Madonna has already begun her eagerly anticipated Celebration Tour, cementing her status as the Queen of Pop and making an incredible amount of money. According to Billboard’s estimate, the tour is expected to earn upwards of $100 million.
This global victory lap features Madonna’s greatest hits from her impressive 40-year career, showcasing her rare straightforward ambition as an artist known for her enigmatic persona.
Madonna’s touring career really got underway with The Virgin Tour in 1985, earning her $100,000 a night on average and selling over 10,000 tickets. Compared to the prices of today’s arena performances, the average ticket price for that tour was a pitiful $14.74.
In today’s money, that would be equivalent to $29.56 after accounting for inflation. But with her 1987 Who’s That Girl World Tour, which tripled her draw and almost quadrupled her selling power in only two years, Madonna’s fame skyrocketed.
Madonna has since gone on a number of popular tours, such as the Girlie Show in 1993 and the Blond Ambition Tour in 1990. She has maintained her dominance in the twenty-first century, with seven tours that have brought in at least $50 million apiece. The Sticky & Sweet Tour in 2008–09, which brought in an incredible $407.7 million and sold 3.5 million tickets, is her highest-grossing tour to date.
Thank you LONDON!
Opening Night!
An Evening i will never forget. ????????♥️#MadonnaCelebrationTour pic.twitter.com/qA5EJXeqIy— Madonna (@Madonna) October 15, 2023
The recently announced Celebration Tour will be visiting cities in North America and Europe and anticipating 78 shows. The tour started on October 14, 2023, at The O2 Arena in London, England, and it is set to conclude on April 24, 2024, at the Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico.
To predict the financial success of the tour, it is crucial to consider Madonna’s previous tours. The most recent one, the Madame X Tour in 2019-20, was an experimental theater-based residency that sold out all 75 shows and earned $51.5 million.
However, a more relevant comparison would be the Rebel Heart Tour in 2015-16, which grossed $169.8 million and sold 1.05 million tickets worldwide.
How much did Madonna make from her previous tours?
Grosses adjusted for 2022:
- The Virgin Tour (1985): $13.6 million
- Who’s That Girl World Tour (1987): $64.3 million
- Blond Ambition World Tour (1990): $140.4 million
- The Girlie Show (1993): $141.8 million
- Drowned World Tour (2001): $124 million
- Re-Invention World Tour (2004): $193.3 million
- Confessions Tour (2006): $282.7 million
- Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008-2009): $560.6 million
- The MDNA Tour (2012): $388.9 million
- Rebel Heart Tour (2015-2016): $207 million
- Madame X Tour (2019-2020): $58.7 million
