |
85,081 (93,336) | |
3 | AC/DC |
$4,047,480 | |
Aug. 28 | |
Plaines d’Abraham, Quebec City (1/0) | |
48,588 (58,000) | |
4 | CHAYANNE |
$2,381,196 | |
Aug. 7-27 | |
EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, Va. (1/0) | |
Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, N.J. (1/0) | |
Agganis Arena, Boston (1/0) | |
The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York (1/0) | |
Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Ill. (1/0) | |
Toyota Center, Houston (1/0) | |
25,122 (33,337) | |
5 | RICKY MARTIN |
$1,567,765 | |
June 19-20 | |
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City (2/2) | |
19,040 (19,040) | |
6 | CAETANO VELOSO E GILBERTO GIL |
$1,080,038 | |
Aug. 20-28 | |
Citibank Hall, São Paulo, Brazil (4/0) | |
Teatro Opera Arame, Curitiba, Brazil (1/0) | |
Auditório Araújo Vianna, Porto Alegre, Brazil (1/0) | |
17,855 (20,411) | |
7 | OV7 & KABAH |
$636,389 | |
Aug. 21-22 | |
Auditorio Nacional, Mexico City (2/0) | |
18,220 (19,242) | |
8 | MANÁ |
$594,760 | |
July 1 | |
Amway Center, Orlando (1/0) | |
6,004 (7,407) | |
9 | MÖTLEY CRÜE |
$557,610 | |
Aug. 24 | |
Bell Centre, Montreal (1/0) | |
8,439 (10,168) | |
10 | JOHN OLIVER |
$505,196 | |
Aug. 27-28 | |
Palais Theatre, Melbourne, Austraia (3/3) | |
8,532 (8,532) | |