Coldplay Rules January Boxscore Report With Nearly $59 Million

Kicking off the new year in style, Coldplay lead the way Advertising signThe chart of the top tours for January. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, Chris Martin and company earned $58.8 million and sold 417,000 tickets during the month, effectively doubling their nearest competition.

January is traditionally the slowest month of the year, with Elton John and Tool topping the charts in 2020 and 2022, respectively, with less than $20 million each. John himself hit a high in 2023 at $40.9 million, and now Coldplay is bettering that by 44%. This year's top 30 tours grossed a combined $271 million, up 75% from last January's total.

This is Coldplay's third time at No.1 on the Top Tours, having topped the charts in March 2023 and July 2022. The band achieved their hat-trick with eight concerts in Asia. Including two more dates in early February and eight shows in November, the final leg of the Music of the Spheres tour grossed $143.3 million.

Coldplay's January shows are down to two at the Philippine Arena in Manila and six at the National Stadium in Singapore. The latest installment grossed $43.4 million and sold 321,000 tickets, leading Top Boxscores by a margin of 2.8 to 1.

While the phrase “world tour” is often translated to the US, Canada, and Western Europe, Coldplay took the time to travel the world. The Music of the Spheres tour began in March 2022 and includes three legs in Latin America, two in the US and Canada, two in Europe and now 18 shows in Asia. More dates in Europe and Oceania await in 2024.

In total, Coldplay's massive world tour has sold 7.7 million tickets. Only Ed Sheeran Division (÷) The tour (2017-19) has sold more, at 8.9 million. With 43 shows scheduled between June and September, Coldplay will need to average around 28,000 tickets per show – less than half the tour's global average so far – to close the gap and become the highest-grossing tour sales in Boxscore history.

Speaking of Sheeran, he's at No. 2 on January's Top Tours chart with his own Asian concerts. It grossed $31.7 million and sold 194,000 tickets over six dates, with five more in February counted in next month's recap.

Sheeran earned $11.6 million over two nights in Osaka and another $10.6 million from a double in Dubai. Similar to Coldplay, his dates in Asia are part of a global effort, following his footsteps in Europe, Oceania and North America.

Not only are both acts rubbing shoulders at the top of the all-time charts, but they're fighting at opposite ends of the top 10. Sheeran's The Mathematics tour has now grossed $556.4 million and sold 5.8 million tickets since its debut in April of 2022, squeezing into the top 10 highest-grossing tours of all time. Collateral damage, Coldplay's Music of the Spheres tour (2016-17) sinks to No. 11, just as the British rock band dethrones Sheeran's previous tour at the all-time summit.

At No. 3 on Top Tours, Madonna brought in $31.2 million from a string of arena dates in January. That leaves her just $500,000 clear of second place Sheeran, by less than 2%. All of Madonna's January 11 dates appear on Top Boxscores, including her three shows at Madison Square Garden. These grossed $10.3 million from 41,200 tickets sold.

Now at $121 million, The Celebration tour is Madonna's sixth to cross the nine-figure mark. Only the Rolling Stones (nine) and U2 (seven) have more. Bruce Springsteen and the Eagles also have six $100 million tours to their name.

Madonna has 32 shows to report in the US, plus five in Mexico City. When all is said and done, The Celebration tour will likely become her third to gross $200 million or more, behind the Sticky & Sweet tour ($407.7 million, 2008-09) and the MDNA tour ($305.2 million, 2012);

K-pop offers bright spots in the top 10, with SEVENTEEN at No. 4 with $19.6 million and ENHYPEN at No. 7 with $13 million. Each group played batches of shows in Asia, such as Coldplay and Sheeran. Due to restrictive weather conditions in the US and Europe, stadiums in southern Asia and Australia are often box office mainstays early in the year.

Comedians also make their mark on the Top Tours, with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Peter Kay, Kevin Hart, Jo Koy and Brett Goldstein ranking between Nos. 14-20.

Although not without highlights, the Top Tours chart embraces the winter slump of previous years, yielding the lowest gross top-30 since last January. John Mulaney and the NieR Orchestra close out the top 30 under $1 million, hitting two million earners in 2023. February marks the stage returns of Blink-182, Karol G and P!nk, while ushering in new tours from Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo.

A version of this story will appear in the March 2, 2024 issue Advertising sign.